Pubdate: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 Source: Burton View (MI) Copyright: 2011 The Burton View Contact: http://burtonview.mihomepaper.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5294 Author: Amanda Durish Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries MORATORIUM IMPOSED ON MARIJUANA PERMITS BURTON -- A six month moratorium on all future marijuana dispensary permits in the city of Burton was adopted with a 5-2 vote at Tuesday's council meeting. The suspension recommendation came from city attorney Rick Austin following a meeting with Police Chief John Benthall and county prosecutor David Leyton. The move stems as a reaction to the recent Michigan Court of Appeals Opinion No. 301951 that involves Compassionate Apothecary, a Mount Pleasant-based medical marijuana dispensary. The case, still in an appeal, questions whether the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) actually permits the sale of marijuana. Current MMMA law does not condone or even recognize the legal sale of medical marijuana. If it's upheld that selling marijuana isn't permitted by the MMMA, then Compassionate Apothecary and other dispensaries statewide could be effectively shut down, found in violation of Public Health Code. While the Isabella County prosecutor enacted the litigation against Compassionate Apothecary, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton has publicly expressed a much different outlook on the issue, vowing only to look at cases involving medical marijuana that are brought to him by communities. Many blame a poorly worded law on the spate of judicial troubles that the MMMA has encountered. The MMMA's definition of the medical use of marijuana does not include patient-to-patient sales, thus putting even compassion clubs in a state of flux. Burton already has four operating medical marijuana dispensaries within its city limits. The city will not take any action against them for the time being. "Everything's in limbo. There's so many opinions on this and how it applies to the city," said Mayor Paula Zelenko. "It's not our place to dictate the policy on a violation of a public health code." Current Michigan House Bill No. 4850 is seeking to more clearly define the use and lawful dissemination of marijuana by amending the MMMA. For example, under the amendment, compensation to a registered caregiver for the costs associated with assisting a patient will not constitute the sale of a controlled substance. Burton's ordinance concerning medical marijuana growing facilities only regulates the zoning and placement of marijuana facilities. If the appeal for Compassionate Apothecary is knocked down, Zelenko fears that other unique cases might not be considered. "It doesn't make sense to apply this case to dispensaries throughout the state. You're comparing apples to oranges," she said. Burton readily adopted an ordinance concerning medical marijuana after the MMMA passed while, in city attorney Richard Austin's estimation, other Michigan communities "stonewalled it." "No one can say that we're anti-marijuana," Austin remarked. Austin explained that the moratorium protected individuals wanting to begin a dispensary from investing time and money only to possibly be shut down. "This is a moving target," he said. Amid the current uncertainty, one applicant has requested a dispensary permit in Burton since the suspension of permits. The city is also quickly nearing the limit on allowed marijuana facilities per current zoning limitations. "The four operating facilities have not caused any problems...They're quiet operations," said Austin, who noted that the former vacant locations haven't become hot spots for drug deals or drunken activity. Councilman Duane Haskins, who provided the opposition to the moratorium with Councilman Danny Wells, said he didn't think the council "should guess at what the Michigan Supreme Court will decide." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom