State Of Medical Marijuana In Townships Around Oakland County

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Communities grappling with medical marijuana issues

Lisa Brody

 

This is not a fly by night article. The author interviewed many people and included quotes from different doctors, lawyers, government, and LEO. Mostly from Oakland county. Well worth the read if you are interested what is going on in the local governments.

 

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July 14, 2010 - On Nov. 5, 2008, Michigan became the 13th state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for medical use, by a statewide vote of 63 percent to 37 percent on Michigan Proposal 08-1. That may be the last time there was a clear consensus on medical marijuana use in Michigan, as municipalities seek to define its use in their borders, law enforcement officers aren't sure whether it's really legal or not, doctors debate whether its efficacy is up to snuff, caregivers seek patients and patients search for caregivers.

 

Proposal 08-1, known as "a legislative initiative to allow under state law the medical use of marijuana," also known as the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, stated that it would permit physician-approved use of marijuana by registered patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health. The law requires the Michigan Department of Community Health to establish an identification card system for patients qualified to use marijuana and individuals qualified to grow marijuana. The law permits registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana. It also allows individuals, to become known as caregivers, to grow limited amounts of marijuana for qualifying patients in an enclosed, locked facility.

 

By an overwhelming majority, Michigan voters checked the "yes" box when asked whether to adopt the proposal. In Oakland County, 66 percent of November 2008 general election voters cast ballots affirmatively for the compassionate use of medical marijuana.

 

The subsequent permit process for the Michigan Medical Marijuana Program is a state registry program within the Michigan Department of Community Health's Bureau of Health Professions. Michigan began processing applications on April 6, 2009, after developing guidelines, applications, medical clarifications and qualifications, and an approval process following the Nov. 2008 statewide vote.

 

As of July 13, 2010, the Michigan Department of Community Health had received 37,924 original and renewal applications for medical marijuana use and dispensation. Of the applications received, 20,548 patient registrations had been issued and 8,905 caregiver registrations had been issued. Another 5,119 applications had been denied in that period, primarily for incomplete applications or documents with missing information.

 

The department maintains that once it receives a complete application, it will review an application within 15 days and provide valid identification cards to qualifying patients and primary caregivers.

 

Michael Komorn, a Southfield attorney who specializes in medical marijuana law and helping those in need of it and those providing it, disputes the amount of time the state is actually taking to process the applications and issue the cards.

 

"They're backed up to at least January," he said.

 

There is a mandatory fee of $100 that must accompany every application. Individuals receiving Medicaid Health Plan or are in receipt of current SSD or SSI benefits may be able to have the fee reduced to $25.

 

In order to be considered to receive a Michigan medical marijuana card, the first criteria to meet is to be a resident of Michigan; the second is to have a recognized debilitating disease. Diseases and conditions that qualify as debilitating under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law are cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's disease, or nail patella, a genetic disorder that results in small, poorly developed nails and kneecaps. Also qualifying are chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including but not limited to those caused by epilepsy; or severe or persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to, those which are characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

 

A medical doctor — which the state recognizes as an MD (medical doctor) or DO (doctor of osteopathy) — must review a patient's medical records to ascertain their status, and determine if marijuana will provide a medicinal or palliative salve. The state will not look through a proposed patient's medical records; nor will they recommend to a patient a physician who is familiar with the program and predisposed to look at a patient and his/her condition and refer them to the program. It's up to the patient to find their own licensed and credentialed doctor — although it doesn't have to be the doctor who treats them regularly for their condition.

 

The physician must state in writing that the patient has a qualifying debilitating medical condition and that medical marijuana may mitigate the symptoms or effects of that condition. The Michigan Medical Marijuana Program contacts each physician during the application process to verify the patient is under the physician's care. A signed and dated "Physician Certification" must be current within three months of the date of a person's new or renewal application. It's a very thorough process, and one in which the state easily detects people trying to get marijuana, irrelevant of their need.

