DIVIDED OVER MEDICAL POT

SAGINAW - Two Saginaw businessmen think purchasing an ounce of
high-grade medical marijuana should be no more tedious than a drive
to Walgreens for a prescription.

But Saginaw County and city legal leaders say medical marijuana
dispensaries, like the several exchanges that operate in Bay County,
are illegal.

With regard to dispensaries, it looks like Saginaw leaders won't have
the luxury of waiting for legal precedent regarding distribution of
medical marijuana, as Saginaw Attorney Thomas H. Fancher said he had hoped.

Offering their own interpretation of the law are Keith E. Beyerlein
and Christopher J. Krieger, both of Reese, owners of GrowMart, a
hydroponics store at 2135 Warwick in Saginaw that markets indoor
growing equipment to medical marijuana green thumbs.

Beyerlein references the decision by Isabella County Trial Court
Judge Paul H. Chamberlain, who in December ruled that because of
ambiguous language in the 2008-passed Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,
a Mount Pleasant dispensary named Compassionate Apothecary operated
within the law as a business that facilitated "patient-to-patient"
marijuana transfers for a fee.

That decision - which is under appeal and not a binding precedent -
in part prompted Beyerlein, 26, and Krieger, 28, to file for a
business license application at City Hall in Saginaw on Wednesday to
open Safemeds, a medical marijuana dispensary, at 2133 Warwick, next
door to their hydroponics business.

"It's hard to tell what it really is ... because they're holding the
details a little close to their chest," said Fancher, who requested
more information from the men before he said the city will proceed
with the application process.

Beyerlein said if it's allowed to open, the business will operate as
such: Caregivers will prove they are state-certified growers and pay
to become members and store their marijuana and plants in
state-compliant enclosures at the business.

Patients, whose credentials also would be reviewed, become members
and then are able to purchase marijuana from the caretakers'
inventory, regardless of whether the patient registered the caretaker
as their own with the state.

No smoking of marijuana will be allowed on premises.

Beyerlein, though registered with the state, declined to say what
ailment led him to become a medical marijuana patient.

He hopes to expand the dispensary to become a marijuana growing school.

Though the ultimate decision is Saginaw City Manager Darnell
Earley's, Fancher said dispensaries, regardless of if they are legal
under Saginaw zoning and business ordinances, violate the "sloppily
written" state law, which he said limits marijuana transfers to
patients only from their state-registered, designated caretaker.

The law states that "a registered primary caregiver may assist not
more than five qualifying patients with their medical use of marihuana."

If the business did receive city clearance to open shop, Saginaw
County Prosecutor Michael D. Thomas said it'll face other foes,
including the Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office and the Saginaw
Police Department, who could seize property, criminally prosecute or
obtain a legal order for Safemeds to cease operations.

Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel was out of the office
recovering from an illness this week and unavailable for comment.

Thomas said the decision in Isabella County, which he disagrees with,
twisted the meaning of the law.

Authorities in several other counties, including Ingham and Oakland,
have ruled to the contrary of the Isabella ruling, Thomas said,
though he did not identify the specific cases.

"I'm not aware of anything (in the law) that permits this dispensary
here or anywhere else, but the bottom line is we will enforce the
state controlled substance laws," Thomas said. "The position is that
there is no permission within the state law that allows for
dispensing to occur in the manner that's being talked about, so
hopefully they'll follow the law."

Beyerlein and Krieger said they intend to proceed with their plans.

"They can see what other cities have done, and it is my civil right
to do this," said Beyerlein. "I'm not going to stop out of fear."

The Bay City Commission on Monday, after several operations calling
themselves dispensaries or compassion clubs opened for business,
passed a six-month marijuana business moratorium to provide time to
create regulations, as well as for court to rule on the legality of
dispensaries.

The Saginaw City Council tabled a proposed six-month moratorium in
December of 2009 and instead conducted several "productive" meetings
with members of the medical marijuana community, said Councilman Paul
T. Virciglio.

"But we did say to them the question about dispensaries needed
clarification," Virciglio said. "I interpreted the law, personally,
that dispensaries are not in the law, so it's illegal. "Eventually,
you're going to need to have the state step up and clarify the
intention of the marijuana law."

State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, commissioned a task force in
January that plans to propose state legislation after sifting through
the long list of questions arising from ambiguity and ignored aspects
of the law, including whether dispensaries are legal and how they
will operate, said state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township.

Until legal precedents are set, which could take years, or state
legislators intervene, it will be up to city officials and county
courts to determine the meaning of the law and whether businesses
like Safemeds should be allowed to exist, Thomas said.

Beyerlein and Krieger said they hope to talk to City Council at its
next meeting and are open to conversations with city and county
leaders, but they aren't going to back down.

"We're not going anywhere," Beyerlein said. "This is the future."