MARIJUANA LAW NEEDS ADJUSTMENT

Say what you will about Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act, but one
point is beyond dispute: The industry it spawned is a moneymaker --
and a source of new revenue to state government.

Two years after the law took effect, medical marijuana has made more
than an $8 million profit, according to a new study from the state
Medical Marihuana Program. The industry grossed almost $9.7 million,
and $1.5 million of its expenses went to licensing marijuana patients
and their caregivers.

It's ironic that this expanding new industry and the needed revenue
it is providing to the coffers of state government is fraught with so
many problems.

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act is a contradiction. State voters
approved medical marijuana use in 2008. More than two and half years
later, how the drug is used and where it can be sold is anybody's guess.

Growers and sellers run the risk of arrest. Law enforcement agencies
believe the medical law shields drug dealing.

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said 100 people have been
charged with dealing drugs under the guise of medical-marijuana sales
and distribution since the law took effect. State Attorney General
Bill Schuette said the law "has nothing about authorizing dispensaries."

The state is unable to keep up with the demand for registering
medical marijuana users. Ten full-time employees in the state
Department of Community Health simply aren't enough to process 550
applications a day from Michigan residents seeking permits to use or
grow the drug.

Municipalities coping with the law's gray areas are opting for
moratoriums on medical marijuana centers in the absence of clarity
about how they can zone and manage the businesses.

Surely Michigan's lawmakers can take a hard look at the medical
marijuana law and make some overdue adjustments.

Legislation must clarify who can grow and dispense marijuana and
where. It must keep convicted drug felons from growing or selling
marijuana and it must designate where the drug can be grown.

It must provide zoning standards that affirm the right of
municipalities to determine where dispensaries can operate. Doing
business near a school, for example, should not be allowed.

Provisions must be created to protect lawful users, dispensers and
growers from police harassment. If their permits are in order, they
should be able to consume, sell or grow the drug without fear of arrest.

It is obvious by now that medical marijuana is an expanding industry.
The state should treat it as such. Some of the revenue government has
received clearly must go to hiring more workers to process use and
cultivation applications.

Medical marijuana is part of Michigan's future. State voters have seen to that.

State lawmakers must make the law workable.