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Charter 'half Baked' On Medical Marijuana, Says Kalamazoo City Attorney


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KALAMAZOO, MI -- A medical marijuana amendment to the Kalamazoo city charter was "half-baked' when approved by voters in 2012, City Attorney Clyde Robinson said.

The state Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in September 2016, gives Michigan cities the option to regulate the distribution of medical marijuana in their jurisdictions. Kalamazoo voters overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment allowing up to three dispensaries within city limits in 2012, but Robinson said aspects of the amendment are short-sighted and contradict the state law.

The citizen-initiated ballot proposal in Kalamazoo passed by nearly a 2-1 margin. However, Gov. Rick Snyder sent a letter to the city disapproving the charter, saying it was inconsistent with state law at the time. 

 

Robinson agreed.

"I said in 2012 that (the charter amendment) was poorly-worded, and I told people not to adopt this because it would create problems," he said. "Voters of Kalamazoo have made themselves a mess with attempting to get too far ahead of this."

 

Sal Ali, spokesperson for the Coalition for Equitable Cannabis Policies, is seeking 2,700 signatures to put an amendment to Kalamazoo's charter on the ballot. He met with Robinson in March to discuss how the city can implement fair policies for regulating the growing, processing, transportation, safety compliance and sale of medical marijuana.

Robinson said he isn't sure the coalition's amendment is in the best interest of the city either, but has yet to look at it in much detail. Meanwhile, Ali said the organization's attorney has also been in contact with the Grand Rapids city attorney.

Ali grew up in Kalamazoo, attending Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University before becoming involved in the medical marijuana industry in Michigan. It took him across the country, working to obtain applications in Las Vegas, Massachusetts and other places with more defined rules.

"I think it's great that the state adopted a licensing program and there are strict regulations that will be put in place," Ali said. "Right now, Michigan is like the wild west. (Cities) like Ann Arbor and Detroit flourish, but on west side of state you can get in trouble for the same thing they're doing on east side."

He said Kalamazoo should act to protect its residents while giving peace of mind to people who want to pursue the medical marijuana industry and be a legitimate business.

"Medical marijuana dispensaries address a medical need in the community, and in that use will be subject to rigorous review and conditions," Kalamazoo's charter states.

Clearing up the law

Local municipalities have option to allow and regulate these facilities, or not.

Section 199 of the Kalamazoo charter allows up to three dispensaries within the city. It was passed just before a 2013 Michigan Supreme Court ruling determined patient-to-patient sales many dispensaries facilitated were not protected under the law.

Ali voluntarily closed his own dispensary, "Kalamazoo Compassion Center," as a result of the ruling.

Without dispensaries, patients either had to grow their own marijuana or hire a caregiver. Caregivers are limited to only five patients.

The result was a patchwork of enforcement and rules across the state. In Kalamazoo, Robinson said no dispensary licenses were granted since the court ruling.

The charter blocks law enforcement personnel from bringing complaints against a dispensary if it has a permit and is in compliance with the charter. The state Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act provides stronger legal protection to facilities.

 

Under the new law, applications for one of five licenses can be filed starting Dec. 15 -- 360 days after the act went into effect on Dec. 20, 2016.

The five types of licenses include:

  • Provisioning Centers (also called dispensaries)
  • Processors (who refine the product into concentrates and edibles)
  • Growers (who cultivate the product)
  • Safety compliance facilities (which test the product for potency and contamination)
  • Secure transporters (who transport the product between facilities)

State operating licenses will be granted by a medical marijuana licensing board created within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The board consists of five members appointed by the governor to four-year terms.

Ten days after an application is submitted to the state, the local municipality must be notified. A municipality has to adopt an ordinance authorizing medical marijuana facilities for dispensaries and other facilities to open under the state law, but can't impose regulations on the purity or pricing of marijuana.

The state currently has no regulations on the how pure the product must be. Any organic product is subject to have foreign objects contaminate it, Robinson said.

