Following a recent judge's ruling, attempts to regulate medical marijuana sales through local zoning can be compared to a line in a William Shakespeare's MacBeth - "full of sound and fury signifying nothing." Since the 2008 approval of a statewide referendum legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, local zoning boards and planning commissions have been studying how to address the medical marijuana law. And late last month, just when it appeared some were coming to a conclusion on how best to apply zoning to the law, the state Court of Appeals ruled commercial patient-to-patient transfers are illegal. [continues 564 words]
The Suttons Bay Township Planning Commission is recommending an approach to the regulation of medical marijuana that may be unique in Leelanau County so far. "Primary caregivers" would be able dispense medical marijuana as a "home occupation" in Suttons Bay Township, but would need to deliver the marijuana to patients' homes rather than operating a storefront "dispensary" or "collective" or otherwise using their property as a commercial marijuana outlet. "This is in keeping with a recent Michigan Attorney General's opinion on the medical marijuana law that seems to discourage marijuana cooperatives, dispensaries and other commercial enterprises," said Steve Patmore, township zoning administrator. [continues 490 words]
The Empire Township Planning Commission is taking a hiatus of sorts for most of the summer after holding a brief meeting last week. Commission chairman Richard Figura said in a phone report Tuesday that the commission met May 24 for one hour. "We only have one thing on our plate and that is medical marijuana," he said. Figura is a lawyer who has written draft ordinances for other communities seeking to regulate where medical marijuana dispensaries may go. But Figura and Empire planners still have more questions than answers when it comes to how much control a local government may exercise on a dispensary. [continues 104 words]
About 25 people attended a special meeting of the Village of Suttons Bay Planning Commission last week to hear an attorney present a briefing titled "Options for Zoning Regulations concerning Medical Marijuana." Attorney Bryan Graham of Antrim County has been working for several years for the village, Suttons Bay Township and numerous other municipal entities in northwestern lower Michigan. Suttons Bay's staff planner, Kathy Egan, said nearly all of the people who attended the one-hour briefing on March 16 were planning commissioners from Suttons Bay, Bingham and Leland townships, as well as the Village of Suttons Bay. [continues 444 words]
Since the beginning of this month, at least three more units of government in Leelanau County have taken action to temporarily halt the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries pending adoption of new zoning ordinances and other rules designed to regulate pot. On March 2, the Bingham Township Planning Commission, acting on the direction of the Bingham Township Board, began discussions about how to draft a zoning ordinance amendment that will regulate the cultivation, storage, sale and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. The township board last month adopted a nine-month moratorium on allowing such businesses to operate in Bingham Township until an applicable ordinance could be adopted. [continues 449 words]
Medical marijuana has come to Leelanau County. At least one medical marijuana "dispensary" is open in Elmwood, where the township zoning administrator has sent a warning that it violates zoning laws. Local municipal officials elsewhere in the county are taking steps to prevent the spread of such outlets until zoning ordinances can be amended to regulate where, how or even whether such businesses can be operated. Roughly a half-dozen similar busineses have been in operation in nearby Traverse City where officials have been struggling with similar regulatory concerns since 2009. [continues 815 words]
Supported by an opinion from its attorney and prompted by an anonymous inquiry, the Elmwood Township Board has placed a moratorium on the establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary as allowed under a statewide referendum approved in 2008. The six-month moratorium, approved by a 4-2 vote Monnday with trustees Don Gallagher and Terry Lautner opposed, will give board members time to consider whether Elmwood should regulate medical marijuana distribution though its zoning ordinance. Gallagher and Lautner didn't need more time to reach a conclusion. [continues 244 words]
When Michigan voters approved the use of medical marijuana in November, Bob Heflin was grateful for the public's support. Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf and county Prosecutor Joseph Hubbell, on the other hand, are still wondering how to address the ramifications of the new law. Helfin, 65, of Acme is one of the founding board members of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, the citizens group that formed in 2007 to lead the effort to put a medical marijuana initiative on the 2008 General Election ballot. [continues 798 words]
Finding someone in Leelanau County who will admit publicly that they plan to vote "yes" on Proposal 1 in November is not an easy task. The proposal calls for a legislative initiative to permit the use and cultivation of marijuana for specified medical conditions. The ballot proposal was put forward by a group called the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, which asserts that a new law will strictly limit legal marijuana use to "registered patients" whose doctors have prescribed the drug for conditions approved by the state Department of Community Health. [continues 649 words]