 

Patients do not receive a prescription for medical marijuana — and Michigan pharmacies couldn't fill such a prescription. That's because pharmacies can only dispense medications "prescribed" by licensed physicians. The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, which means that licensed medical practitioners can't prescribe it. A physician, by providing written certification of a debilitating medical condition, can only recommend the use of medical marijuana. The state's Michigan Medical Marijuana card is issued to qualified patients in lieu of a prescription.

 

Instead of a neighborhood pharmacy, patients receive their medical marijuana from designated caregivers. According to state law, a caregiver can acquire 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for a qualifying patient. One individual caregiver can assist up to five patients, who can be a relative, friend, associate, or other known relation — as long as they've never been convicted of a felony drug offense. The caregiver must sign a statement agreeing to provide marijuana only to the qualifying patients who have named the individual as their caregiver. The caregiver's name, address, birth date and social security number must be provided to the state at the time of a patient's registration. They must be at least 21-years-old.

 

The department will then issue a registry identification card to the caregiver who is named by the qualifying patient on his/her application.

 

The illnesses which can qualify a patient for medical marijuana use aren't debatable; but many physicians do question whether marijuana is a curative drug, rather than merely a recreational drug.

 

"Marijuana, or the active ingredient, cannibanoid, does have an active medicinal effect," says Dr. James Honet, a Bloomfield Hills pain specialist. "There is a medicine with synthetic THC, called Marinol, that is approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for people with nausea and a lack of appetite. It comes in pill form. It's also been used for glaucoma.

 

"However, it has no role whatsoever in helping pain," Honet added. "In no clinical studies has it been proved to help pain. It's really analogous to drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels. You won't feel any pain, but it's because you're impaired, not because your pain is gone."

 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) states that Marinol has been studied and approved by the medical community and the FDA since the 1980s, and researchers are studying suitability for delivery of Marinol via an inhaler or a patch, similar to the pain medicine morphine, which would be beneficial for those suffering severe nausea and vomiting, especially associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and those whose appetite is lost due to AIDS treatments.

 

Honet and the DEA emphasize that smoking is generally a poor way to deliver medicine. Unlike monitored dosages in pill, inhaler, or patch form, they say it's difficult to administer safe and regulated doses of medicine in smoked form.

 

"To smoke marijuana is just to put your health at risk," Honet said.

 

The DEA notes that morphine has proven to be a medically valuable drug, yet no one endorses the smoking of opium or heroin. Instead, scientists and researchers extracted opium's active ingredients, which are sold as acceptable pharmaceutical products like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone.

 

Honet's patients suffer from various forms of chronic pain due to a variety of conditions, with different levels of tolerance.

 

"People ask us all of the time for prescriptions for medical marijuana," he said. "If we find out people are using pot, we will stop writing any prescriptions for pain medication because we do not want to further their impairment."

 

Attorney Komorn, who is on the board of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, a patient advocacy group with approximately 16,000 members, is as passionately opposed to that medical approach as he is a proponent for medical marijuana use.

 

"Prescription pills for chronic pain is a facade," he said. "So many people are never going to get off of them. There's just a growing number of pills, and it becomes a vicious cycle, with more and more people becoming addicted to pain pills. You get all of these other problems from the side effects of them. It affects their whole quality of life. Eventually, their organs shut down from the use.

 

"It's hypocritical of our society to be in partnership with the alcohol and cigarette industries, when there are no medical benefits from them," he added. "If they came on the market today, they'd be Schedule 1 drugs, too. After all, people are not overdosing or dying from marijuana."

 

Dr. Lawrence Eilander, a West Bloomfield neurologist practicing in Southfield, said he has found that marijuana can be very beneficial for some of his patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.

 

"Chronic pain patients with MS have a lot of muscle and nerve pain," he said. "From patients I've seen that have used it, many have been helped with severe leg pain, cramping, sharp nerve pain, and discomfort. Most of them smoke it, and that gives them some relief for four to six hours."

