POT SPOT UNDER FIRE

OWOSSO - A packed room of Owosso residents and St. Paul Catholic
Church parishioners attended Monday's city council meeting to express
their concerns about 21 Herbal, a medical marijuana facility, across
M-21 from the church and its school.

"We are here tonight to express our concern and, I think, even our
outrage that there is a medical marijuana business directly across
the street from our school. In fact, if you look out the first-grade
classroom that's what you'll see," St. Paul Pastor Father John Fain
said. "We're concerned at a lot of levels. We're concerned about the
safety of our students and, frankly, we're concerned about the impact
that this could have on the enrollment of our school. Will
prospective parents want to send their children to a school that is
right across the street from a medical marijuana business?"

Many of those who spoke before the council during an extended public
comment period that went beyond the 30-minute time limit asked for
some sort of ordinance or moratorium either banning such facilities
or to buy time to put in a zoning ordinance to limit where they can operate.

Owosso City Council members voted 5-2 in February against a 90-day
moratorium aimed at new businesses growing and selling marijuana.
According to a draft of the ordinance, the moratorium would have
given city staff and council time to investigate the city's ability
to regulate marijuana businesses, as well as develop and implement
regulations. The moratorium, however, would not have affected current
medical marijuana businesses.

Several marijuana-related businesses already operate within the city of Owosso.

Owosso City Council previously decided to not move forward with a
90-day moratorium on new medical marijuana-associated businesses in August.

Monday, officials said a moratorium would simply be a moratorium on
nothing. It would include wording that would delay any medical
marijuana business from opening within the city, but according to
city manager Don Crawford, the city doesn't have the authority or
ability to enforce a moratorium.

"The issue at that point was that you're putting a moratorium on
what? We don't have licenses and there is nothing if you open one of
these establishments that requires anybody to come to the city for
any reason at all," he said. "It's like if I go out and open up a
hair salon, as long as its zoning is correct for a business I can
open it up. I don't have to come to the city for anything."

As far as other municipalities across the state that did implement
moratoriums, city attorney William Brown said they were simply "bluffing."

Crawford said if a municipality requires businesses to acquire a
license, then a moratorium could be placed on licenses. Owosso does
not require businesses to acquire licenses with the city.

Corunna, Durand and Shiawassee County all have temporary moratoriums
in place. Perry's council passed an ordinance stating federal law,
which outlaws marijuana, takes precedent over state law.

Since the state law's adoption in November of 2008, many officials
and state residents have said the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law is
ambiguous and confusing. The law restricts the sale of medical
marijuana to qualifying patients and their caregivers, but provides
little guidance beyond that.

Patients with medical marijuana cards are allowed to possess up to 12
ounces of marijuana and/or can grow up to 12 plants in an enclosed
and locked facility within their home. A caregiver, on the other
hand, can grow and provide medical marijuana for up to five
qualifying patients as long as they fall within the same guidelines
of a locked facility.

However, there is very little dialogue regarding "grow facilities"
that serve qualifying patients. There is even less in the law
regarding the zoning of such facilities, which is exactly what was at
issue at the council meeting Monday night.

Some residents asked why the city doesn't create a zoning ordinance
that restricts where the facilities can open and, especially in the
case of St. Paul's School, regulate the distance from children and
academic institutions?

In fact, the city's planning commission is working on an ordinance
that will include 1,000-foot buffer zones around schools, places of
worship, etc., commonly seen with liquor stores and adult book
stores. However, there is nothing currently in the city's zoning laws
that regulates distance.

The 1,000-foot rule for businesses that sell alcohol or adult
material was put in place at the state level. That is not the case
with medical marijuana.

Public Safety Director Mike Compeau said he consulted with
prosecuting attorney Randy Colbry on the issue of medical marijuana
facilities and was told the medical marijuana law supercedes the
1,000-foot rule.

Brown said if that is the case, which he is not sure it is, the
medical marijuana would also supercede any local ordinance.

The question then was raised whether federal law supercedes other
jurisdictions. Brown said it does if federal agents enforce it. The
city does not have the authority to enforce federal law.

Regarding the facility across from St. Paul School, officials said it
opened prior to any zoning ordinance in Owosso.

According to Adam Zettel, Owosso assistant city manager, a new
ordinance would limit any new establishments from opening near any
school, but operational businesses would be "grandfathered in."

"Had we had this ordinance in place two weeks ago there would have
been something we could have done in this instance," he said. "Can we
handle these situations in the future? I think we can. Can we do any
thing about this specific incidence or establishment? I would say
with a pretty high degree of confidence that we can't, but I'm not sure."

Following the lengthy discussion, primarily about the newly opened
medical marijuana facility located across the street from St. Paul
School, council gave permission to Brown to consult with the county
prosecutor about the possibility that the state's 1,000-foot rule
could apply to medical marijuana facilities and, therefore, put the
facility in question in violation of that rule.