MICHIGAN'S HAZY MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW COMPLICATES HEATED DEBATE

As Regulation Pops Up, Hopes Are State Lawmakers Will Clarify Statute

When Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a medicinal marijuana
ballot measure in 2008, R.D. Winthrop hoped it would usher in a new
era in which arthritis sufferers like him could medicate in peace.

Two years later, the Lansing man is not so sure.

Every couple of weeks, Winthrop, 63, said he hears about new medical
marijuana regulation passed by a mid-Michigan municipality, including
a one-year moratorium on marijuana dispensaries issued this month in Lansing.

He contends officials are ignoring the will of voters and fears one
day he'll lose his freedom to grow the medical herb under the
crushing weight of local ordinances.

"They don't like it. They don't understand it," Winthrop said of
mid-Michigan officials. "They think we're criminals, we've been
criminalized for so long. We're like second-class citizens."

But leaders in Lansing, Williamston, East Lansing and Delta Township
- - among the handful of mid-Michigan municipalities that have issued
moratoriums for new medical marijuana dispensaries - say they need
time to study a confusing state law so they can protect patients.

A half-dozen other mid-Michigan communities are studying possible
moratoriums. Some officials hope state lawmakers will act in coming
months to clarify the statute.

"I think the Legislature needs to, because us officials are all out
here on the 'Twilight Zone' on this thing," said Jon Bayless, city
administrator for Grand Ledge.

Most recently, Delhi Township passed an 180-day moratorium on new
medical marijuana dispensaries. Grand Ledge has taken a step further
by temporarily outlawing growing marijuana within the city limits,
which critics say violates state law allowing a patient to grow a
limited amount of marijuana for his or her own use.

This month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan took aim
at municipal ordinances such as Grand Ledge's when it filed suit
against Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Livonia for adopting
ordinances that completely ban medical marijuana.

"We're hoping (the lawsuit) will serve as a deterrent and a notice to
other communities that medical marijuana users have rights under the
law that can't be negated by local ordinance," said Dan Korobkin,
staff attorney for the ACLU.

Since the state began implementing the medical marijuana law in April
2009, law enforcement agencies and communities have wrestled with an
herb suddenly legalized for medicinal purposes. Complicating matters
is that the new law never defined how patients or caregivers could
legally acquire even marijuana seeds, much less authorize
dispensaries or pharmacies to dispense the drug.

Also, there is the thorny detail that all marijuana use remains
illegal under federal law.

Dispensaries Abound

In mid-Michigan, the rapid growth of medical marijuana dispensaries
has proven to be controversial. More than 60 medical marijuana
dispensaries have registered with the city of Lansing, prompting the
City Council this month to pass its one-year moratorium on new dispensaries.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero fought the moratorium, contending its
supporters were trying to usurp the will of state voters. But
supporters say it makes sense to study how best to regulate the
budding industry before it transformed the city into an "Amsterdam" -
the European city that is a focal point for legalized drugs.

In mid-Michigan, the biggest spotlight has shone on a medical
marijuana dispensary that opened in the spring in Williamstown
Township - an establishment that doubled as a club where patients
could smoke the product. Two months later, authorities raided the
Green Leaf Smokers Club and arrested its founder, Wayne Frederick
Dagit, after police say he agreed to buy 50 pounds of marijuana from
an undercover informant.

Dispensaries have been controversial because critics say state
statute does not expressly permit them. But supporters rightly note
there is nothing that prohibits them. What state law says is simply
this: Patients can grow up to 12 marijuana plants and have 2.5 ounces
of marijuana for themselves, or a caregiver to grow up to 12 plants
for up to five patients each.

Supporters say dispensaries are merely centralized locations where
patients can buy the marijuana grown by their specific caregivers.
Critics contend such dispensaries should be licensed in a manner
similar to pharmacies.

No Other Choice

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said the state law is so
poorly drafted that municipalities have no choice but step in and
regulate dispensaries. He said some dispensaries may illegally be
placing marijuana supplied by caregivers into a single pool of pot
and dispensing it to patients instead of matching a caregiver's
marijuana to an assigned patient.

"It's clear to me that the only way there is going to be an effective
regulation of this mess is localities doing it by ordinance and
zoning ordinance," Dunnings said.

Critics have contended cities and townships have no business
regulating what a state ballot measure has established as an
individual right. But East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said
cities have traditionally more closely regulated services authorized
by state law.

"Alcohol is allowed (by state law), and cities regulate where and
when alcohol can be consumed," Staton said. "Hazardous waste
fatalities are allowed and cities regulate where they can be.
Regulating land use through zoning is a long established
responsibility of local government."

ACLU's Korobkin agreed a state law often specifically gives
communities the right to regulate a business, as it does with liquor
sales. However, he argued the medical marijuana law makes clear
medicinal marijuana patients have a right to grow a limited amount of
the herb for their use and communities such as Grand Ledge can't
restrict that right with a growing ban.

Grand Ledge's Bayless said city officials banned growing marijuana
partly because federal law still makes the activity illegal. The
city's 90-day moratorium expires Dec. 22, and city officials will
consider whether to extend it again.

Bayless said he respects the will of voters who approved medicinal
marijuana but suspects many didn't anticipate marijuana would become
so visible and prevalent.

"You didn't think about having dispensaries or marijuana patches in
your neighbor's backyard," Bayless said. "I had the image that a
medical marijuana user would have the ability to go to a pharmacy and
get their marijuana."

Senate Bill in Works

Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Muskegon, has sponsored a Senate bill that
would allow the state to closely regulate the growth of marijuana. It
would have called for the state to license up to 10 medical marijuana
growing facilities in Michigan, which would supply marijuana for all
medical marijuana patients in the states.

All other growing would be banned. The bill has stalled in the
Judiciary Committee.

State Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, who has introduced a bill to
ban to marijuana consumption at dispensaries, said he would have
preferred to see state law require patients to acquire marijuana
directly from pharmacies.

But he said it would be difficult to begin to overhaul the state law
now. It would take a three-fourths majority in the House and Senate
to overturn provisions of a ballot measure approved by voters.

"I think the genie is out of the box, and it would be hard to put
back in," Jones said.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA PRIMER

What medical conditions are eligible for using medicinal marijuana?
They include cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease or other conditions
involving chronic pain, nausea or muscle spasms.

How does one apply for a medical marijuana card? Register with the
Michigan Department of Community Health, Bureau of Health
Professions, P.O. Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909. Applicants must fill
out a department form and provide a physician's written certification
of eligibility.

Where can the marijuana be consumed? While carrying a state registry
card, you may consume marijuana in your home or other nonpublic area.
You may not possess the drug in a school bus, on any school grounds
or in a correctional facility. You may not smoke it on any bus or public area.

How much marijuana can you have? Under the law, patients can possess
2.5 ounces of marijuana and 12 marijuana plants for personal use;
caregivers, authorized by the state to provide the marijuana, can
possess a similar amount for each patient, up to five persons. Users
and caregivers must keep all marijuana under lock and key.

Source: Michigan Department of Community Health