 

Eilander notes that his MS patients who have used medical marijuana have ended up "using a lot less narcotics-less morphine, oxycontin and Vicodin. They get off these drugs and just use the marijuana, which is much better for them, and it's the only time they get relief. I've seen it for 15 to 20 years in my practice."

 

Since the new law came into effect in Michigan a year-and-half ago, Eilander said he has written out nine or 10 of the medical marijuana patient forms, all for MS patients.

 

"I have found that it also works for the leg and back pain cancer patients get, not just for their nausea," he said.

 

Dr. Bill Gonte, a Southfield internal medicine/sports medicine specialist, said he saw a potential opening in the medical field when the medical marijuana law passed. He said his own patients were clamoring for it, and after doing his due diligence on the law, he created Physicians Certification Specialists, a company with 10 doctors which certifies that a qualifying medical condition is present or not by reviewing patient medical records and documents. The group has opened clinics, called Michigan Medical Marijuana Certification Center, in numerous cities (mmmcc.com). The primary clinic is in Southfield, with others in Grand Rapids, Traverse City, and Port Huron. Others will be opening soon in other states, as there are medical marijuana referendums pending in several other states.

 

Gonte emphasizes that he and his fellow doctors have nothing to do with determining the efficacy of marijuana use, or dispensing marijuana.

 

"The state doesn't understand the medical conditions, so the state wants a medical doctor to certify it," he said. "The state says you can use marijuana if you have a medical condition, but it has to be certified by a medical doctor. Yet, some doctors have issues with it, and some don't want the liability that comes with it. There's a very low percentage of doctors who will certify for it."

 

Instead, his clinics are receiving referrals from numerous oncologists, gastroenterologists, pain medicine specialists, internists, and family practioners.

 

"They may recognize a need for their patients, but they wisely don't write for them, because the issue of the law is still very cloudy," Gonte said. "Also, because you have a treatment relationship with a patient, you have a responsibility to the patient. So we're there to help walk the qualified patients through the system."

 

He said his doctors are primarily seeing patients with Hepatitis C, active AIDS, active HIV, cancer patients and chemotherapy patients, and chronic pain patients.

 

"Chronic pain patients are very hard to diagnose because it's difficult to determine and measure pain," he said.

 

Each patient pays between $100 and $200 to have their medical records reviewed.

 

Michigan Medical Marijuana Certification Centers prescreen all of the patients who call in, qualifying only about 30 percent.

 

"We clarify right up front that our standards are very high," Gonte said. "Therefore, we're not aware of anyone that we've certified that the state has denied (for a medical marijuana identification card)."

 

Gonte specifies that he and his fellow physicians don't advocate one way or another regarding the use of medical marijuana, only certifying the patients that have the appropriate medical condition and walking them through the system.

 

"We always tell them that they must discuss it with their physician. And after they see us, they should go back and see their physician, so their physician knows about it," he said.

 

To find qualified, state-registered caregivers is a much more difficult endeavor, because the state won't supply a patient with that information, doctors can't, and the law currently is not clear on whether caregivers can advertise.

 

"Finding a caregiver is very difficult," Komorn said.

 

He advises patients to search the Internet for different organizations that provide services for medical marijuana users; there is often information on where and how to find a caregiver, or caregiver message boards, on some of those sites.

 

"Compassion club meetings are good places to go, for many reasons," he said. "They're support groups that are open to the public, not-for-profit, there's no medicine given out, and they're just for discussion. Often you may run into a caregiver at a meeting." Many meet at local libraries.

 

A bigger issue is one of legality and municipal control.

 

While medical marijuana is now legal in the state of Michigan, it's still a violation of federal law; and to many law enforcement authorities, federal law trumps state law.

 

"We need some legislation," said state Rep. Chuck Moss (R-Orchard Lake). They've made it legal, but they don't have the statutory infrastructure to support it. Ideally, we (state legislators) would like the local governments to legislate it."

 

"It hasn't been thought out very well," said Oakland County Commissioner Shelley Taub (R-West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake). "There are two schools of thought. One is that we don't want it in our community at all. The other is looking to put it into an industrial area and regulating it.

