CITY TO REGULATE SOME MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

DEARBORN - Medical marijuana grow operations in the city would be
more strictly regulated under a proposed ordinance.

The ordinance requires registration with the city for any licensed
caregiver who grows more than the maximum allowed for one patient,
which is 12 plants. Under the 2008 law adopted by Michigan voters, a
caregiver can have a maximum of 72 plants growing at a time - 12 each
for up to five patients and 12 more if the caregiver also has a prescription.

The registry process would result in an annual inspection of the grow
property for plumbing, electrical and security purposes. In regard to
security, registrants would have to draw out site plans of where they
plan to grow, and what kind of security measures are in place. Plans
call for a $500 annual registration fee.

City officials say the purpose of the legislation, which got a first
reading at Monday night's City Council meeting, is to fill in some of
the blanks left in the state law.

"What we decided to do is take the state laws that exist and then put
it into structure for Dearborn so that we allow exactly what the
state law allows and we don't let you make your own interpretations,"
Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly said.

The ordinance would also require any more than two caregivers growing
in one house to register. If there were two caregivers claiming a
house as their principal residence, under the ordinance, they could
grow up to 24 plants and not have to register. But, if a third
caregiver moved into the house, registration would become mandatory
even if the third caregiver only intends to grow 12 plants, or the
most a single patient can have attributed to them.

O'Reilly said the purpose is to snuff out larger-scale grow
operations by expressly prohibiting them.

In some states that have medical marijuana laws, growing cooperatives
are the preferred means of production.

Cooperatives combine dozens of caregivers' crops under one roof,
achieving greater economies of scale for utilities and supplies.

Also under the new ordinance, grow houses would be prohibited within
1,000 feet of worship sites, schools, playgrounds and other places
frequented by children. Additionally, they could not be within 1,000
feet of a business zoned for adult use, like a strip club.

Caregivers who aren't growing enough to meet the minimum registration
requirements could still request a free inspection by the city. The
thought behind the inspections is that it would allow the city to
know where it has grow houses, and also make sure there are no safety
hazards posed by the setups.

"Those systems require a tremendous amount of electricity and water
usage so you can have issues with unsafe wiring, mold and mildew,"
O'Reilly said.

Since the medical marijuana law was adopted, Dearborn Police narcotic
officers have been monitoring grow operations that have sprung up,
but left them alone if they appear to be operating within the law,
city officials said. If the ordinance passes, the narcotics division
would be responsible for enforcement.

At a study session Tuesday, some City Council members asked to have
the ordinance expanded to include a notification process for landlords.

"We have a lot of absentee landlords (in Dearborn), and I know if the
city comes out to inspect one of my houses I would want to know,"
said Council President Tom Tafelski.

City attorney Laurie Sabon-Ellerbrake expressed apprehension because
of medical privacy issues, but said she would look into it.

If the ordinance passes, it would become the second piece of
legislation on city books prompted by medical marijuana.

Last year, proposals for medical-marijuana related businesses were
the driving force behind a zoning ordinance that prohibits the use of
a building for any purpose that is against local, state and federal
laws or any purpose that is not expressly permitted by city code.
While the ordinance doesn't specifically reference medical marijuana,
city attorneys acknowledge that medical marijuana was the impetus.

The situation in Dearborn is indicative of those facing
municipalities across the state when it comes to medical marijuana.
The law permitting it has been characterized by critics and
proponents alike as not being detailed enough when it comes to
commercial operations, distribution methods, and licensure.

The law, for example, doesn't contain legal definitions for the
verbiage, which is standard practice for legislative writing.

The ambiguities have led local units of government to try to sort out
the law for themselves. The actions have ranged from outright bans of
medical marijuana facilities, like in Dearborn Heights, to zoning restrictions.

The confusion, and the differing enforcement approaches it has
spawned, has resulted in several lawsuits.

Dearborn officials said they hope by showing tolerance of medical
marijuana it would blunt any potential legal claims.

"We're framing this issue so that if we did go to court the issue
would be whether we have a reasonable standard, O'Reilly said. "I
don't think we'll be challenged because I don't think (medical
marijuana proponents) want to challenge a community that has a
reasonable (ordinance)."