ROYAL OAK BANS POT GROWING, ALLOWS QUALIFIED IN-HOME USE

Royal Oak- Medical marijuana growing is now banned in the city, but
qualified patients will be allowed to continue to use the drug in
their homes, under a new city ordinance.

The City Commission approved the ordinance 4-3 early Tuesday morning
after a nearly six-hour meeting that began Monday night.

"We needed to have some compassion for the few people who really need
to try medical marijuana to relieve symptoms of serious illnesses,"
said Commissioner Charles Semchena, who previously worked in the drug
unit of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. "But growing it in
every house, condo and apartment was too much and could lead to
distribution to kids."

Twelve marijuana plants in one year yields about four harvests and
could provide enough marijuana for about 21,000 cigarettes, Semchena
said, citing a report by Royal Oak police and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The law goes into effect Feb. 4, nine days before the city's 120-day
moratorium on marijuana dispensaries was set to expire Feb. 13.

Livonia, a Wayne County suburb, and Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills
in Oakland County banned medical marijuana facilities altogether,
citing federal law that declares the drug illegal.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed suit against those
communities, claiming that they were violating the state's medical
marijuana law.

Michigan voters approved the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act in 2008
to allow patients with qualified medical conditions to use the drug.
The act allows caregivers to grow up to 12 plants for five patients.

Local governments have taken varied actions in response to the state
legislation - some by regulating dispensaries through land use and
zoning laws, and some by licensing and regulating marijuana
cultivation and storage.

Royal Oak city attorney David W. Gillam provided city officials at
Monday night's meeting with five options, including inaction, which
would lead to application processing for dispensaries in zoned sites;
a moratorium extension; a full ban on dispensaries and in-home use
and cultivation; in-home cultivation by a patient or caregiver in a
patient's home; or another ordinance. They chose the fifth option -
to create a new law.