In Kalamazoo, a permit can't be provided to people who have been Michigan residents for less than two years. The city collects an annual $3,000 fee each year, which Ali would increase to the state-imposed limit of $5,000 to cover administration and enforcement costs incurred by the city.

Kalamazoo's city charter states dispensaries must be located in visible store-front locations and be at least 500 feet from any public or private school and existing dispensaries. City officials, and neighbors living within 100 feet of a dispensary, are also provided with the name and phone number of a community relations staff person to contact if there are problems associated with the establishment.

However, federal drug-free zone laws prevent dispensaries from being located within 1,000 feet of a school.

Don't expect to see any pot-leaf billboards either; it's illegal to advertise except in certain trade publications.

Taxes on medical marijuana facilities are proportionally distributed to local units of government based on their number of facilities. Taxes also support law enforcement departments at the state and local level.

Ali said he believes there should be as many provisioning centers as there are pharmacies in the city, as long as they are within the appropriate zoning district.

Under the current city charter, the zoning requirement is not defined. The proposed amendment suggests placing them in manufacturing districts.

State law authorizes licenses for growers at three different classes, who can have between 500, 1,000 or 1,500 marijuana plants. Robinson said it is not clear if one person can stack the licenses.

The proposed amendment also seeks the city to authorize an unlimited number of growers, processors, secure transporters and safety compliance facilities.

Restricting the number of permits creates an opportunity for politics to influence the process, Ali said. He spent a year putting together an application in Springfield, Mass., only to have the permit go to a facility that had connections to the mayor, he said. 

The amendment also proposes a panel of city leaders to decide applications based on a scoring system.

It suggests having one physician and one attorney with experience in medical marijuana, a board member of a medicinal marijuana community organization, and two members of the Kalamazoo City Commission.

The proposed amendment also grants preference to local residents, calling for at least 30 percent of permits awarded for marijuana facilities to be issued to city residents. Seventy percent of employees at each facility would have to be a resident of the greater Kalamazoo area.

Thirty percent of permits would be awarded to applicants majority owned by minorities. Nationally, minorities are arrested and incarcerated at much higher rates for marijuana. 

Under another section of the city charter, law enforcement activity relating to the personal possession and use of one ounce or less of marijuana is of the lowest priority to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. This does not apply to consumption on public property or operating a vehicle while under the influence of the drug.

On June 1 each year, KDPS is required to file a report on the number of people cited or arrested for possession or use of marijuana.

The road ahead

Robinson said he doesn't know the current charter language is viable. He also expects the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act to be amended before the end of the year.

It might be possible to ignore the city charter entirely and only follow the state statute, but Robinson said he is still researching whether that is the case.

"The question is: Do we take parts of this language, which is a reflection of what voters wanted and throw out (things that are) inconsistent (with the state law) and keep things that are consistent?" Robinson said. "Or, is it so tied up that it would be be best to only follow state statue?"

At the same time, Ali said he is confident in the state of medical marijuana in Michigan. In general, he believes Kalamazoo will be receptive to his ideas, but is prepared to deal with potential backlash.

Pharmaceutical and alcohol companies across the country have put resources into preventing dispensaries, though Ali has yet to experience their influence here.

The amendment will be available online, but residents need to sign in writing for it to count toward a ballot initiative.

On the state level, the trio of bills to legalize and regulate dispensaries and legalize edibles cleared in the Michigan Senate before passing in the House of Representatives. Here are the bills Snyder signed, which take effect Dec. 15:

  • Public Act 281 creates the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act to license and regulate the growth, processing, transport and provisioning of medical marijuana. The House approved it 83-22.
  • Public Act 282 amends the voter-initiated Michigan Medical Marijuana Act to allow for the manufacture and use of marijuana-infused products by qualified patients. The House approved it 93-12.
  • Public Act 283 creates the Marijuana Tracking Act and a seed-to-sale tracking system to track all medical marijuana. The House approved it 85-20.

Petition to Change Kalamazoo City Charter

 
 

 

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