Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Lansing - Those eager to see City Council pass a medical marijuana ordinance for commercial medical marijuana provisioning centers - also known as dispensaries - will likely have to wait a few more months.
An often frustrating process for city officials, business owners, neighborhood groups, caregivers, patients and others remains on hold because the latest draft of the ordinance is under review by the Planning Board.
Creation of a residential ordinance that would set guidelines for registered caregivers and patients could take even longer.
"It's not easy to understand this," At-large Council Member Carol Wood said of the process.
Recent changes in state law have posed a challenge for Lansing as it tries to craft policies that are fair for everyone affected by the growing medical marijuana industry that, according to Wood, has led to the opening of over 70 unlicensed commercial establishments in the city.
As of Friday, Wood said in Council's Committee on Public Safety meeting there were 73 dispensaries open. She is the committee's chair and is hopeful it will receive more answers about the proposed ordinance's progress after the Planning Board's scheduled Dec. 6 meeting - its final one of the year. The board's 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St., will be open to the public. Council next scheduled meeting after the Planning Board meeting is Dec. 12.
The proposed ordinance, if passed by council members, would require licenses for all commercial establishments.
Mayor Virg Bernero last week expressed confidence the city will soon create commercial and residential medical marijuana ordinances that are fair but don't penalize business owners, caregivers and patients who obey the law. If the city rushes to pass ordinances, it could set itself up for a flurry of legal challenges, Bernero said.
"I'm not willing to sacrifice quality for speed," Bernero said.
At Friday's public safety meeting, the City Attorney's Office did share its ongoing efforts to enforce a city-wide moratorium that was set May 21. It prohibits new commercial establishments from opening after that date.
The office recently followed up on 17 complaints it received from the public about commercial establishments and found that none resulted in moratorium violations. The office's investigations continue, Deputy City Attorney Mark Dotson said.
"I am spending a lot of my days chasing down complaints," Dotson said.
Complaints about commercial medical marijuana establishments can be submitted by phone at (517) 483-4320 or by filling out a form at lansingmi.gov/393/Citizen-Complaints. The office is expected to provide another report at the public safety committee's Nov. 17 meeting on the 10th floor of City Hall. The 3:30 p.m. meeting is open to the public.
According the City Attorney's Office's records, complaints filed by the public and ranged from moratorium violations to public nuisance matters like odor and traffic problems. The office has relied on a variety of documentation and other sources to determine if establishments opened before or after the moratorium. The documentation has ranged from property leases, print advertisements, Facebook posts and statements from landlords to customer reviews from a website called W*edmaps.
At Friday's meeting, Dotson passed out copies of a letter he has distributed to establishments that have generated public complaints. The letter asks establishments to show within 10 businesses days of receiving the letter that they opened and began operating before May 21. It states that failure to do so will lead to "immediate action by the city."
In 2013, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that commercial establishments like provisioning centers or dispensaries could be shut down using the state's public nuisance law.
A proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments could include zoning. A recent draft of that ordinance created by council's public safety committee and the city attorney's office mentions commercial establishments must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, child care centers, parks and playgrounds. Proposed zoning regulations also say medical marijuana establishments must be at least 500 feet away from other medical marijuana establishments, churches and substance abuse treatment centers.
Adam Macdonald, the National Patient Rights Association's board chairman, said he believes zoning is a bad way to chose who should open an establishment and who doesn't. He started the Detroit Medical Cannabis Guild, an organization that helped organize the recent founding of the Lansing Medical Cannabis Guild.
The Lansing guild has about 12 "business oriented" members, including a Lansing-based lab called ACT Labs that tests medical marijuana to make sure it's safe for state-registered patients, Macdonald said.
Macdonald said the Lansing guild's goal is to work with city officials, business owners and neighborhood groups to raise standards for the local industry and show how beneficial it can be for those who need it for medical reasons.
"It's a baby industry and I think a lot of people are spooked by it," Macdonald said. "Hopefully consistency will win them over."
