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Both new and existing medical marijuana dispensaries in Jackson would be banned under an ordinance being considered by the City Council, a city attorney said.
Banning medical marijuana dispensaries would go against the will of Michigan voters and force patients to wait longer for medical marijuana or buy it illegally, an advocate for patients said.
The Jackson City Council is considering three versions of an ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana, which became legal in Michigan after voters approved a 2008 ballot proposal.
"None of the ordinances allow dispensaries," said City Attorney Julius Giglio.
One version would allow qualifying patients and primary caregivers to use and grow marijuana only at their homes, while another would allow growth at certain non-dwelling locations in commercial and industrial business districts in addition to in the homes of patients and primary caregivers.
A third version would entirely ban medical marijuana in the city. The Jackson City Council's city affairs committee has ruled out recommending the third version, but it still could be considered by the entire council.
The committee had planned to make a recommendation on Tuesday, but delayed action to study the matter further.
Roger Maufort, director of the Jackson Compassion Club that advocates for medical marijuana patients, said they would suffer if dispensaries are banned.
It is unreasonable to ask someone who is diagnosed with cancer to wait for marijuana to grow before using it for medicinal purposes, he said.
"A patient can't wait five months to medicate," Maufort said. "Cancer doesn't wait."
The Jackson Compassion Club, 1620 E. Michigan Ave., provides medical marijuana and would no longer be able to do so under the proposed ordinance.
Maufort said the organization has served 4,000 medical marijuana patients since February 2009 and currently has about 1,000 to 1,500 patients.
"They'll probably turn to their kids, grandkids to find it for them," he said.
During the city affairs committee meeting, Jackson police Chief Matt Heins said the new state law has not reduced illegal marijuana trafficking.
"We still have street corner transactions every day throughout the day and it hasn't addressed that problem," he said.
Giglio said medical marijuana dispensaries technically are already illegal based on his interpretation of a court ruling in Mount Pleasant that is being appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.
"Anyone that's passing out marijuana would be dispensing marijuana ... which would not be allowed under the ordinance, and by our reading of the case law, would not be allowed currently under the state law," Giglio said.
There are about four or five medical marijuana dispensaries in Jackson, he said.
The Supreme Court case involves a dispensary in Mount Pleasant that allowed its members to sell marijuana to each other, with the owners taking as much as a 20 percent cut, according to the Associated Press. An appeals court said the 2008 medical marijuana law does not permit dispensaries. The shop was shut down as a public nuisance, the AP reported.
Joe Cain, owner of the Jackson County Farmers Market at 135 W. Pearl St. that provides medical marijuana to patients, read the law approved by voters to Jackson City Council members on Tuesday.
The Jackson County Farmers Market is not associated with the nearby Jackson Farmers Market outside the former Kuhl's Bell Tower Market.
The law says nothing about allowing the kind of regulations that are being considered, Cain said. "It's gotten lost," he said. "All these decisions, all these opinions are wrong."
Earlier Cain told the city affairs committee that he doesn't consider the Jackson County Farmers Market to be a dispensary even though it would be shut down by the proposed ordinance.
"We're not a dispensary," Cain said. "We don't sell medicine to make profit. We do this to help people." His market loses $200 a week, Cain said.
The Jackson City Council in January 2011 issued a moratorium on any new medical marijuana establishments while the proposed ordinance was being drafted.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: mlive.com
Author: Bob Wheaton
Contact: Contact Us - MLive.com
Website: Existing medical marijuana dispensaries would be closed under Jackson ordinance | MLive.com
Banning medical marijuana dispensaries would go against the will of Michigan voters and force patients to wait longer for medical marijuana or buy it illegally, an advocate for patients said.
The Jackson City Council is considering three versions of an ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana, which became legal in Michigan after voters approved a 2008 ballot proposal.
"None of the ordinances allow dispensaries," said City Attorney Julius Giglio.
One version would allow qualifying patients and primary caregivers to use and grow marijuana only at their homes, while another would allow growth at certain non-dwelling locations in commercial and industrial business districts in addition to in the homes of patients and primary caregivers.
A third version would entirely ban medical marijuana in the city. The Jackson City Council's city affairs committee has ruled out recommending the third version, but it still could be considered by the entire council.
The committee had planned to make a recommendation on Tuesday, but delayed action to study the matter further.
Roger Maufort, director of the Jackson Compassion Club that advocates for medical marijuana patients, said they would suffer if dispensaries are banned.
It is unreasonable to ask someone who is diagnosed with cancer to wait for marijuana to grow before using it for medicinal purposes, he said.
"A patient can't wait five months to medicate," Maufort said. "Cancer doesn't wait."
The Jackson Compassion Club, 1620 E. Michigan Ave., provides medical marijuana and would no longer be able to do so under the proposed ordinance.
Maufort said the organization has served 4,000 medical marijuana patients since February 2009 and currently has about 1,000 to 1,500 patients.
"They'll probably turn to their kids, grandkids to find it for them," he said.
During the city affairs committee meeting, Jackson police Chief Matt Heins said the new state law has not reduced illegal marijuana trafficking.
"We still have street corner transactions every day throughout the day and it hasn't addressed that problem," he said.
Giglio said medical marijuana dispensaries technically are already illegal based on his interpretation of a court ruling in Mount Pleasant that is being appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.
"Anyone that's passing out marijuana would be dispensing marijuana ... which would not be allowed under the ordinance, and by our reading of the case law, would not be allowed currently under the state law," Giglio said.
There are about four or five medical marijuana dispensaries in Jackson, he said.
The Supreme Court case involves a dispensary in Mount Pleasant that allowed its members to sell marijuana to each other, with the owners taking as much as a 20 percent cut, according to the Associated Press. An appeals court said the 2008 medical marijuana law does not permit dispensaries. The shop was shut down as a public nuisance, the AP reported.
Joe Cain, owner of the Jackson County Farmers Market at 135 W. Pearl St. that provides medical marijuana to patients, read the law approved by voters to Jackson City Council members on Tuesday.
The Jackson County Farmers Market is not associated with the nearby Jackson Farmers Market outside the former Kuhl's Bell Tower Market.
The law says nothing about allowing the kind of regulations that are being considered, Cain said. "It's gotten lost," he said. "All these decisions, all these opinions are wrong."
Earlier Cain told the city affairs committee that he doesn't consider the Jackson County Farmers Market to be a dispensary even though it would be shut down by the proposed ordinance.
"We're not a dispensary," Cain said. "We don't sell medicine to make profit. We do this to help people." His market loses $200 a week, Cain said.
The Jackson City Council in January 2011 issued a moratorium on any new medical marijuana establishments while the proposed ordinance was being drafted.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: mlive.com
Author: Bob Wheaton
Contact: Contact Us - MLive.com
Website: Existing medical marijuana dispensaries would be closed under Jackson ordinance | MLive.com
