Pubdate: Wed, 04 Jun 2014
Source: Ypsilanti Courier (MI)
Copyright: 2014 Heritage Newspapers, a Journal Register Property
Contact: http://www.heritagenews.com/lettertoeditor/
Website: http://www.heritage.com/ypsilanti_courier/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5124
Author: Ben Baird
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

LEGAL CONCERNS STILL SURROUND MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Although voters approved the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act nearly 
six years ago and in many areas residents are able to seek treatments 
in compliance with the law, some legal concerns still remain.

One area of concern is for medical marijuana dispensaries, which 
authorities have said are not addressed in the law.

Jamie Lowell, the director of the 3rd Coast Compassion Center in 
Ypsilanti, said he feels the language of the state law is pretty 
clear, but it depends on who is looking at it.

His dispensary, 19 N. Hamilton St., is one of the first to open in 
the state in January 2010. 3rd Coast operates as a non-profit and 
accepts private donations to cover expenses.

The law can be interpreted based on its intent, said Lowell. He said 
the essence of the law is to find new ways to help people.

"People's lives are being saved, people's quality of life is being 
improved," Lowell said. "That should really be appreciated and celebrated."

However, he said he feels opposition to medical marijuana has been 
making an effort to create gray areas. Some decisions out of state 
courts, particularly the Michigan Court of Appeals, have made the law 
more prohibitive, he said.

Michael Komorn, president of the Michigan Medical Marijuana 
Association, is an outspoken proponent of medical marijuana. He has 
called medical marijuana prosecutions a crusade of Michigan Attorney 
General Bill Schuette.

"Bill Schuette has caused more challenges to the implementation of 
the Medical Marijuana Act than anybody," Komorn said. "It's not even 
based in rational thought.

"He is literally obsessed with blocking implementation."

Schuette, for his part, has called the ballot proposal approved by 
voters in 2008 "a sketchy statute."

"You saw a sketchy statute, and one that had more holes in it, some 
say, than Swiss cheese," Schuette said nearly a year ago. His 
position hadn't changed in a recent interview with Digital First 
Media: "The fact is nowhere in that statute were there provisions for 
dispensaries."

Something that could implement change is House Bill 4271, which would 
update the law's language to include dispensaries. It has passed the 
Michigan House of Representatives and has now gone to the senate. 
There has been one hearing on the bill with another hearing and 
possible vote still pending.

If approved, Lowell said this bill would clear up some of the issues 
with the opposition to medical marijuana.

Prosecutions and court cases continue to define Michigan's medical 
marijuana law, five-and-a-half years after voters overwhelmingly 
approved it, leaving some in limbo and some with criminal records.

Lowell said he doesn't understand why adults moving around small 
amounts of cannabis for legal medical benefit should be of any 
concern for law enforcement and prosecutors, especially when there 
are violent crimes going on to deal with.

One raid conducted locally on July 30, 2013, by the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, targeted The Shop dispensary, located at 513 W. Cross 
St. in Ypsilanti.

The Shop's license was subsequently suspended for six months due to 
evidence that marijuana may have been smoked on the premises, which 
is prohibited by city ordinance, although it wasn't proven this 
actually occurred. The Shop settled on the suspension, but did not 
admit any wrongdoing.

The Shop is back in business, having reopened in late 2013 after the 
suspension was lifted.

The Medical Marijuana Act does not protect users, caregivers or 
owners of properties on which medical marijuana use is occurring from 
federal prosecution or from having property seized by federal 
authorities under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, according to 
the city of Ypsilanti.

Two recent Oakland County cases, People vs Tuttle and People vs 
Hartwick, both deal with medical marijuana's Section 8 defense and 
are in various stages of appeal to higher courts.

Section 8 provides a defense for medical marijuana caregivers if they 
exceed the marijuana limits specified in Section 4 of the law. The 
Michigan Court of Appeals, in particular, has ruled against Section 8 
defenses in most cases.

Lowell said he interprets the rulings on People vs Tuttle and People 
vs Hartwick as being about denying residents their benefits, creating 
burdensome barriers to what the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act offers.

