BURTON PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE;
COUNCIL TO VOTE IN JANUARY

BURTON, Michigan - City Council members will have their say on
regulating medical marijuana businesses in January after the city
Planning Commission approved guidelines for dispensaries, compassion
clubs and growing facilities.

City attorney Richard Austin and Department of Public Works employee
Amber Frost have been crafting the ordinance, which mimics the one
created in Imlay Township, since October.

Under the proposed ordinance:

* Dispensaries, growing facilities, or compassion clubs must be at
least 500 feet from another dispensary; 200 feet from a residential
district; 1,000 feet from a school, nursery, licensed day care center
or other building used for care or instruction of children; 1,000 feet
from any church or other religious facility; and 1,000 feet from a
public park.

* Dispensaries must be owned or operated by two unrelated primary
caregivers. All employees would have to have either a primary
caregivers card or a patient card issued by the state.

* Clubs and dispensaries could operate in the general business
district and in the light industrial district. Growers could only
operate in the light industrial district.

* Facilities could operate only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

* People under 18 years old will not be allowed inside any of the
premises, unless they have a valid state medical marijuana registry
card.

* Dispensaries must maintain records on where their inventory comes
from.

* Businesses must have an alarm system, video surveillance cameras,
and proper ventilation, must operate in an enclosed structure and will
be subject to random inspections by the city and law enforcement.

A stipulation was removed calling for one caregiver per every 1,300
square foot of a building.

Jeremy Rupinkski, director of the Genesee County Compassion Club,
questioned if requiring all employees working at one of the sites to
possess a medical marijuana card would violate the equal employment
opportunity laws.

"We just want to make sure they clarified that in the ordinance," said
Rupinski, who called the wording by the city "a positive-based
ordinance headed in the right direction."

"They seem open-minded to listen," he said.

Rupinski has been in discussions with city officials about the
ordinance and was pleased with what he read and the fact it "creates a
clear path to operate" while addressing any concerns from the public.

Burton has good potential for drawing in medical marijuana business,
with "a lot of retail and industrial space available" and many of the
club's members are from the area, Rupinski said.

City Council members must approve the ordinance twice before it
becomes law. Businesses could begin opening in February or March if it
is approved next month, Frost said.