PETITION EFFORT TO BLOCK CLINIC SEEKS 2,900 SIGNATURES

Doctor Certifies Patients for Medical Marijuana at Another Location

MERIDIAN TWP. - Petitioners have until Tuesday to collect signatures
in their bid to block a medical clinic proposed by a doctor who
certifies medical marijuana patients at another location.

Signatures must be turned in to the Meridian Township clerk's office
by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Petition gatherers are seeking 2,900 signatures; 2,387 of the signers
must be validated as township voters for a measure blocking the
clinic to be placed on a ballot.

Okemos attorney William Fahey, whose law office borders the proposed
clinic, said last week he believes about 2,000 signatures had been
gathered so far.

"There could be more out there, but obviously we don't want to have
too few," Fahey said.

If petitioners are successful, a ballot proposal will ask township
voters to reverse the rezoning of 4133 Okemos Road back to
single-family residential from professional office.

Board members voted 4-2 March 1 in favor of the rezoning.

Shannon Wiggins, an Okemos resident, and her husband want to open a
medical clinic in a former KinderCare location that had been vacant
for two years before the couple purchased it in 2010.

Wiggins is seeking a second location, citing heavy demand for her
services and those of fellow physicians at her clinic on Michigan
Avenue in Lansing.

Opponents of the rezoning say Wiggins already is certifying patients'
eligibility for medical marijuana cards at her Lansing clinic and are
concerned she will do so in Okemos.

Medical certifications are required under the Michigan Medical
Marijuana Act, passed by voters in 2008.

Opponents say they also are concerned about the building's proximity
to Chippewa Middle School.

The clerk's office must certify that each signature was from a
registered voter in the township. If enough signatures are verified,
the township board then will decide when to put it on the ballot.