420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
While Lansing hashes out what to do with the medical marijuana law, the city of Milan is putting the brakes on dispensaries.
The City Council voted 6-1 March 12 to impose a 180-day moratorium on any business that seeks to dispense or distribute medical marijuana. The hope is that this will give the state Legislature time enough to consider bills that add some rules to the law voters approved in 2008.
The law allows people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but is unclear regarding the sale and distribution of the drug. Local law enforcement has been stymied on how to enforce a state law that is in direct contradiction to federal laws.
The state law also puts elected officials in a no-win position, Mayor Kym Muckler said, referring to the council's decision not to take action last year when the matter came up. While legal in Michigan for medicinal purposes, marijuana use is prohibited by federal law.
"We took an oath to uphold the Constitution," she said. "If we had taken action, we would have been in violation of our oath."
Council members Michael Armitage and Dominic Hamden brought the resolution to the City Council. Under the terms of the action, the city would direct the Planning Commission to develop rules that will regulate where dispensaries could be located, much in the same way the city regulates bars and adult-oriented businesses.
Armitage said the resolution should not be considered reactionary, but an orderly response by the city. Council was prepared to vote on the resolution, but decided to do more research first, he said.
Dispensaries, whether in a storefront or hidden, bring in the wrong element to the area and lead to an increased crime rate, Armitage said.
"Therefore, in the interest of public safety, I would like to see a moratorium until we can incorporate the direction we want to go in," he said. "We are the only community in the area that doesn't have this regulation, which is causing people to look at us to start a business."
The moratorium will not affect people who need to use marijuana for medical reasons, Hamden said.
"It's designed to address the issue of dispensaries popping up in the city that are going unregulated and unmonitored," he said.
Council member Martha Churchill opposed the measure because it takes the council away from its core responsibilities, such as roads, water, sewers and parks, she said. Churchill called these issues the "bread and butter" of what people elected council to watch over.
She has seen former council members get caught up in issues such as banning video games and imported oysters from China that the city has no control over.
"Over the years, I've seen people get sucked into something else that seems important to us at the moment," she said. "It distracts us from we should be doing."
The same principle is at work here, she said. The law allows people to grow marijuana and to use it for medical reasons. All the moratorium will do is attack the means for people to access the substance, she said.
Churchill believes the city has no standing in the issue and should let the state take care of things. Communities that have tried this have not seen any measurable difference, she said.
"The people who are causing trouble with marijuana are not doing it because they have been zoned," she said.
Hamden said the city regulates where alcohol can be sold and where adult businesses can be located. He said those two business types can't be near schools, churches or residences.
"I don't want to drop my child off at school and have to explain why there is a marijuana dispensary across the street," he said.
While no one on council argued against people who needed marijuana for pain or chronic illnesses, others were concerned there would be rampant proliferation of dispensaries as in California. Others felt the state needed to act and clean up the language of the law.
City attorney Bill Beach said the Legislature is considering bills that will flesh out the law and deal with the dispensary issue. The goal is to give local communities to have control and allow planning commissions to develop ordinances, he said.
The moratorium is not a zoning ordinance, so there's no grandfather clause. That means the city can cease any dispensary that may be currently operating, Beach said.
For Muckler, the moratorium is just common sense. The 180-day limit will give the city time to develop an ordinance to match what the state and federal governments do.
"Any kind of substance needs to be regulated," she said. "My gut tells me this is the right thing to do."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Lansing, MI
Source: The Milan News-Leader
Author: Jim Pruitt
Contact: editor@milannews.com
Copyright: 2012 The Milan News-Leader
Website: www.heritage.com
The City Council voted 6-1 March 12 to impose a 180-day moratorium on any business that seeks to dispense or distribute medical marijuana. The hope is that this will give the state Legislature time enough to consider bills that add some rules to the law voters approved in 2008.
The law allows people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but is unclear regarding the sale and distribution of the drug. Local law enforcement has been stymied on how to enforce a state law that is in direct contradiction to federal laws.
The state law also puts elected officials in a no-win position, Mayor Kym Muckler said, referring to the council's decision not to take action last year when the matter came up. While legal in Michigan for medicinal purposes, marijuana use is prohibited by federal law.
"We took an oath to uphold the Constitution," she said. "If we had taken action, we would have been in violation of our oath."
Council members Michael Armitage and Dominic Hamden brought the resolution to the City Council. Under the terms of the action, the city would direct the Planning Commission to develop rules that will regulate where dispensaries could be located, much in the same way the city regulates bars and adult-oriented businesses.
Armitage said the resolution should not be considered reactionary, but an orderly response by the city. Council was prepared to vote on the resolution, but decided to do more research first, he said.
Dispensaries, whether in a storefront or hidden, bring in the wrong element to the area and lead to an increased crime rate, Armitage said.
"Therefore, in the interest of public safety, I would like to see a moratorium until we can incorporate the direction we want to go in," he said. "We are the only community in the area that doesn't have this regulation, which is causing people to look at us to start a business."
The moratorium will not affect people who need to use marijuana for medical reasons, Hamden said.
"It's designed to address the issue of dispensaries popping up in the city that are going unregulated and unmonitored," he said.
Council member Martha Churchill opposed the measure because it takes the council away from its core responsibilities, such as roads, water, sewers and parks, she said. Churchill called these issues the "bread and butter" of what people elected council to watch over.
She has seen former council members get caught up in issues such as banning video games and imported oysters from China that the city has no control over.
"Over the years, I've seen people get sucked into something else that seems important to us at the moment," she said. "It distracts us from we should be doing."
The same principle is at work here, she said. The law allows people to grow marijuana and to use it for medical reasons. All the moratorium will do is attack the means for people to access the substance, she said.
Churchill believes the city has no standing in the issue and should let the state take care of things. Communities that have tried this have not seen any measurable difference, she said.
"The people who are causing trouble with marijuana are not doing it because they have been zoned," she said.
Hamden said the city regulates where alcohol can be sold and where adult businesses can be located. He said those two business types can't be near schools, churches or residences.
"I don't want to drop my child off at school and have to explain why there is a marijuana dispensary across the street," he said.
While no one on council argued against people who needed marijuana for pain or chronic illnesses, others were concerned there would be rampant proliferation of dispensaries as in California. Others felt the state needed to act and clean up the language of the law.
City attorney Bill Beach said the Legislature is considering bills that will flesh out the law and deal with the dispensary issue. The goal is to give local communities to have control and allow planning commissions to develop ordinances, he said.
The moratorium is not a zoning ordinance, so there's no grandfather clause. That means the city can cease any dispensary that may be currently operating, Beach said.
For Muckler, the moratorium is just common sense. The 180-day limit will give the city time to develop an ordinance to match what the state and federal governments do.
"Any kind of substance needs to be regulated," she said. "My gut tells me this is the right thing to do."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Lansing, MI
Source: The Milan News-Leader
Author: Jim Pruitt
Contact: editor@milannews.com
Copyright: 2012 The Milan News-Leader
Website: www.heritage.com
