CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP SUES MEDICAL POT FACILITY

Township Officials Say It Violates Zoning Ordinance

Chesterfield Township is trying to boot a medical marijuana facility
from its borders by alleging it violates the zoning ordinance.

The township last Friday sued Big Daddy's Management Group and three
individuals in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens for the
medical marijuana facility at 52001 Gratiot Ave., between 23 Mile and
24 Mile roads.

"The use of the property as a marijuana dispensary and retail store is
illegal and a flagrant violation" of the zoning ordinance, the
township says in the lawsuit.

The township says the facility cannot exist in its M-2 (general
manufacturing) zoned area. Its function also fails to meet any of the
10 special land uses, such as landfills, race tracks and junk yards,
as well as the industrial uses allowed in both M-1 an M-2 zoning,
according to the township.

In addition, the defendants failed to obtain a "certificate of zoning
compliance" and never submitted a "site plan for change of use of the
property," the township says.

On top of that, it violates a new township ordinance that specifically
bans a "medical marijuana dispensary, compassion center or other
similar operation for the consumption or distribution of medical
marijuana," the township said.

The accusations spurred an emphatic response from James Rasor, an
attorney who represents Big Daddy's and its owners, Rick and Sue
Ferris, who also operate a facility in Oak Park that was raided by
police in January.

"We have always maintained that our client's operation is completely,
100 percent legal according to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act and
the ordinances of Chesterfield Township," Rasor said.

"All the interaction that goes on between the caregiver and patients
is legal based on the Michigan Medical Marijuana law. The township is
being prejudiced and discriminatory against handicapped people who
have had a license issued by the state that allows them to use medical
marijuana."

Also named was the structure's landlord, Pasquale Acciavatti. His
attorney, Gary Gendernalik, said his client is not involved in the
business' operation.

He said the prior occupant was East Jordan Iron Works, which sold
water mains and pipes and fire hydrants.

State law passed by voters in 2008 allows those who obtain state
certification to use marijuana, per a doctor's prescription, for a
"debilitating medical condition" among those listed in the law or
approved by state health officials. It allows a certified patient to
possess up to 2-1/2 ounces and grow up to 12 plants. Certified
caregivers can supply five patients.

The MMA has produced a litany of legal battles throughout the state,
particularly in Oakland County, where police have raided several facilities.

In countering the township, Rasor also argued selective enforcement,
noting that many businesses surrounding Big Daddy's are retail in
nature and were not required to obtain the approvals that the township
says Big Daddy's failed to get.

He added that the township passed the ordinance banning medical
marijuana facilities after Bid Daddy's opened last fall so benefit
from the "grandfather" clause.

In its arsenal, the township cites a June 28 opinion by state Attorney
Bill Schuette, that "prohibits the collective growing or sharing of
marijuana plants, and specifically prohibits dispensaries and
compassion centers," the township said.

Schuette in the opinion says "each patient's plant must be grown and
maintained in a separate, enclosed, locked facility that is only
accessible to the registered patient or the patient's registered care
giver."

Rasor accused Schuette of misusing his office because he opposed any
legalization of marijuana prior to the MMA's passage by more than 60
percent of state voters.

"We believe the attorney general's opinion is a political document
that tortures and strains common words; a rational reading (of the
MMA) does not support his position," Rasor said.

Chesterfield Township Supervisor Michael Lovelock declined to comment
on the lawsuit.

Despite the lawsuit, Rasor commended Chesterfield officials for
pursuing the matter civilly, contrary to Oakland County officials.

"This lawsuit is Chesterfield's attempt to clarify the law about
whether this operation can exist in this zoning district," he said.
"At least they didn't raid the facility and arrest handicapped people."

Regarding its Oak Park facility, the operators have not been charged
and are continuing to operate, he said.

Oakland County Sheriff's deputies seized $2,874 in cash, nine pounds
of harvested marijuana stored in a freezer, five pounds of packaged
marijuana, about two dozen marijuana plants, and 10 pounds of baked
goods containing suspected marijuana from facilities on North End
Street, according to a published report.

Big Daddy's operated an Oak Park warehouse ,where indoor cultivation
equipment was warehoused and fabricated for sale at shops in
Chesterfield Township and Hazel Park, the report said. It promotes
hydroponic gardening -- growing plants without dirt.