MedicalNeed
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Taxation of medical marijuana and new regulations for marijuana dispensaries may be sprouting later this year under the green thumb of a mid-Michigan lawmaker.
Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican, is leading the charge to take a fresh look at the state's 2-year-old medical marijuana law, which critics have said is ambiguous and not sufficiently restrictive on how the drug is dispensed.
This month, Jones reintroduced legislation in the GOP-controlled Senate to ban "medical marijuana bars," or dispensaries that allow patients to buy marijuana and consume it on site. A similar bill sponsored by Jones died last year in what was a Democratic-controlled House.
Jones now is convening an informal task force to gather information from interested parties on medical marijuana. His hope is to draft further legislation, including possibly taxation of medical marijuana sales or dispensaries, by midsummer.
"When Pfizer manufactures a pill, they get taxed. Why shouldn't someone who manufactures marijuana get taxed?" said Jones, adding he is unsure how much money might be generated.
So far, Jones' efforts to further regulate medical marijuana have not spurred a significant backlash among medical marijuana advocates.
Tim Beck, political director of Oak Park-based Michigan Association of Compassion Centers, hopes to participate in Jones' task force and supports the concept of taxing medical marijuana and clarifying laws related to dispensaries.
"I think Senator Jones is a fair man," Beck said. "We believe in his concepts, but the devil, in the end, will be in the details. We feel comfortable working with him."
Grandfather clause
Citing ambiguities in the medical marijuana law, some mid-Michigan municipalities, including Lansing, have banned new medical dispensaries as they draft ordinances regulating how the drug can be dispensed.
For now, more than a dozen marijuana dispensaries are open in Lansing, operating, essentially, under a grandfather clause.
Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, said she is open to clarifying regulations related to dispensaries. She said she has heard several complaints from Lansing residents about the high numbers of dispensaries there.
"We'll be looking at different aspects of the law, not to replace it, but to clarify it so that cities and townships don't have to deal with it," said Jones, adding cities now are spending thousands of dollars on attorney fees.
Jones' bill on marijuana bars was spurred by the May 2010 police raid on the Green Leaf Smokers Club in Williamstown Township - an establishment in which owners sold marijuana to medical patients and allowed them to consume it there. One owner, Fredrick Wayne Dagit, was arrested after police claimed he tried to buy 50 pounds of marijuana from an undercover officer.
Voices concern
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth, who dismissed the Green Leaf club as a "joke" when it opened in February 2010, said he remains concerned that those who use marijuana at the establishments will drive away impaired, presenting a danger on the road. He said he favors legislation to ban the establishments.
"I shouldn't be the only one concerned," Wriggelsworth said. "The general public should be concerned by this."
Driving while high
Matt Newburg, a Delta Township attorney who specializes in criminal defense in medical marijuana-related cases, said he supports banning the consumption of marijuana at dispensaries, partly because it is very difficult for authorities to determine whether a patient is driving high.
He noted authorities can use blood-alcohol testing to determine accurately whether someone is driving drunk, but can only use marijuana testing to determine whether someone has consumed the drug in recent days.
"For public health and safety issues, it's a good bill," Newburg said, "and some of the clients I have had believe the same thing."
News Hawk: MedicalNeed 420 MAGAZINE
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Scott Davis
Contact: lansingstatejournal.com
Copyright: 2009 lansingstatejournal.com
Website:State senator targets marijuana bars
Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican, is leading the charge to take a fresh look at the state's 2-year-old medical marijuana law, which critics have said is ambiguous and not sufficiently restrictive on how the drug is dispensed.
This month, Jones reintroduced legislation in the GOP-controlled Senate to ban "medical marijuana bars," or dispensaries that allow patients to buy marijuana and consume it on site. A similar bill sponsored by Jones died last year in what was a Democratic-controlled House.
Jones now is convening an informal task force to gather information from interested parties on medical marijuana. His hope is to draft further legislation, including possibly taxation of medical marijuana sales or dispensaries, by midsummer.
"When Pfizer manufactures a pill, they get taxed. Why shouldn't someone who manufactures marijuana get taxed?" said Jones, adding he is unsure how much money might be generated.
So far, Jones' efforts to further regulate medical marijuana have not spurred a significant backlash among medical marijuana advocates.
Tim Beck, political director of Oak Park-based Michigan Association of Compassion Centers, hopes to participate in Jones' task force and supports the concept of taxing medical marijuana and clarifying laws related to dispensaries.
"I think Senator Jones is a fair man," Beck said. "We believe in his concepts, but the devil, in the end, will be in the details. We feel comfortable working with him."
Grandfather clause
Citing ambiguities in the medical marijuana law, some mid-Michigan municipalities, including Lansing, have banned new medical dispensaries as they draft ordinances regulating how the drug can be dispensed.
For now, more than a dozen marijuana dispensaries are open in Lansing, operating, essentially, under a grandfather clause.
Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, said she is open to clarifying regulations related to dispensaries. She said she has heard several complaints from Lansing residents about the high numbers of dispensaries there.
"We'll be looking at different aspects of the law, not to replace it, but to clarify it so that cities and townships don't have to deal with it," said Jones, adding cities now are spending thousands of dollars on attorney fees.
Jones' bill on marijuana bars was spurred by the May 2010 police raid on the Green Leaf Smokers Club in Williamstown Township - an establishment in which owners sold marijuana to medical patients and allowed them to consume it there. One owner, Fredrick Wayne Dagit, was arrested after police claimed he tried to buy 50 pounds of marijuana from an undercover officer.
Voices concern
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth, who dismissed the Green Leaf club as a "joke" when it opened in February 2010, said he remains concerned that those who use marijuana at the establishments will drive away impaired, presenting a danger on the road. He said he favors legislation to ban the establishments.
"I shouldn't be the only one concerned," Wriggelsworth said. "The general public should be concerned by this."
Driving while high
Matt Newburg, a Delta Township attorney who specializes in criminal defense in medical marijuana-related cases, said he supports banning the consumption of marijuana at dispensaries, partly because it is very difficult for authorities to determine whether a patient is driving high.
He noted authorities can use blood-alcohol testing to determine accurately whether someone is driving drunk, but can only use marijuana testing to determine whether someone has consumed the drug in recent days.
"For public health and safety issues, it's a good bill," Newburg said, "and some of the clients I have had believe the same thing."
News Hawk: MedicalNeed 420 MAGAZINE
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Scott Davis
Contact: lansingstatejournal.com
Copyright: 2009 lansingstatejournal.com
Website:State senator targets marijuana bars
