Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jun 2011
Source: Cadillac News (MI)
Copyright: 2011 Cadillac News
Contact:  http://www.cadillacnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3750
Author: Jeff Broddle
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

WEXFORD PLANNING AND ZONING RECEIVES INPUT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ZONING

CADILLAC -- A public hearing on businesses related to the state's 
medical marijuana law was an eye-opening experience for members of 
the Wexford County Planning and Zoning Commission. The Commission 
called a meeting to receive public input on the most appropriate 
location for operations related to medical marijuana and whether 
those operations entail growers or dispensaries.

Less than a dozen people attended the meeting to provide input on the 
issue. Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Paul Osborne 
occasionally had to remind individuals the matter up for debate was 
where medical marijuana activity should be located, not the benefits 
or dangers of using the drug.

Zoning Administrator Michael Green explained that Planning and 
Zoning's authority does not extend to prohibiting medical marijuana 
businesses entirely, but rather the commission should consider 
whether to designate rural or urban areas as appropriate locations 
for the businesses. Green said the Michigan Planning Act requires a 
county to allow for any use as long as there is a demonstrated need.

"More likely than not, we will have to allow it somewhere in the 
county," Green said.

Wexford County, like Haring Township and the City of Cadillac, has 
enacted a moratorium on marijuana businesses in order to examine the 
zoning issue. Voters approved the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act in 2008.

Gayle Hanna, a nurse who is a part-time resident of Slagle Township 
and a member of the City of Midland Planning Commission, said she has 
seen both the good and the bad sides of the issue, and said she is 
opposed to medical marijuana collectives which dispense the drug, 
especially since there are legal alternatives available for pain 
relief. Hanna said Midland has been able to carefully craft an 
ordinance which she believes will stand up to legal challenges from 
medical marijuana suppliers and the American Civil Liberties Union.

"I encourage you to take a good look at this," Hanna said.

At least part of the meeting involved the commission asking questions 
about certain terms, such as the difference between a compassion club 
and a dispensary and caregiver. Twinn Bridges Compassion Club 
co-owner Chris Gee explained that both compassion clubs and 
dispensaries are essentially the same thing, while caregivers are 
individuals licensed to grow marijuana for up to five patients.

Vice Chairman Corey Wiggins shared other communities' approach to the 
issue, such as Roseville forbidding growing as a home occupation, and 
Hartford permitting only doctors and other medical professionals to 
dispense it -- an approach that Wiggins said may be overstepping legal bounds.

Wiggins suggested the commission should keep in mind the different 
activities when determining zoning, whether the rules apply to 
caregivers who are permitted to grow marijuana or to dispensaries. 
Commissioner Beverly Monroe suggested taking a two-pronged approach 
- -- considering caregivers and dispensaries each on their own.

Comments relating to zoning leaned heavily toward allowing operations 
in urban settings rather than rural settings.

Other ideas included limiting the number of dispensaries allowed 
based on population or density, enacting licensing requirements and 
prohibiting businesses from locating a certain distance from schools, 
churches and hospitals.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom