COUNCIL EXTENDS BY SIX MONTHS ITS MEDICAL POT BAN

The Milford Village Council voted on Dec. 5 to approve an extension of
the village's moratorium on medical marijuana facilities for another
six months, a move that now pushes the moratorium's expiration date to
June 4, 2012.

The village originally passed its moratorium for six months back in
June 2010, and this marks the third time that the moratorium has been
extended for six months.

The moratorium forbids land uses for growing and distributing medical
marijuana or allowing schools to provide training on the cultivation,
processing, and distribution of the drug.

Medical marijuana use was legalized for qualified patients following
authorization by Michigan voters in the November 2008 general
election. The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act went into effect on April
4, 2009.

Village Manager Arthur Shufflebarger previously said that conflicts
between the state statute authorizing medical marijuana use and
federal law are confusing.

This move comes after the Milford Township Board of Trustees voted
last month to also extend the township's moratorium on medical
marijuana for another six months.

The Milford Township Planning Commission discussed the moratorium at
its meeting on Dec. 6.

Commission Chairman David Kulp said that the commission discussed what
other communities are doing in regards to medical marijuana.

"We're waiting for the state Legislature to clean up the current
statute," Kulp said.

"We don't want to put something in place that will be negated (in
court). We're waiting for action on things such as dispensaries and
lawsuits with the state and various communities to settle."

State law permits physician-approved use of marijuana by patients with
debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, AIDS,
hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions as approved by
the state Department of Community Health.