While legal in Michigan for medicinal purposes, marijuana use is 
prohibited by federal law, although many states have local law that 
goes beyond what the federal law allows. Twenty-one states total, in 
addition to Washington D.C., have laws legalizing marijuana to some 
degree. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have even legalized 
marijuana for recreational use.

Local Commerce

Despite the legality of marijuana dispensaries being in question, 
these businesses remain open to offer their services in many areas. 
In Washtenaw County, multiple dispensaries are located in the cities 
of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

Ypsilanti defines a medical marijuana dispensary as a facility or 
membership club where primary caregivers can lawfully assist their 
qualifying patients, according to a city planning and development fact sheet.

Dispensaries are central locations where activity can occur between 
licensed patients and caregivers, Lowell said. It is also where 
patients can learn about what treatments can work for them, he said.

Teresa Gillotti, community development director in Ypsilanti's 
Planning and Development Department, said when Ypsilanti's medical 
marijuana ordinance was adopted, the city tried to do its best to put 
order to the state law, which officials felt was very loose.

Since the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act passed, she said some 
additional case law has been developing, and those who have licenses 
and permits have had to make sure they keep up to stay in compliance 
with state law.

The act defines patients and caregivers, but Gillotti said it does 
not clearly define dispensaries.

"It's still a little bit in the gray area," she said.

It hasn't been easy to keep up with some of the interpretations of 
the law, Lowell said, but the important thing is the caregivers and 
patients working with his 3rd Coast Compassion Center are sincere 
about the law and their services are designed around helping people 
with their conditions.

If the state law is further defined or changed, Gillotti said the 
city may eventually need to revisit the ordinance.

Ypsilanti does annual inspections of medical marijuana dispensaries, 
which the city asks to comply with its ordinance in addition to state law.

Gillotti said at this point she feels dispensaries have been 
complying well with the city ordinance. The city does monitor if 
police need to do any calls to these locations, but she said there 
have not really been any problems.

When the ordinance was being created, she said there was a concern 
from some that this type of facility would attract criminal activity. 
Fortunately, she said that has not been the case.

Lowell said they have had a transparent relationship with local 
administrators and authorities.

Beyond Ypsilanti, many communities are still finding the right way to 
comply with the still changing law.

Todd Campbell, Saline's city manager, said the city of Saline 
currently has a moratorium on issuing permits or licenses for the 
sale or dispense of medical marijuana, which was initially put in 
place in October 2013.

In 2010, the city adopted the "Livonia Model," which stated if 
marijuana use is prohibited by both state and federal law than it was 
also prohibited in the city. At that time, there was little 
information available to communities regarding court rulings.

Campbell said a court ruling determined this type of policy was not 
valid, so the city has to do something else instead.

Saline is currently in the process of drafting and revising a new 
ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana caregivers and 
patients, he said, but would not allow dispensaries. He said it will 
regulate the legal use allowed under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

It was presented to the Saline Planning Commission and it's hoped it 
will be put before an ordinance review taskforce recently put in 
place, the city manager said, before eventually going back to the 
Saline City Council for possible authorization.

"Hopefully that should be moving forward," Campbell said.

He hopes the city will be able to have an ordinance in place within 
the next three or four months, he said.

Milan Mayor Michael Armitage said the city of Milan, which also has a 
moratorium and pending ordinance, has been delayed due to the legal 
challenges and legislative updates regarding the Medical Marijuana Act.

Milan put a moratorium, which does not affect residents who need to 
use marijuana for medical reasons, in place on any business that 
seeks to dispense or distribute medical marijuana. There has been no 
recent action on one proposed ordinance that would direct the city's 
Planning Commission to develop rules regulating where dispensaries 
could be located.

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act was approved by 63 percent in the 
Nov. 4, 2008, general election, with just over 3 million votes in 
favor, according to the Michigan Secretary of State.

More than 80 percent of Ypsilanti residents supported the Medical 
Marijuana Act in 2008, Lowell said. He said he believes the act would 
pass by an even higher margin by state voters today, based on current 
polling data, and it had already been a landslide win before.

"There is no doubt we are headed in the right direction," he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom