PLANNING COMMISSION PASSES AMENDMENT TO OUTLAW MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Vote Goes to Township Board Next

Holland Township, MI - The Holland Township Planning Commission on
Tuesday forwarded to the township board an ordinance amendment that,
if passed, would likely make medical marijuana dispensaries illegal in
the township.

The amendment prohibits any uses not expressly allowed in the
township's existing ordinance, and it will be up to township zoning
administrator Jon Mersman to determine if medical marijuana
dispensaries meet those zoning requirements.

"If it's not listed, it's not permitted," Mersman said.

Mersman said the township board likely will hear a first reading of
the ordinance at is March 17 meeting and could take action as early as
its first meeting in April.

Currently, Patient Solutions 420 is the only dispensary operating
within the township.

Matt Abel, an attorney with Cannabis Counsel representing the local
business, described the ordinance as "unconstitutionally vague"
because it leaves too much to the discretion of the local zoning
administrator.

"I think they need to hear from more patients who are benefiting from
quality medicine," Abel said.

The planning commission also tabled an ordinance outlining the
licensing requirements of medical marijuana caregivers. The
commission, at the recommendation of commissioner Dennis Gebben,
instead asked that a subcommittee be formed to further study the issue.

The subcommittee would include three members of the planning
commission and three members of the township board.

"We've never had a sit down session where we get into this in detail,"
Gebben said. "We have never had a discussion with the township board
saying why they want us to do this."

Rodney Fuentes, a consultant for Patient Solutions 420, was concerned
that the township allowed the business to open in the fall, and that
it may be forced to shut down, leaving it's 600 patients with few
alternatives.

"This is a state law that was voted on by the people of this state.
Who is Holland Township to change that for us?" he said. "There are a
lot of people in this room we helped get off the pills and the other
medication they are on.

"We have done everything at Patient Solutions to do this clean and to
do this legally so we can get this stigma off this medicine."

Wes Bennett, 39, a cancer survivor from Fennville, said he began using
marijuana about nine years ago to offset the side effects of
chemotherapy. His cancer is now in remission, but he still uses
medical marijuana to help manage pain and other lingering effects of
the treatment.

He his not yet prepared to grow marijuana on its own, and relies on a
dispensary for his medication.

"I love life ... however, it would be nice not to hurt so much,"
Bennett said. "There are many who don't have the ability to produce
their own."