MUNICIPALITIES SHOULD SEIZE OPPORTUNITY TO REGULATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Last week the Dexter Village Council made a very wise decision
regarding medical marijuana dispensaries: they decided to get with
surrounding townships for a regional approach to regulation.

It was an idea taken from what the city of Holland is doing with its
neighboring townships, and after doing some research and thinking on
the matter, regional regulation strikes me as the best approach.

It's certainly better than banning medical marijuana outright. Set
aside for a moment the arguments over state's rights and think of the
moral implications.

While some of the characters eager to dish medicinal marijuana out to
patients are a bit "out there" due to their insistence on infusing
this struggle with already established recreational pot culture, the
folks who have the go-ahead to use medical marijuana from their
legitimate physicians are just normal people.

I can understand the desire to seek alternatives to traditional pain
medications now that I receive regular prescriptions for Vicodin and
other pain relievers after an automobile accident late last year.

My long-term alternative to pain medications, which sometimes make me
ill, is physical therapy.

Unfortunately someone with cancer can't just lie down on an exercise
mat and do stretches and sit-ups.

The thought of having to take Vicodin for the rest of my life is
terrifying. The thought of not having a legal alternative from
Vicodin, which clouds my mind and wrenches my gut, compounds that feeling.

My expectation back in 2008 when Michigan voters said "yes" to
medical marijuana was that forward thinking communities would pull
together with law enforcement and be there to help legitimate outfits
thrive and dominate the marketplace - crowding out crooked operators.

Not nearly enough local governments have lived up to that
expectation. Sometimes when I talk about this with local officials or
attend a meeting I get the feeling that some folks aren't separating
banning medical marijuana from the idea of eradicating illegal
selling and recreational use of marijuana full stop.

Despite the good job local police do keeping narcotics cases out of
the newspapers, there are people in Washtenaw County selling and
using marijuana illegally, and they'll continue to do so regardless
of dispensaries.

Luckily Dexter village and the townships of Lima, Dexter, Scio and
Webster can begin having a broad discussion on the topic.

It doesn't make sense to put regulation in place in the village only
to have one or more townships pass conflicting regulation or none at all.

In the village's case, officials want to keep dispensaries away from
schools and out of the downtown district.

What if a gas station or party store on the outskirts of the village
started operating as a dispensary?

They need to go somewhere, because despite what federal law says, the
voters of Michigan said "yes" on this matter.

Municipalities can either take this opportunity to help legitimize
something that by all rights should be legitimate and permissible in
Washtenaw County, or they can sit on their hands and wait for the
lawsuits ... for the opportunity to exert positive influence on the
future medical marijuana cottage industry is out of reach.