Proponents Of MMJ City Charter Proposal In Kalamazoo To Hold Public Meeting Tuesday

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Proponents of a citizen-sponsored city charter amendment to establish medical marijuana dispensaries in Kalamazoo will participate in a public meeting about the measure Tuesday.

Kalamazoo Patients for Safe Access, a nonprofit committee of area residents, is hosting the meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Van Deusen room at the Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St.

The proposed amendment to Kalamazoo's city charter will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The language states,"Shall the Kalamazoo City Charter be amended such that three (3) medical cannabis dispensaries are permitted within the city limits?"

Attorneys Daniel Grow and John Targowski, who helped author the proposal's language, will participate in the meeting, along with Dr. David Crocker, an interventional radiologist and owner of Michigan Holistic Health, who practices in Kalamazoo and other West Michigan cities.

"The meeting is an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the issues facing medical cannabis users, farmers and law enforcement as Michigan enters its fifth year since the passage of the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Law, which made Michigan the first and so far only Midwestern state to allow the medical use of cannabis by those with debilitating medical conditions," a press release from Targowski states.

The proposal seeks to create a licensing system in Kalamazoo to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. Owners of dispensaries would pay an annual $3,000 registration fee to the city of Kalamazoo. Dispensaries would be located in "visible store-front locations in appropriate commercial districts," according to the charter amendment proposal. They would have to be at least 500 feet from pre-existing public schools, private schools or other dispensaries.

The proposal was filed last year, but due to an error in the Kalamazoo City Clerk's Office not all of the signatures were counted. Some of the signatures were illegible and didn't seem to match names in the city's registered voter list, City Clerk Scott Borling said at the time. On further review, however, officials determined enough valid signatures had been filed, but not in time to get it on the 2011 ballot.

Proposal 7 seeks to allow voters to clarify how and in what manner medical marijuana users can get their medicine, Targowski's release states. Its predecessor, a 2010 initiative that city voters passed by more than 60 percent last year to make possession of a small amount of marijuana the lowest priority for law enforcement, also was sponsored by drug policy reformers.

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Source: mlive.com
Author: Emily Monacelli
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Website: Proponents of medical marijuana city charter proposal in Kalamazoo to hold public meeting Tuesday | MLive.com
 
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