Pubdate: Sat, 05 Apr 2014
Source: Voice, The (New Baltimore, MI)
Copyright: 2014 Journal Register Company
Contact:  http://www.voicenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5146
Author: Nicole Tuttle, Voice Reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

MACOMB TO CONSIDER CHANGING MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

On March 26, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees approved setting a
public hearing date of April 23 for marijuana ordinance updates.

The date corresponds with the regular Macomb Township Board of
Trustees meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in Macomb Township's town
hall on Broughton Road.

The proposed amendment to the ordinance indicates that its purpose is
to update "prohibitions and regulations governing the possession, use
and transportation of marijuana, controlled substances, and drug
paraphernalia to conform with state law, and repealing all ordinances
and/or resolutions in conflict therewith."

Macomb Township Clerk Michael Koehs said that the last time that the
ordinance was adjusted was in 1995. In light of the many changes in
the law, including medical marijuana, the update is necessary, he said.

"What this amendment seeks to do is to bring all the stuff that has
happened since 1995 into the ordinance and put the ordinance in line,"
Koehs said.

The changes to the ordinance include wording that will affect both
marijuana and medical marijuana, according to Koehs. There are
sections of the ordinance that must be updated in order to comply with
state law and other sections that are optional and based on things
other communities have adopted, he noted.

"We are hoping to clarify all of that and set an ordinance in place so
that it will not conflict with current law and active rulings," Koehs
said.

Requests from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office were also a
motivating factor in the suggested changes to Macomb Township's
marijuana ordinance, according to Lawrence Scott, Macomb Township's
legal counsel.

"We have had a number of requests from the Sheriff's office asking us
to clarify and update the ordinance for enforcement purposes," Scott
said. "It is more difficult with an ordinance that is outdated."

On April 10, 2013, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees unanimously
voted in favor of extending the township's medical marijuana
moratorium until such time as the Michigan Supreme Court decided the
case of Ter Beek v. City of Wyoming. Scott said that that case was
decided by the state supreme court on Feb. 6. Consequently, time has
run out on the township's extension, as Koehs confirmed.

"We can't continue to extend it," Koehs said. "We need to take
action."

The board could address the marijuana issue on April 23 after the
public hearing or could table it for further study, Koehs said. If the
board approves the ordnance amendments, they could go into effect 30
days after publication.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D