HOLLAND SAYS YOU CAN'T GROW, DISPENSE MEDICAL MARIJUANA NEAR SCHOOLS,
PLAYGROUNDS

HOLLAND -- Amid threats of legal action by a statewide pro-medical
marijuana organization, the Holland City Council on Wednesday passed
an ordinance that allows caregivers to grow marijuana in their own
homes, but not if they're within 1,000 feet of a school.

The council voted 7-2 in favor of the ordinance, which allows medical
marijuana as a home occupation, meaning those who grow small amounts
of marijuana for medicinal purposes would have to register with the
city. It bans cooperatives and large-scale dispensaries.

"It's not perfect. I would hope people would have patience," said
Councilwoman Nancy DeBoer, who voted in favor of the ordinance.

"We've tried to protect those people who need protection and help
those people who need help."

But Joe Cain, chief executive officer of the Michigan Medical
Marijuana Association, blasted the Holland ordinance as
unconstitutional.

"It criminalizes medical marijuana," said Cain, whose organization is
already pursuing legal action against neighboring Holland Township
over its medical marijuana ordinance, alleging the township violated
the state's Open Meetings Act. "The patient's ability to obtain
medicine will disappear."

The most controversial part of the ordinance was the amendment adding
a 1,000-foot "safe zone" around schools, colleges and playgrounds,
within which a caregiver would not be able to grow and dispense marijuana.

That amendment, earlier rejected by the Planning Commission as too
restrictive, squeezed by the council on a 5-4 vote.

"This is very important for me as a parent, for living in this
community," said Suzette Staal, a former teacher and mother of two who
lives on W. 21st Street, who favors the safe zone.

While favoring the overall ordinance, Mayor Kurt Dykstra voted against
allowing the safe zone. "It tends to eviscerate large pockets of the
city from this legislation," said Dykstra, who earlier opposed the
measure at the Planning Commission.

Voting in favor of the safe zone were DeBoer and Councilmen Jay
Peters, Brian Burch, Todd Whiteman and Dave Hoekstra. Voting against
the amendment were Dykstra, Mayor Pro Tem Bob Vande Vusse, and
councilmen Shawn Miller and Mike Trethewey, who voted against both the
amendment and the overall ordinance.

"My bottom line here is no matter which way you cut it, (marijuana) is
illegal in the eyes of the federal government," Trethewey said.

"There is no other drug that is prescribed that you don't get from a
licensed pharmacist. Why should this be any different?"

The council added the safe zone after reviewing two memorandums from
the U.S. Department of Justice, including one issued last in April,
that support the establishment of drug-free zones in areas where
medical marijuana laws have passed. But one medical marijuana
supporter argued that provision was directed toward states, not local
communities.

"They're looking at state-run dispensaries. It does not apply to a
city like Holland," said Monica Bakker, a spokeswoman for Patient
Solutions 420, a medical marijuana dispensary located just east of the
city limits, on Eighth Street in Holland Township.

Caregivers could grow up to 12 marijuana plants for themselves and up
to five patients, for a maximum of 72 plants. The plants must be grown
in an enclosed area of the home, and cannot take up more than 50
percent of the floor area of one story of the home. The home must also
go through an inspection process before approval, officials said.