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EXTENDED DELAY LIKELY ON POT-LAW ORDINANCE

The village of Pinckney plans to extend a moratorium on the sale and dispensation of medical marijuana Monday, allowing its Planning Commission more time to continue gathering information to potentially propose an ordinance governing medical uses of the drug. 

Village President Rebecca Foster said the Planning Commission already has the "nuts and bolts" of a home-occupation ordinance that would allow medical marijuana caregivers to operate within village limits as long as they meet certain guidelines and attain a special-use permit. 

While the Planning Commission has created a medical marijuana ordinance outline, Foster said it still needs time to analyze potential fallout from the 2008 Michigan Medical Marahuana Act, which Foster said is no easy feat. 

"The reason they're asking for more time is they have to check into details," Foster said of the Planning Commission.  "They want to make sure what is going on as far as medical-privacy laws, how caregivers fall under the federal law and those things.  It's very complicated."

Pinckney has dealt with the issue of medical marijuana in similar fashion to most Livingston County municipalities in enacting - and now extending - moratoriums.  However, a moratorium on the medical marijuana uses is only a short-term solution to what's become a major issue across the state, Foster said. 

Currently, the Planning Commission's rough draft of a medical marijuana ordinance mirrors language used by the city of Grand Rapids. 

The home-based occupation or home-based-business ordinance would require a medical marijuana caregiver - people authorized by the state to provide medical marijuana for up to five patients - to apply and acquire a special-use permit through the village.  A special-use application requires a public hearing, and the permit itself would cost $350 if approved in Pinckney, Foster said. 

A caregiver under the potential ordinance would have to meet several requirements, including full compliance with the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and the general rules of the Michigan Department of Community Health. 

The potential ordinance would not, however, permit medical marijuana dispensaries or clubs. 

"If you are a caregiver, we're going to say locally there are only certain areas you can do that in," Foster said. 

"Our whole focus is to ensure there are not clubs and dispensaries downtown, so you don't end up in a situation where there are 50 people picking up prescriptions in one location," she said. 

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SIMILAR APPROACHES SEEN ACROSS COUNTY

Livingston County municipalities have responded to Michigan's medical marijuana law in similar ways.  Brighton Township, for example, extended its initial six-month moratorium on medical marijuana businesses in December - a move that's been emulated by most other Livingston County municipalities. 

Hartland Township, the cities of Brighton and Howell and the village of Pinckney have either approved moratoriums while zoning rules are reviewed or simply zoned out buildings where marijuana would be smoked or dispensed. 

The city of Brighton's planning commission will hold a public hearing April 12 and may propose ordinance language similar to that of Grand Rapids, which permits the sale of medical marijuana by licensed caregivers but not dispensaries. 

Green Oak Township recently approved minor zoning-ordinance changes that incorporate state-approved medical marijuana use, possession and growth into the township's rules for building uses.  The township's ordinance was updated to say that state-approved use, possession and growth of medical marijuana are exempt from a prohibition against building uses not in line with local, state and federal law. 

In Michigan, the law allows people to use medical marijuana with a doctor's certification and state registration if they have conditions such as cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease or other conditions involving chronic pain, nausea or muscle spasms.  Individuals must apply to the Michigan Department of Community Health. 

Under the law, patients can possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana and 12 marijuana plants for personal use. Caregivers, authorized by the state to provide the marijuana, can possess a similar amount for each patient, up to five people, they provide for. Users and caregivers

must keep all marijuana under lock and key.