Commission uses MML review of marijuana law

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

The Rogers City planning commission continues to study the medical marijuana law. They are working towards initiating some type of ordinance on the law in regards to businesses, along with the legality of the drug. The city council has asked the planning commission to look into the issue to establish an ordinance, if they so choose, to spell out where co-op?s for medical marijuana can exist. The planning commission is using a local government view of the act prepared by Gerald Fisher, a consultant to the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Townships Association. The review was prepared at their request and is meant to be a resource for Michigan local governments in regards to the law.

Fisher is a professor of law at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills. The paper spells out the issues of the act as well as the gray areas within it. The major issue with the act is that, although Michigan has made the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana legal for medical purposes to qualifying patients and registered caregivers, under federal law, the drug is still illegal regardless of its use.

The city of Rogers City has placed a moratorium on the establishment of any businesses pertaining to medical marijuana as they have be

en looking at the law and trying to decide how to come up with a zoning ordinance to find a place to properly zone for the types of businesses that could exist, find a place they would fit best in the city if they were to come about. After discussing the many questions they had with both the review and the act in general, the planning commission asked city manager Mark Slown to work on getting them copies of the ordinances that already exist in other cities in Michigan. Traverse City is one city that has an ordinance and an established business for medical marijuana. The moratorium lasts for another five months.

Slown is going to make an effort to try to get five or six sample ordinances from Michigan cities that have already passed them. Once he receives them he will get them out to the planning commission members for them to review before the topic will be discussed again at the January meeting of the planning commission.