MARIJUANA LAW NEEDS CLARIFICATION

Whatever comes of Kimball Township's zoning dispute with Jim and
Debra Amsdill, one thing is clear: Michigan lawmakers have neglected
their responsibility to clarify the state's medical marijuana law.

The Amsdills own the Blue Water Compassion Center, one of an
increasing number of businesses throughout Michigan that accommodate
state-licensed medical marijuana patients.

The center is in a strip mall on Lapeer Road in Kimball -- nearly
across the street from Landmark Academy. Kimball officials say such a
facility shouldn't be that close to a school.

Two years ago, Michigan voters approved the medical marijuana law
with the best of intentions. Those with proven medical needs for the
drug ought to be able to use it without facing criminal consequences.

The law's aim, however, has been harmed by its application.
Communities throughout the state have struggled to manage marijuana
clinics that emerged. With no clear provisions as to how close the
facilities should be to day-care facilities, churches and schools,
municipalities have been forced to figure that out for themselves.

Unlike some communities, Kimball isn't trying to ban its marijuana
center. The zoning ordinance township officials adopted Dec. 7
prevents such facilities from operating 1,000 feet or less from
parks, churches or schools.

The Amsdills' business is less than 500 feet from Landmark Academy.
Township Supervisor Rob Usakowski hopes to persuade the couple to
reopen their center in another location that won't violate the ordinance.

That brings us back to the state Legislature. Despite the need to
clarify the law, Lansing has done nothing to address the questions
and concerns with which local governments are coping.

The medical marijuana law doesn't address compassion care centers.
Yet the centers' advocates contend these facilities have the right to
operate -- and that includes distributing marijuana and allowing
buyers to smoke the drug on the centers' premises.

Marijuana is big business. California is proof. Since the state
legalized medical marijuana use in 1996, the drug has yielded as much
as $105 million a year in sales tax revenues.

California cities also are struggling to manage the law's effects.
Los Angeles tried to reduce the number marijuana dispensaries --
there were more than 600 before the city passed an ordinance this
year to restrict them.

Kimball's new ordinance also prohibits the use of marijuana and the
sale of drug paraphernalia at those facilities. Whether the ordinance
stands ultimately could depend on the courts.

Lansing must make the law's clarification a priority. The disputes in
Kimball and many other communities must to be resolved.