 

"The problem is, the people in the state of Michigan — almost 70 percent of them — believe it should be legal. Many are suffering from terrible diseases. No one wants a loved one to die in pain, and I agree. We have to remember, it's now the law."

 

Some local communities are passing 120-day moratoriums to give them time to investigate and decide how they want to proceed with medical marijuana in their communities.

 

All authorities agree that if an individual patient has a card from the state's Michigan Medical Marijuana Program, and they are using it in the privacy of their own home, it's not a problem they will contend with. The greater issue is distribution by caregivers, and where else a patient in need of medical marijuana can medicate themselves.

 

In the lakes area, Commerce Township has developed an ordinance to outright ban medical marijuana distribution.

 

Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner said the community has "adopted federal law" with an ordinance adoption on June 8, and decided that, within the township's jurisdiction, medical marijuana dispensaries are prohibited.

 

"We said, 'Why bother getting involved in federal court cases,'" he said.

 

Komorn disagrees. "They do not have a legal right to ban it," he said. "It violates the precept of the federal law that says it can co-exist with state law. The cities (who do this) are not acting in a democratic way because they are removing the people who voted this initiative into law."

 

Komorn said he believes many civil and criminal issues will end up being worked out in the court system.

 

The Michigan Department of Community Health states that a person with a medical marijuana card is permitted to medicate on their personal property. State law, however, doesn't permit someone to undertake any task under the influence of marijuana, when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice. They can't possess marijuana, or use it medically, in a school bus; on the grounds of any preschool or primary or secondary school; or in any correctional facility; on any form of public transportation; or in any public place. Additionally, whether it's for medical use or not, no one can operate, navigate, or be in actual physical control of any motor vehicle, aircraft, or motorboat while under the influence of marijuana.

 

Fraudulent or illegal use of medical marijuana can result in a $500 fine.

 

Furthermore, employers are not required to accommodate employees' use of medical marijuana.

 

Lawmakers failed to incorporate language regarding use, growth, and dispensation of medical marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school when enacting laws to carry out the state's medical marijuana program. If there is a question about this, it's probably best to check with an attorney.

 

The city of Walled Lake is the first municipality in the lakes area to enact an ordinance regulating the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries.

 

Walled Lake City Council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance at its Tuesday, July 6 meeting.

 

"As a municipality we are a creature of the state and must abide by state law," said Mayor William Roberts. "The ordinance gives police, administration and council the teeth to operate within state law and provides local protection."

 

The ordinance requires a local license to operate a medical marijuana dispensary within the city and sets certain operating standards.

 

I think it's a good thing," said Walled Lake Acting Police Chief Paul Shakinas. "State law doesn't put in a lot of local control. This helps to close doors to civil litigation. While I'm not in favor of dispensaries on every corner, the vote of the people wanted this. The whole point from the city's perspective is to regulate it."

 

According to City Attorney Vahan Vanerian, drafting an ordinance was challenging due to the lack of existing precedent regarding interpretation of Michigan's medical marijuana statute, and there are limited state resources to draw upon in preparing local ordinances.

 

"It's unprecedented in Michigan," said Vanerian. "All communities addressing this are venturing into uncharted waters to try and regulate it at the local level. Currently, there are no court decisions applied to the statute in specific cases, and there is a general lack of consensus among municipal attorneys that don't really know the scope of permissible local regulation until cases make their way through the judicial process."

 

The ordinance drew upon local ordinances in other states which have medical marijuana laws similar to Michigan's.

 

The ordinance states that a person shall not engage in the business or occupation of a medical marijuana dispensary within the city without first obtaining a license from the city. A license will only be issued if the dispensary is located in a commercial or industrial zoning district.

 

The city manager is authorized to issue the license as long as the applicant meets city guidelines.

 

A security plan must be in place. A dispensary must provide adequate security and lighting on site to ensure the safety of persons and protect the premises from theft at all times. Usable marijuana on site, when not actively dispensed or transported, must be kept or stored within a secured, locked enclosure accessible only to caregivers and/or qualifying patients, as permitted under the state law.

 

Other communities have issued moratoriums while they determine what they want to do about the issue. The Waterford Township Board of Trustees approved a first

 

reading of an ordinance at its Monday, July 12 meeting, that would "give us time to get our ducks in a row" regarding the medicinal marijuana issue, said Township Supervisor Carl Solden.

 

Solden said that an ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana would be a "slap in the face" to the 66 percent of Waterford voters who approved the medical marijuana ballot issue in 2008.

 

Bob Vallina, Waterford's director of community planning and development, said that the township was considering "really kind of looking at the different types of uses we could be faced with, and what sorts of zones they would be best applied in."

 

Vallina said the Planning Commission could eventually decide that all medical marijuana establishments such as dispensaries, caregivers, and compassion clubs are prohibited in the community.

 

"We have to be extremely sensitive in terms of how the federal law deals with this stuff," Vallina said.

 

On Tuesday, July 6, the White Lake Township Board of Trustees approved a 90-day moratorium on medical marijuana approvals and facilities after receiving several inquiries at the township from people interested in establishing dispensaries in the township.

 

"This moratorium will give the township and board time to thoroughly research and draft an ordinance that we feel is appropriate for the township," Supervisor Mike Kowall said.

 

The Planning Commission will look at what other communities are doing, research the law, and form an ordinance.

 

Orchard Lake Village council unanimously voted to impose a six-month moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city at its June 21 meeting.

 

Mayor Bruce McIntyre spearheaded the discussion after the city received several inquiries from proprietors seeking a site for a dispensary, including one in the Orchard Commons Shopping Center.

 

Planning Commissioners met on July 6, and the consensus was that the city should regulate dispensaries; however, commissioners are taking the time to deliberate on all points.

 

The Wixom City Council voted on May 11 to impose a six-month moratorium on allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to open up in Wixom and referred the issue to the Planning Commission.

 

The moratorium is intended to give township planners and officials time to study areas within the township where medical marijuana facilities might be permissible. It's expected that the Planning Commission will either draft a final zoning ordinance amendment ready for approval that specifically outlines areas within the township where medical marijuana can be legally grown and sold, or determine that the issue falls under the current land use zoning ordinance in place.

 

The West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees, at its May 17 meeting, voted by a 4-3 margin to direct the township Planning Commission to draft language regarding the regulation of dispensing of medical marijuana in the township.

 

The motion included a 120-day moratorium for the amendment committee and asked the planning commission to create a proposal. Trustee Howard Rosenberg said that sales should occur in a well-regulated private location with no advertisements, and it should be compassionate and properly regulated. He added that 70 percent of West Bloomfield voters said marijuana prescribed properly serves as relief for patients.

 

"It is our responsibility to make sure dispensing is done in a humane and responsible way," he said. "We cannot have drive-throughs where people can pick it up the same way you can get a six-pack of pop."

 

The Milford Township Board of Trustees voted May 19 to implement a six-month moratorium, and Township Supervisor Don Green previously said that the township's Planning Commission will look into creating zoning districts that would allow such activities, including dispensing.

 

The township's current zoning and land use ordinances don't address the proper location of land uses involving medical marijuana because many of the activities previously were illegal and not permitted in any zoning classification within the township.

 

Milford Village passed a six-month moratorium back in June, and forbids land use for growing and distributing medical marijuana or allowing schools to provide training on the cultivation, processing, and distribution.

 

"This is not a criminal concern, but a land-use one, such as signage and street entrances near a facility," said Village Manager Arthur Shufflebarger. "The village is not heading into a direction towards banning medical marijuana. We're reacting to the state law."

 

Highland Township officials haven't decided whether to allow dispensaries in the township.

 

For now, Township Supervisor Triscia Pilchowski said, the township is operating under, and respecting, federal law.

 

Under federal law, marijuana use is illegal, even for medical uses.

 

Brooke Meier, Kirk Pinho, Leslie Shepard-Owsley and Michael Shelton contributed to this report.