Detroit Puts 211 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries On Notice

[bobandtorey]

As early as this morning, medical marijuana dispensaries in Detroit will be opening envelopes containing letters from the City of Detroit regarding the city’s new registration process- and a reminder that most of them will not be in operation for very much longer.

The letter was referenced in a Powerpoint presentation created by three different divisions of government and delivered to City Council during a meeting Tuesday morning. The presentation, titled “Medical Marihuana Caregiver Center Application Process Status Report For Detroit City Council,” identifies 211 dispensary locations in the city and includes a map.

The status report also says, “Notice letters sent to all facilities on February 2, 2016, published in the Detroit Legal News and posted on the MMCC website.”

As of this writing, the letter is not easily located on any of the websites the city has created for medical marijuana caregiver centers. The Compassion Chronicles has not been able to obtain a copy.

The new medical marijuana rules will begin on March 1; any dispensary in the city has until March 31 to apply for a business license. Most of the applicants will have to apply for a zoning variance, as the city was extremely stingy on the number of locations properly zoned for the inappropriately-named caregiver centers.

Although a process has been established for businesses to apply for a zoning variance, skepticism about the likelihood of anyone attaining the variance was expressed by Council members during the Tuesday meeting.

Dispensaries currently operating within 1,000 feet of a school could be deemed a public nuisance as early as March 1, since there is no variance process for those non-conforming properties. Any currently operating facility that has not completed the paperwork and filed the required forms electronically with the city by March 31 is out of compliance with the ordinance and could be deemed a nuisance.

The City has outlined some important facts about the new caregiver center program, including costs– but not everything has been decided yet. A Site Plan Review will cost $160, the initial Conditional Hearing is $1000, a Board of Zoning Appeals Hearing will run $1200, and the price of the business license is yet to be determined.

The city has set themselves up to double-dip the approved caregiver centers. The centers will have to purchase business licenses in early spring to operate, then they will be forced to renew their license again in September.

The FAQ page for the program tells citizens to report any illegal caregiver centers to their police precinct or neighborhood police officer.

Richard Clement, Marijuana Policy Analyst for Council Member George Cushingberry, asks that anyone interested in viewing documents visit www.detroitmi.gov/Government/City-Council/George-Cushingberry/Newsletters-and-Documents

Edited February 6, 2016 by bobandtorey

[budpuffer]

i'm having a hard time understanding how in this part of the state it seems to be legal for a dispensary owner to get licensed and operate,where in the same state, other dispensary owners are thrown in jail...what happened to fair justice for all under the law??...same darn state,two standards???..bp     

[matt79]

Yeah i agree. Thats pretty rediculous

[trichcycler]

consider simple knife possession rules are different from city to city often also.

 

Since the Fed statute trumps state I suspect as soon as the couple hundred disp owners are weeded out, to find the most capable of successful operations, and their banking issues are handled, the feds will swoop in to remind us all they are in charge regardless of what a corrupt city/state/village/town may posit.

 

Like when they see an illegal grow but wait until harvest time to take it.

Edited February 7, 2016 by grassmatch

[bobandtorey]

i'm having a hard time understanding how in this part of the state it seems to be legal for a dispensary owner to get licensed and operate,where in the same state, other dispensary owners are thrown in jail...what happened to fair justice for all under the law??...same darn state,two standards???..bp     

 

 

Imho the Medical marihuana Law has become a Zip code Law 

[bobandtorey]

consider simple knife possession rules are different from city to city often also.

 

Since the Fed statute trumps state I suspect as soon as the couple hundred disp owners are weeded out, to find the most capable of successful operations, and their banking issues are handled, the feds will swoop in to remind us all they are in charge regardless of what a corrupt city/state/village/town may posit.

 

Like when they see an illegal grow but wait until harvest time to take it.

 

I do agree with some of your post but Imho they wait until the money is their for there taking  they don't want the Weed they want the $$$$ and things you own 

[bobandtorey]

DETROIT– The Compassion Chronicles told you that 211 Detroit medical marijuana facilities have been put on notice by the city’s Law Department that they are subject to police action for their continued operation after March 31. The notice came in a letter addressed by attorney Melvin ‘Butch’ Hollowell of Detroit’s Corporation Counsel; we have finally obtained a copy of that letter (see attached images below).

Hollowell does not mince words in the letter.

“I am writing to you to give you advisory notice that this location has been identified as conducting business activities pertaining to medical marihuana in a commercial building,” the letter begins.

After outlining the procedures and policies regarding medical marijuana distribution facilities, Hollowell get straight to the threatening.

“Commercial locations conducting medical marihuana activities that are located in a “Drug Free Zone” will not be permitted.” (emphasis included in original document)

“Continued operation of commercial locations conducting medical marihuana activities… without required City of Detroit approvals for licensing and zoning is “at your own risk.”” (emphasis and italics included in the original document)

Hollowell outlines the penalties distribution centers face from the city if the described activities are not halted. They include “civil and criminal penalties, including ticketing, fines, confiscation of illegal marihuana and paraphernalia, arrest or closure order.” (emphasis and italics included in the original document)

Hollowell states the ordinances will be enforced by officers of the Detroit Police Department and members of the building safety division of Detroit city government.

The letters were referenced in a PowerPoint presentation presented by Hollowell, DPD officials and others during a City Council session last week. During that session, Council President Brenda Jones called for all the nonconforming facilities to be shut down with extreme prejudice, comparing their operation to “drunk drivers” who should all be removed from the motorways.

Her tirade was sparked by Hollowell describing the decision to allow or ban medical marijuana distribution centers on a “case-by-case basis”. Council President Pro Tempore, George Cushingberry, has consistently advocated for common-sense guidelines for medical marijuana distribution in the city, calling for rules that mirror restrictions applied to other businesses.

City Council’s ordinance imposes a first-ever 1,000 foot buffer zone from any recognized church or religious institution in the city, a move that prompted many area attorneys to threaten lawsuit based on separation of church and state, should any facility be denied operation for this reason.

Zoning expert and former Royal Oak City Commissioner, attorney Jim Rasor, took to social media to express his belief that some marijuana distribution center in Detroit are a “grandfathered pre-existing use.” Another attorney from suburban Royal Oak, David Rudoi, is prepared to challenge the new ordinance on several fronts.

The clock is ticking, and March 31 may not be the ultimate deadline for some of the city’s currently operating dispensaries. Some facilities have been raided by DPD in advance of the ordinance. Any facility operating within 1,000 feet of a K-12 primary school is in violation of a federal drug-free school zone, which could trigger action by authorities before the ordinance-imposed deadlines.

 

http://thecompassionchronicles.com/2016/02/08/at-your-own-risk-warning-from-detroit-to-dispensaries/

[bobandtorey]

Two sets of petitions turned in to City Clerk by Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform; both sets certified as having enough signatures by Clerk’s office

 

March 1, 2016. DETROIT- The City Clerk today accepted two sets of petitions intended to revoke Detroit’s new medical marijuana dispensary licensing and zoning programs. Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform (CSCR) member Greg Pawlowski submitted the petitions before 9AM this morning, March 1. The Clerk’s office has stamped and counted the petitions, determining that each separate set contains more than 4,055 signatures as required by referendum law.

 

Detroit’s City Council passed two ordinances, one in October and another in December, intended to slash the number of businesses in the city distributing medical marijuana to patients who are certified by a physician and licensed by the state. The ordinances are unduly harsh, claim advocates and business, and impose restrictions on medical marijuana distribution centers that are more strict than any other commercial land use authorized by the city. Advocates and the Reform organization submitted one set of petitions per ordinance.

 

“The Detroit City Council inexplicably passed unworkable and dysfunctional ordinances that compromise the many existing distribution establishments, as well as the patron patients who have come to rely on these establishments as their primary source of medication,” said Jamie Lowell, Treasurer of CSCR. “The city’s current plan also would severely limit the ability for citizens and aspiring entrepreneurs to take advantage of this unique opportunity to participate in the dynamic emerging cannabis industry.”

 

March 1st was to be the first day of the new licensing program; the rules of referendum state the implementation of the ordinance in question has to halt until the referendum is resolved, either with a refusal of petitions from the Clerk or a by a vote of the people. If the petition requirements are satisfied, Detroiters would cast their vote on the referendum issues during the August primary election. “Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform was created because Detroit’s Medical Marihuana Caregiver Center ordinances are not good for patients, not good for the city and they constitute bad leadership in the region,” said Pawlowski, a Detroit resident. “The ordinance creates difficult standards and, if enforced, would bring chaos and criminality into patient’s lives.”

 

Detroit’s City Clerk was unavailable to discuss the rollout of their new dispensary licensing program, but former Congressional candidate George Brikho is confident the referendum process will be respected.

 

“Why are they limiting access to medicine for patients?” Brikho asked. “Our small businesses have created a positive impact in Detroit. Overregulation will destroy patient participation in a regulated market. Some patients will go from protected to helpless. These ordinances are an example of broken government; patients and families will pay the price, and that is why we filed our petitions.”

 

The City Clerk has ten days to determine how many of the signatures on each set of petitions are valid, and report that number to the Reform organization, who then have 15 days to submit a number of signatures to satisfy the shortfall. “Fortunately, the democratic process in Michigan allows the citizens to weigh in directly when the elected officials do not satisfy the will of the people,” Lowell said.

 

“We complained about these ordinances to Council for months. Issues regarding patient access and safety were not addressed,” explained journalist and advocate Rick Thompson. “Legal recourse exists to challenge these poorly derived ordinances, and it has been initiated.”

 

“Policies based on fear usually have a tendency of being wrong for society,” added Pawlowski. “We are blessed to be in Detroit which views cannabis more openly; some may not like it, but let’s take the dispensary issue to the people and let them decide.”

 

Involved in leading the petition drive were Pawlowski; George Brikho of Evergreen Management; Jamie Lowell of 3rd Coast Dispensary and the MILegalize organization; and TCC Editor/MINORML Board member Rick Thompson. A number of attorneys, professional signature gathering companies and distribution centers in the city participated in creating the petitions and collecting the signatures.

 

The CSCR organization includes Detroit Pastor Tyson Kelly (313-477-0546).

 

http://thecompassionchronicles.com/2016/03/01/group-files-referendum-petitions-to-halt-detroit-medical-marijuana-dispensary-ordinances/