Three bills signed into law in September by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appear to affect how cities like Lansing can regulate medical marijuana. The bills give local governments authority to regulate the location and number of medical marijuana provisioning centers and allow marijuana-infused products. The laws also allow for creation of a "seed-to-sale" tracking system to ensure that marijuana dispensed to state-approved patients has been tested for safety, create a Medical Marijuana Licensing Board, establish a framework for licensing fees and set annual assessments and a 3% tax on retail gross income.
Complaints about non-commercial medical marijuana operations, especially those in residential areas involving registered caregivers, are another aspect of the local industry that city officials are finding difficult to manage.
The city's Code Compliance Division does try to enforce zoning and home occupation ordinances for residential properties. The work becomes more difficult if its staff doesn't actually see public nuisance issues at properties or smell strong odors. Odors at homes are often the source of neighborhood complaints, Wood said.
"You don't have a monitor out there that you can put in a neighbor's yard that says 'These odors are emitting from here,'" Wood said. "You have to have a live body."
State law allows a registered caregiver to have up to five patients with state-issued medical marijuana cards. The caregiver can grow up to 12 plants for each patient; the law requires plants to be kept in an "enclosed, locked facility."
Bernero said he believes home grow operations generate most of the public complaints, but doesn't believe there's any kind of widespread emergency in the city. Bernero has encouraged the Police Department to do spot checks in neighborhoods. Bernero supports the rights of caregivers and patients - within the framework of state laws and local regulations.
"We are getting there, and we need to get it right," Bernero said of the city's proposed ordinances.
Voters passed in 2013 a City Charter amendment that mandates nothing in the city's Code of Ordinances applies to the use, possession or transfer of less than once ounce of marijuana on private property by a person who is at least 21.
Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 allows use of marijuana for medical reasons by persons who have been authorized by a physician to hold a state-issued medical marijuana card. It also allows patients and caregivers to cultivate marijuana plants. But a lack of specifics created challenges that Lansing and other municipalities across the state.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Moratorium Enforcement, Ordinance Raises More Questions
Author: Eric Lacy
Contact: 1-517-377-1000
Photo Credit: Julia Nagy
Website: Lansing State Journal
An often frustrating process for city officials, business owners, neighborhood groups, caregivers, patients and others remains on hold because the latest draft of the ordinance is under review by the Planning Board.
Creation of a residential ordinance that would set guidelines for registered caregivers and patients could take even longer.
"It's not easy to understand this," At-large Council Member Carol Wood said of the process.
Recent changes in state law have posed a challenge for Lansing as it tries to craft policies that are fair for everyone affected by the growing medical marijuana industry that, according to Wood, has led to the opening of over 70 unlicensed commercial establishments in the city.
As of Friday, Wood said in Council's Committee on Public Safety meeting there were 73 dispensaries open. She is the committee's chair and is hopeful it will receive more answers about the proposed ordinance's progress after the Planning Board's scheduled Dec. 6 meeting - its final one of the year. The board's 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St., will be open to the public. Council next scheduled meeting after the Planning Board meeting is Dec. 12.
The proposed ordinance, if passed by council members, would require licenses for all commercial establishments.
Mayor Virg Bernero last week expressed confidence the city will soon create commercial and residential medical marijuana ordinances that are fair but don't penalize business owners, caregivers and patients who obey the law. If the city rushes to pass ordinances, it could set itself up for a flurry of legal challenges, Bernero said.
"I'm not willing to sacrifice quality for speed," Bernero said.
At Friday's public safety meeting, the City Attorney's Office did share its ongoing efforts to enforce a city-wide moratorium that was set May 21. It prohibits new commercial establishments from opening after that date.
The office recently followed up on 17 complaints it received from the public about commercial establishments and found that none resulted in moratorium violations. The office's investigations continue, Deputy City Attorney Mark Dotson said.
"I am spending a lot of my days chasing down complaints," Dotson said.
Complaints about commercial medical marijuana establishments can be submitted by phone at (517) 483-4320 or by filling out a form at lansingmi.gov/393/Citizen-Complaints. The office is expected to provide another report at the public safety committee's Nov. 17 meeting on the 10th floor of City Hall. The 3:30 p.m. meeting is open to the public.
