Pubdate: Sat, 21 Aug 2010
Source: Lansing State Journal (MI)
Copyright: 2010 Lansing State Journal
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/uc45fODd
Website: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/232
Author: Dawn Parker
Cited: East Lansing City Council 
http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/Departments/CityCouncil/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana

EAST LANSING PUTS 90-DAY HOLD ON MARIJUANA LAW

EAST LANSING -- The city council has unanimously voted to place a 
90-day moratorium on the issuance of licenses for dispensing 
marijuana for medical purpose.

The council took the action Aug. 17 to give officials more time to 
evaluate the issue relative to land uses.

A nearly finalized marijuana ordinance includes defining a 
"dispensary" as a place where two or more primary caregivers would 
store, grow or dispense the medical marijuana

A "primary caregiver operation" would be the place where a registered 
primary caregiver would store and dispense the medical marijuana.

A license for the dispensary or operation would be necessary in 
either case, city Attorney Dennis McGinty said, but the ordinance 
does not require a license for the caregiver themselves.

"They could grow and they could store their medical marijuana at 
their residence or any other lot or premises," McGinty said. "They 
could simply not engage in the business of dispensing it without 
having a license."

Caregivers would no longer be required to disclose the names of their 
patients, only their registry numbers, thereby guarding patients' 
medical privacy.

The number is confidential under state law, McGinty said, and can 
only be obtained from the state by court order.

Grand Rapids has a similar licensing ordinance, McGinty said.

"They are confident they can keep primary caregivers' identity 
confidential," he added.

The council approved a 90-day moratorium on the issuance of any 
licenses, giving the council additional time to consider how medical 
marijuana may be regulated in the city in respect to various 
permitted land uses.

More than 20 Michigan communities have enacted similar moratoriums, 
including Bath, Williamston, Battle Creek and Ann Arbor.

Council member Nathan Triplett asked McGinty for the legal effect of 
a moratorium on any existing caregivers or dispensaries.

"We would know that there's not a storefront in East Lansing, but we 
have no way of knowing whether some other facility that potentially 
meets some of these definitions is already operating in the city," 
Triplett said.

The legal effect, McGinty said, would be to eliminate any existing 
non-conforming uses under the ordinance.

Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris, a nurse, voiced her support. "I think 
there is a desperate need for this type of medication to be around 
and offered to the individuals who really benefit from it," she said. 
"I want to make sure it's done in the way I believe the voters in 
this state chose to vote for it." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake