Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
City leaders have a decision to make now that state lawmakers have revised medical marijuana laws.
Traverse City officials must consider whether to allow five new types of medical marijuana-related businesses to operate within city limits, and if so, how many and where. The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs meanwhile hasn't finalized its rules for how these businesses can operate.
Five city commission candidates up for election on the Nov. 7 ballot gave their take on how they think the city should proceed.
Michele Howard said Traverse City should allow these new businesses, just as local governments around it are.
"I am in favor of opting in and, yeah, allowing them," she said. "I think that's a decision for the full commission is how many. That's up to us, what we allow and don't allow. I think once LARA comes down with the final rules, we can tailor the way that looks, even more so than it is now, I think. But I am in favor of allowing them."
The city shouldn't pass on tax revenues that would be collected at provisioning centers and redistributed to local governments that allow them, Howard said.
"The main reason is, they're already here, and if they're going to be here, we might as well get the taxes off of it," she said. "That's to me the biggest incentive. We get taxes, some money will go to the sheriff's department, some money will go to the state police for training, so those all seem like benefits to me."
Gary Howe said he has many unanswered questions about the new businesses as LARA finalizes its rules for how they can operate.
"I think we're still waiting on what the final rules would be from the state, and we're still waiting on answers from staff in terms of questions from the commission that came up at our meeting," he said. "I'm certainly open to it, but it's premature to say what we're going to allow and how much we're going to allow ... Really, I think it comes down to, we've got to look at what is the impact on the community and let's have a discussion on what is the impact."
Howe said he fears people might be afraid to speak up on the subject, making it hard to gauge public will.
"The law was created with patients in mind, so people are certainly benefiting from access to medical marijuana," he said. "But how do we hear their voices as well? They may be reluctant to come forward. So I'm asking for people to be brave and come and speak out, or at least send us emails if they have stories they can share with us."
Jeff Leonhardt said he's not opposed to dispensaries operating in the city, but that it should be up to what the residents want.
"I think there's a lot of uncertainty currently, I don't think Michigan has laid out the rules yet, so one of the things the city is currently struggling with is, if we don't know what the licensing rules are, how do we decide what to do, because if we do something, then (LARA) comes back with different things, then I think that puts what we have done in a bind."
It's up to the public to make their voices heard on the issue, Leonhardt said.
"If they're not weighing in, if they're not contacting their representatives at the local level, then maybe they're not bothered by it," he said. "And I'm not forever just, like opening up and saying – I mean, there are restrictions on how close (medical marijuana collectives) can be to each other anyhow. I'm more for, if the city does proceed, it should be limited and incremental and see how it goes."
Brian McGillivary said he was surprised to see the city commission take a wait-and-see approach on the issue.
"I was a little surprised when the city commission punted it," he said. "I think it had to do with the fact that three of the city commissioners are up for re-election and are a little afraid to address this topic. The city traditionally has been very open to medical marijuana, and back in the '90s tried to get the state to allow the city to vote to decriminalize it."
McGillivary said he still has some unanswered questions about how some of the new businesses will operate, but he believes the city should allow safety-testing laboratories, transporters and provisioning centers.
"No one has given me a reason not to allow provisioning centers in the city," he said. "No one has spoken to me about it, no one has complained to me about it. I have not seen a reason not to allow them. I think the existing provisioning centers for the most part have operated without major problems."
Tim Werner said he could favor allowing provisioning centers in town, but only a similar number to what the city already has.
"We have provisioning centers in town, and so they've, as far as I've been aware, they've been business members of the community, if you will," he said. "So if that all gets blown up by the new state rules, then I would see allowing for a similar concentration, if you will, or distribution – it depends on how you look at it, but a similar quantity of business activity within Traverse City."
Werner said he thinks city leaders will have to wait to see what LARA ultimately decides.
"The consensus was, let's see what the rules are that come out of Lansing rather than trying to anticipate what the rules will be, and potentially make any changes to what Traverse City is doing then have to go back and do that again once the rules are set by Lansing," he said. "The consensus was, let Lansing do their work, and once they finish their work, then it becomes clear what the rules are."
About the candidates
Michele Howard, 47, has served as a city commissioner since December 2016. She works as a librarian for Northwestern Michigan College.
Gary Howe, 44, is seeking a second term on the city commission. He's a freelance photographer, writer and consultant.
Jeff Leonhardt, 59, is a middle school teacher. He wants to take the skills he learned from decades of leading a classroom to the city commission.
Brian McGillivary, 55, is a city planning commissioner. He plans to draw on more than two decades of reporting on government, including for the Record-Eagle.
Tim Werner, 48, is seeking a second term on the city commission. He wants to use his engineering background to help the city plan environmentally friendly infrastructure.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: City candidates talk medical marijuana | Local News | record-eagle.com
Author: JORDAN TRAVIS
Contact: Contact Us | Site | record-eagle.com
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: record-eagle.com
Traverse City officials must consider whether to allow five new types of medical marijuana-related businesses to operate within city limits, and if so, how many and where. The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs meanwhile hasn't finalized its rules for how these businesses can operate.
Five city commission candidates up for election on the Nov. 7 ballot gave their take on how they think the city should proceed.
Michele Howard said Traverse City should allow these new businesses, just as local governments around it are.
"I am in favor of opting in and, yeah, allowing them," she said. "I think that's a decision for the full commission is how many. That's up to us, what we allow and don't allow. I think once LARA comes down with the final rules, we can tailor the way that looks, even more so than it is now, I think. But I am in favor of allowing them."
The city shouldn't pass on tax revenues that would be collected at provisioning centers and redistributed to local governments that allow them, Howard said.
"The main reason is, they're already here, and if they're going to be here, we might as well get the taxes off of it," she said. "That's to me the biggest incentive. We get taxes, some money will go to the sheriff's department, some money will go to the state police for training, so those all seem like benefits to me."
Gary Howe said he has many unanswered questions about the new businesses as LARA finalizes its rules for how they can operate.
"I think we're still waiting on what the final rules would be from the state, and we're still waiting on answers from staff in terms of questions from the commission that came up at our meeting," he said. "I'm certainly open to it, but it's premature to say what we're going to allow and how much we're going to allow ... Really, I think it comes down to, we've got to look at what is the impact on the community and let's have a discussion on what is the impact."
Howe said he fears people might be afraid to speak up on the subject, making it hard to gauge public will.
"The law was created with patients in mind, so people are certainly benefiting from access to medical marijuana," he said. "But how do we hear their voices as well? They may be reluctant to come forward. So I'm asking for people to be brave and come and speak out, or at least send us emails if they have stories they can share with us."
Jeff Leonhardt said he's not opposed to dispensaries operating in the city, but that it should be up to what the residents want.
"I think there's a lot of uncertainty currently, I don't think Michigan has laid out the rules yet, so one of the things the city is currently struggling with is, if we don't know what the licensing rules are, how do we decide what to do, because if we do something, then (LARA) comes back with different things, then I think that puts what we have done in a bind."
It's up to the public to make their voices heard on the issue, Leonhardt said.
"If they're not weighing in, if they're not contacting their representatives at the local level, then maybe they're not bothered by it," he said. "And I'm not forever just, like opening up and saying – I mean, there are restrictions on how close (medical marijuana collectives) can be to each other anyhow. I'm more for, if the city does proceed, it should be limited and incremental and see how it goes."
Brian McGillivary said he was surprised to see the city commission take a wait-and-see approach on the issue.
"I was a little surprised when the city commission punted it," he said. "I think it had to do with the fact that three of the city commissioners are up for re-election and are a little afraid to address this topic. The city traditionally has been very open to medical marijuana, and back in the '90s tried to get the state to allow the city to vote to decriminalize it."
McGillivary said he still has some unanswered questions about how some of the new businesses will operate, but he believes the city should allow safety-testing laboratories, transporters and provisioning centers.
"No one has given me a reason not to allow provisioning centers in the city," he said. "No one has spoken to me about it, no one has complained to me about it. I have not seen a reason not to allow them. I think the existing provisioning centers for the most part have operated without major problems."
Tim Werner said he could favor allowing provisioning centers in town, but only a similar number to what the city already has.
"We have provisioning centers in town, and so they've, as far as I've been aware, they've been business members of the community, if you will," he said. "So if that all gets blown up by the new state rules, then I would see allowing for a similar concentration, if you will, or distribution – it depends on how you look at it, but a similar quantity of business activity within Traverse City."
Werner said he thinks city leaders will have to wait to see what LARA ultimately decides.
"The consensus was, let's see what the rules are that come out of Lansing rather than trying to anticipate what the rules will be, and potentially make any changes to what Traverse City is doing then have to go back and do that again once the rules are set by Lansing," he said. "The consensus was, let Lansing do their work, and once they finish their work, then it becomes clear what the rules are."
About the candidates
Michele Howard, 47, has served as a city commissioner since December 2016. She works as a librarian for Northwestern Michigan College.
Gary Howe, 44, is seeking a second term on the city commission. He's a freelance photographer, writer and consultant.
Jeff Leonhardt, 59, is a middle school teacher. He wants to take the skills he learned from decades of leading a classroom to the city commission.
Brian McGillivary, 55, is a city planning commissioner. He plans to draw on more than two decades of reporting on government, including for the Record-Eagle.
Tim Werner, 48, is seeking a second term on the city commission. He wants to use his engineering background to help the city plan environmentally friendly infrastructure.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: City candidates talk medical marijuana | Local News | record-eagle.com
Author: JORDAN TRAVIS
Contact: Contact Us | Site | record-eagle.com
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: record-eagle.com