According the City Attorney's Office's records, complaints filed by the public and ranged from moratorium violations to public nuisance matters like odor and traffic problems. The office has relied on a variety of documentation and other sources to determine if establishments opened before or after the moratorium. The documentation has ranged from property leases, print advertisements, Facebook posts and statements from landlords to customer reviews from a website called W*edmaps.
At Friday's meeting, Dotson passed out copies of a letter he has distributed to establishments that have generated public complaints. The letter asks establishments to show within 10 businesses days of receiving the letter that they opened and began operating before May 21. It states that failure to do so will lead to "immediate action by the city."
In 2013, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that commercial establishments like provisioning centers or dispensaries could be shut down using the state's public nuisance law.
A proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments could include zoning. A recent draft of that ordinance created by council's public safety committee and the city attorney's office mentions commercial establishments must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, child care centers, parks and playgrounds. Proposed zoning regulations also say medical marijuana establishments must be at least 500 feet away from other medical marijuana establishments, churches and substance abuse treatment centers.
Adam Macdonald, the National Patient Rights Association's board chairman, said he believes zoning is a bad way to chose who should open an establishment and who doesn't. He started the Detroit Medical Cannabis Guild, an organization that helped organize the recent founding of the Lansing Medical Cannabis Guild.
The Lansing guild has about 12 "business oriented" members, including a Lansing-based lab called ACT Labs that tests medical marijuana to make sure it's safe for state-registered patients, Macdonald said.
Macdonald said the Lansing guild's goal is to work with city officials, business owners and neighborhood groups to raise standards for the local industry and show how beneficial it can be for those who need it for medical reasons.
"It's a baby industry and I think a lot of people are spooked by it," Macdonald said. "Hopefully consistency will win them over."
Three bills signed into law in September by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appear to affect how cities like Lansing can regulate medical marijuana. The bills give local governments authority to regulate the location and number of medical marijuana provisioning centers and allow marijuana-infused products. The laws also allow for creation of a "seed-to-sale" tracking system to ensure that marijuana dispensed to state-approved patients has been tested for safety, create a Medical Marijuana Licensing Board, establish a framework for licensing fees and set annual assessments and a 3% tax on retail gross income.
Complaints about non-commercial medical marijuana operations, especially those in residential areas involving registered caregivers, are another aspect of the local industry that city officials are finding difficult to manage.
The city's Code Compliance Division does try to enforce zoning and home occupation ordinances for residential properties. The work becomes more difficult if its staff doesn't actually see public nuisance issues at properties or smell strong odors. Odors at homes are often the source of neighborhood complaints, Wood said.
"You don't have a monitor out there that you can put in a neighbor's yard that says 'These odors are emitting from here,'" Wood said. "You have to have a live body."
State law allows a registered caregiver to have up to five patients with state-issued medical marijuana cards. The caregiver can grow up to 12 plants for each patient; the law requires plants to be kept in an "enclosed, locked facility."
Bernero said he believes home grow operations generate most of the public complaints, but doesn't believe there's any kind of widespread emergency in the city. Bernero has encouraged the Police Department to do spot checks in neighborhoods. Bernero supports the rights of caregivers and patients - within the framework of state laws and local regulations.
"We are getting there, and we need to get it right," Bernero said of the city's proposed ordinances.
Voters passed in 2013 a City Charter amendment that mandates nothing in the city's Code of Ordinances applies to the use, possession or transfer of less than once ounce of marijuana on private property by a person who is at least 21.
Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 allows use of marijuana for medical reasons by persons who have been authorized by a physician to hold a state-issued medical marijuana card. It also allows patients and caregivers to cultivate marijuana plants. But a lack of specifics created challenges that Lansing and other municipalities across the state.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Moratorium Enforcement, Ordinance Raises More Questions
Author: Eric Lacy
Contact: 1-517-377-1000
Photo Credit: Julia Nagy
Website: Lansing State Journal
