MEDICAL POT BAN EXTENDED BY SIX MONTHS IN VILLAGE

The Wolverine Lake Village Council voted on Wednesday, Dec. 8 to
extend a moratorium on the sale, cultivation and dispensing of
medical marijuana in the village for another six months.

The moratorium will expire July 14, 2011.

The recommended extension was forwarded to the Village Council by the
Planning Commission.

"This gives the Planning Commission time to come up with a local
ordinance to cover all aspects of growing and selling medical
marijuana," said Village Council President John Magee. "They are
looking for a reasonable approach to regulating it locally under state law."

Initially the council imposed a six-month moratorium on medical
marijuana in July to give planners and officials time to study areas
within the village where medical marijuana facilities might be
permissible, in response to Michigan voters casting ballots to
legalize marijuana for medical use during the November 2008 election.

According to Magee, 73.5 percent of the taxpayers in the village
voted in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical use, with only
26.5 percent voting in opposition.

The Planning Commission was expected to either draft a final zoning
ordinance amendment that specifically outlined areas within the
village where medical marijuana could be legally grown and sold, or
would determine that the issue falls under the current land use
zoning ordinance already in place.

"There's still a lot of confusion on state law," Magee said.
"Planners are trying to decide between a zoning or home business approach."

Planners reviewed several ordinances on the books in other
communities, including Grand Rapids, but saw some loopholes in the language.

"We don't want to be on the cutting edge of the marijuana law so we
want a template that we can tweak," Magee said.

While there have been several medical marijuana ordinances adopted
across the state, Magee said he's uncertain how they will stand up in
court and how many will provide useful regulation.

"We're going through the issues to adopt an effective ordinance, and
not because we're using a moratorium in lieu of an outright
prohibition," Magee said. "We just want to make sure we get it right
the first time."