PORTAGE PREPARES TO ACT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

PORTAGE -- Medical marijuana is back on the agenda in Portage. The
Portage City Council is expected to resume discussion and vote Tuesday
of a proposed ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana as a
home occupation.

The next step follows a July 12 public hearing at which four people
questioned the proposed ordinance, prompting the city council to table
discussion and ask for more information. In particular, the council
sought more details involving occupational safety issues and the
distance a marijuana dispensary can be located from schools and parks.

The council has asked the city administration to provide more
information on those concerns, which City Manager Maurice Evans said
he will do. But, Evans said last week, "we're not recommending any
changes be made to the proposal."

In January, the council approved a six-month moratorium on
medical-marijuana operations or businesses in the city and asked the
Planning Commission to come up with a proposed regulation.

The Planning Commission spent weeks reviewing it, took comments from
only two people and unanimously recommended approval of the new
proposed ordinance. The moratorium ends July 30.

The ordinance amendment is similar to guidelines that have been used
for months in the cities of Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. It regulates
the dispensing of medical marijuana, such as hours of operation,
parking, number of caregivers and patients, and distances from schools.

The ordinance amendment that is being proposed would allow a home
occupation with no more than one primary caregiver who can cultivate
no more than 12 marijuana plants per patient. It also allows
possession up to the maximum permitted by law -- 2.5 ounces for each
patient.

The medical marijuana dispensary could not be within 1,000 feet of a
school or playground, which Councilman Terry Urban noted seems to rule
out several neighborhoods in the city. The 1,000-foot limit is the
same distance as used in federal drug-free zones.

Plants would have to be grown indoors, within locked enclosures.
Patients can only visit between 8 a.m.-8 p.m., with no more than five
patients allowed at one time.

The ordinance would be enforced by the Community Development
Department and the Portage Police Department.