STATE SENATOR TARGETS MARIJUANA BARS

Jones Seeks Ban on Consumption at Dispensaries

Taxation of medical marijuana and new regulations for marijuana
dispensaries may be sprouting later this year under the green thumb
of a mid-Michigan lawmaker.

Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican, is leading the charge to
take a fresh look at the state's 2-year-old medical marijuana law,
which critics have said is ambiguous and not sufficiently restrictive
on how the drug is dispensed.

This month, Jones reintroduced legislation in the GOP-controlled
Senate to ban "medical marijuana bars," or dispensaries that allow
patients to buy marijuana and consume it on site. A similar bill
sponsored by Jones died last year in what was a Democratic-controlled House.

Jones now is convening an informal task force to gather information
from interested parties on medical marijuana. His hope is to draft
further legislation, including possibly taxation of medical marijuana
sales or dispensaries, by midsummer.

"When Pfizer manufactures a pill, they get taxed. Why shouldn't
someone who manufactures marijuana get taxed?" said Jones, adding he
is unsure how much money might be generated.

So far, Jones' efforts to further regulate medical marijuana have not
spurred a significant backlash among medical marijuana advocates.

Tim Beck, political director of Oak Park-based Michigan Association
of Compassion Centers, hopes to participate in Jones' task force and
supports the concept of taxing medical marijuana and clarifying laws
related to dispensaries.

"I think Senator Jones is a fair man," Beck said. "We believe in his
concepts, but the devil, in the end, will be in the details. We feel
comfortable working with him."

Grandfather Clause

Citing ambiguities in the medical marijuana law, some mid-Michigan
municipalities, including Lansing, have banned new medical
dispensaries as they draft ordinances regulating how the drug can be dispensed.

For now, more than a dozen marijuana dispensaries are open in
Lansing, operating, essentially, under a grandfather clause.

Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, said she is open to clarifying
regulations related to dispensaries. She said she has heard several
complaints from Lansing residents about the high numbers of dispensaries there.

"We'll be looking at different aspects of the law, not to replace it,
but to clarify it so that cities and townships don't have to deal
with it," said Jones, adding cities now are spending thousands of
dollars on attorney fees.

Jones' bill on marijuana bars was spurred by the May 2010 police raid
on the Green Leaf Smokers Club in Williamstown Township - an
establishment in which owners sold marijuana to medical patients and
allowed them to consume it there. One owner, Fredrick Wayne Dagit,
was arrested after police claimed he tried to buy 50 pounds of
marijuana from an undercover officer.

Voices Concern

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth, who dismissed the Green
Leaf club as a "joke" when it opened in February 2010, said he
remains concerned that those who use marijuana at the establishments
will drive away impaired, presenting a danger on the road. He said he
favors legislation to ban the establishments.

"I shouldn't be the only one concerned," Wriggelsworth said. "The
general public should be concerned by this."

Driving While High

Matt Newburg, a Delta Township attorney who specializes in criminal
defense in medical marijuana-related cases, said he supports banning
the consumption of marijuana at dispensaries, partly because it is
very difficult for authorities to determine whether a patient is driving high.

He noted authorities can use blood-alcohol testing to determine
accurately whether someone is driving drunk, but can only use
marijuana testing to determine whether someone has consumed the drug
in recent days.

"For public health and safety issues, it's a good bill," Newburg
said, "and some of the clients I have had believe the same thing."