Lansing- Municipalities cannot enact ordinances that criminalize medical marijuana patients' lawful use of the drug, according to a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling issued Wednesday.

A three-judge panel overturned an ordinance enacted by the city of Wyoming - a Grand Rapids suburb - that sought to regulate cultivation of medical marijuana under federal prohibitions against manufacturing and distributing cannabis.

"Defendant's ordinance is void and unenforceable to the extent that it purports to sanction the medical use of marijuana in conformity with the" Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, appeals judges Joel P. Hoekstra, Douglas B. Shapiro and William C. Whitbeck wrote in their opinion handed down Tuesday and released Wednesday.

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Despite efforts to clarify what some call a vague law, Livingston County municipalities are being forced back to the drawing board -- along with their growing number of ordinances pertaining to medical marijuana.

Michigan cities and townships cannot bar the cultivation and use of medical marijuana, according to a state appellate court's opinion released Wednesday.

The unanimous three-judge panel said cities and townships cannot enforce ordinances that penalize residents for the use of medical marijuana while in conformity with the 2008 Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

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The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that cities cannot enact ordinances that ban the use of medical marijuana.

Livonia was one of the first Michigan communities to pass an ordinance in December 2009 that prohibits uses for enterprises or purposes that are contrary to federal, state or local laws or ordinances, While medical marijuana was never mentioned by name, the city's ordinance referenced federal law, which would include the federal Controlled Substances Act, which bans the use of marijuana.

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The West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees voted 4-3 last week to approve the drafting of an ordinance amendment banning the dispensing and sale of medical marijuana in retail, business and commercial establishments in the township.

This action came before the board approved the introduction of an extension to the township's moratorium on medical marijuana facilities through Aug. 31, 2013.

The next township board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 20, when the moratorium extension is expected to come up for final adoption.

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These Michigan Dispensaries Are Nondescript, Businesslike and Law-Abiding

Maybe there are marijuana dispensaries where clouds of smoke drift through the air behind beaded curtains as loud music pounds from speakers, dancing girls gyrate and heavy lidded smokers nod while reclining on overstuffed pillows.

Those kinds of places may exist, but I didn't see anything like that when I visited the People's Choice medical marijuana dispensary in Ann Arbor and the Trans Love Compassion Collective in Detroit. They are among the approximately 80 facilities currently operating in Michigan after last year's Court of Appeals decision in a Mount Clemens case prompted many of the nearly 400 outlets then in Michigan to shut down. (Some see a state Supreme Court readiness to hear an appeal of the appeals decision as an indication that the high court has a kinder disposition regarding dispensaries.)

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The New Baltimore City Council once again extended their medical marijuana moratorium at their July 23 meeting, this time for three months.

With the moratorium now set to expire in October, Councilman Ken Butler said there were still some items he wanted to clarify with the Planning Commission. Butler was out of town and could not be reached following the meeting.

The council was set to adopt a new medical marijuana ordinance at their July 9 meeting, which would have allowed the sale and growth in the city's industrial area. However, New Baltimore Police Chief Tim Wiley said at the July 9 meeting he was concerned about items in the ordinance such as what rights a tenant has in a rental property if they were a registered medical marijuana caregiver. There are also concerns over a registered caretaker being able to grow it in their home, despite what the state law allows.

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Sturgis, Mich. - An $800 grant from the Elks National Foundation is helping police and on-call Child Protective Services workers be better prepared on drug raids.

On Wednesday, volunteers from the Sturgis Elks lodge packed 100 bags of disposable items that can be used if children are affected by a raid. Bags were also packed for adults.

Each bag includes soap, wash towels, pediatric gowns, disposable gloves, seat covers and garbage bags. Small blankets and bottled water were also donated.

St. Joseph County Probate Judge Thomas Shumaker stopped at the Elks after he went to his home in Sturgis to gather several plastic storage tubs.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A federal prosecutor rejected any notion that the government targeted two men for prosecution because they registered under Michigan's medical marijuana law.

Lloyd Thomas Martin and Ronald Andrew Jach, alleging selective prosecution, asked that charges of conspiracy to manufacture 100 marijuana plants be dismissed.

Their attorneys said federal authorities have "an intent to attack" the state law.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Courtade said today that the defendants had no intention of following provisions of the state law they grew marijuana for profit.

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Re: Larry Gabriel's Higher Ground column "Hep on hemp" (July 11), the United States is one of the few countries in the world that denies farmers the right to grow industrial hemp. Apparently drug war bureaucrats can't tell the difference between a tall hemp stalk and a squat marijuana bush. Before passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, few Americans had even heard of marijuana, despite widespread cultivation of industrial hemp.

The first anti-marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding "reefer madness" propaganda. Decades later, marijuana use is now mainstream. Marijuana prohibition has been counterproductive at best.

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Community Workshop Provides Information, Advice

IONIA COUNTY, Mich. - Ninety percent of all addicted adults began using as teens, a substance abuse expert told an audience of 70 at the Ionia County Intermediate School District building.

