Pubdate: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 Source: Cadillac News (MI) Copyright: 2011 Cadillac News Contact: http://www.cadillacnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3750 Author: Rick Charmoli, Cadillac News MORE OF A MORATORIUM? CADILLAC -- Ken Lee is planning on being at Monday's Cadillac City Council meeting. Lee is a patient, caregiver and proponent of medical marijuana, and he is very interested in the outcome of one discussion the council is scheduled to have. That discussion involves whether or not the city will extend its current moratorium on medical marijuana for another 12 months. "It makes it harder for people to get their medicine," Lee said. "I thought the city was moving a little faster than that." The planning commission voted 8-0 in July to make the recommendation to extend the moratorium to the Cadillac City Council. The commission was getting ready to look at draft ordinances to possibly make a recommendation to the city council in the coming months, but that momentum stalled when City Attorney Mike Homier spoke at June's meeting. At that meeting, Homier recommended the planning commission consider asking the city council to extend the moratorium rather than draft an ordinance because there was just too much uncertainty. Concerns with moving forward and drafting an ordinance included the fact the law doesn't even address medical marijuana dispensaries, that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, the Downtown Development Authority Board's wish to avoid having dispensaries downtown, as well as the fact that the law could change significantly in the near future. Although Lee believes that extending the moratorium will make things harder on patients, he also said it won't impact the compassion club he has helped to open. The club, which he said is for educational purposes and not dispensing, opened the Friday before Labor Day. In 2008, Michigan voters approved a medical marijuana ballot proposal meant to protect qualifying patients with specific debilitating medical conditions and certain caregivers from arrest, prosecution and penalty for the medical use of a limited amount of marijuana. The city of Cadillac imposed a six-month moratorium in April. If it had not done so, a medical marijuana business would be considered a new zoning use, and city officials would have to act on a request to set up shop based on existing zoning requirements. The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. today at the Cadillac Municipal Complex, 200 N. Lake St. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.