Parents and professionals from schools, hospitals, law enforcement, courts and treatment facilities across the county and the state attended a workshop on "Emerging Drug Trends in 2012" Monday. The speaker was Scott Kelly, executive director of BASES Teen Center in Charlevoix and a substance abuse counselor for 26 years. The event was hosted by the Ionia County Health Department and the Ionia County Substance Abuse Initiative.

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The city of New Baltimore's marijuana moratorium is on the brink of expiring once again and council still hasn't voted on an ordinance that could allow the substance to be used for medical purposes.

At the July 9 council meeting, an ordinance that would allow the distribution, use, sale and cultivation of the substance in accordance with the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act was tabled once again. This time, the request came after New Baltimore Police Chief Tim Wiley said he had questions about the ordinance and asked that he, the fire chief and building inspector have input.

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Why Industrial-Grade Hemp Should Be a Vital Part of Our Economy

The United States government has cried wolf about cannabis so many times that its credibility on the subject must be at an all-time low. Nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to hemp.

Hemp is a strain of cannabis sativa, but is sort of the nerdish, boring, industrious cousin of the plants people use for medicine, and to just get stoned. Hemp doesn't get you high at all, but it is useful in many other ways as textiles, paper, food, fuel and much more. A Jan. 19 paper from the Congressional Research Service titled Hemp as an Agricultural Product estimates that the global market for hemp includes some 25,000 products.

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Once again, a knee-jerk reaction to the K2 problem by governments to ban these drugs will not work. The problem will become worse, and more people will die because of society's short-sightedness in thinking that banning any drug will magically make people stop using it.

The drug will be sold through dealers and gangs and not clerks asking for ID. I didn't see one discussion or law passed that makes it mandatory to provide education in schools regarding the harmful effects or money provided to treat those who are hooked. High levels of sales tax per pack could have gone to fund anti-drug education and treatment programs.

While I do not take illegal drugs or really even drink alcohol anymore, I do not support another addition to the long-lost war on drugs that will never work. Remember Prohibition? This is just history repeating itself.

Marc Andren, Rochester Hills

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I disagree with Sara Jongeward's position that legalizing marijuana is a way to deal with the K2 problem ("Fight the use of deadly K2 by legalizing marijuana," June 21). People of all ages have been finding ways to get high for a long time -- sniffing glue, inhaling fumes from aerosol products, and drinking whatever alcoholic liquid or facsimile of which they could find and consume.

This unfortunate habit of humans will not stop with K2. Some other man-made product will come into use soon enough.

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I commend the efforts of Macomb County officials, our state legislators, and Gov. Rick Snyder for banning the sale of synthetic drugs such as K2 or spice. The community response to stop the use of these substances and keep our community safe has been outstanding. This ban sends a clear message to youths and young adults that these substances are dangerous and not safe for consumption.

CARE of Southeastern Michigan is the access center for substance abuse treatment for Macomb County residents and a leader in providing substance abuse prevention education in the community.

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Why do so many media outlets allow reporters to provide news and commentary about cannabis and those who freely choose to consume it with such a derogatory tone? A quick Google search for "pothead," "stoner," "synthetic marijuana" and other demeaning references yields millions of pages that make condescending remarks about cannabis consumers.

Many of these "trusted sources" are eager to depict people who like cannabis as some sort of degenerates or criminals who live on the fringes of society. There are enough states now that have enacted some sort of cannabis reform legislation, medical marijuana or decriminalization that we are a swelling minority group, not the "fringe element."

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Working Against the War on Drugs - All Across America

Last week marked the 41st anniversary of President Nixon's declaration of the War on Drugs - a policy so bad that not only has it failed, it has helped create thriving international crime syndicates. So it was very encouraging to hear about the upcoming Caravan for Peace, which will seek an end to prohibitionist policies in Mexico and the United States, and draw attention to related violence on both sides of the border.

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The term "synthetic pot" is a real aberration of the language. K2 (or spice) has effects that are nothing like marijuana. K2 causes bizarre hallucinations, paranoia, aggressive and irrational behavior, and psychosis. Real marijuana does none of the above; it just allows a person to mellow out and focus on pleasant thoughts.

Robert Breckenfeld

Brighton

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Prison owners Make a lot, By putting kids In jail for pot.

America recently commemorated the 40th year of its "War on Drugs." Celebrations were muted because of the war's dismal failure. How many candles are appropriate for shooting yourself in the foot? Congratulatory cards from sister nations were sparse, since many are urging us to abandon what was a stupid idea in the first place. Gee, thanks, Richard Nixon.

It's even stupider now. The FBI reports 750,000 annual arrests for marijuana possession. How inane is that? Now we have cleverly imposed on each of those malefactors a criminal record, thus making it harder for them to ever get a job. Who was the genius who thought that one up? Maybe it was those tireless leaders who seek to keep African Americans and Latinos "in their place." Because of racial profiling by police, that place is often jail.

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ADRIAN, Mich. - First, let's be perfectly clear: K2, Spice and other synthetic marijuana items often sold at gas stations and convenience stores should not be sold and should not be ingested. As stories in the Telegram show, these chemical substances can cause illness, addiction and, in some cases, death.

The word needs to be spread among people of all ages. Residents should thank stores that do not sell these products, and they should use their power as consumers to encourage stores that do sell them to stop immediately.

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