Medical Marijuana In Montcalm Township

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New medical marijuana collective announces itself

 

 

Medical marijuana in Montcalm Township

 

Brad Klosner-Staff Writer

bklosner@staffordgroup.com

 

MONTCALM TOWNSHIP - The Montcalm Township Board learned about the township's new medical marijuana collective during its meeting on Wednesday.

 

Rick Lang, co-founder of Grass Roots Society, the medical marijuana collective, gave a presentation to the board during its regular April meeting.

 

"Our plan is to educate the public," Lang said. "We're trying to bring the standard of this up. We want this to work."

 

The club started operating about two weeks ago and is located on Peck Road in Montcalm Township.

 

Lang explained the collective is not a dispensary where anyone with a medical marijuana card can come and buy their medicine. Grass Roots Society is a collective where only paying members come to receive their medication. The collective is designated as a 501©3 nonprofit organization.

 

The club has 74 members and eventually will have six to 12 employees. Membership is a $20 yearly donation to the club. The vast majority of the members are Montcalm Township residents, Lang said.

 

Township Supervisor Mike Adams said he toured the facility and remarked on the professional manner in which the collective was operating.

 

"I was impressed," he said. "It wasn't like anything you'd think going on in there. They're going out to make this as neighborhood friendly as they can."

 

Lang explained that the organization does not allow anyone to use the medication while on the premises. He said he would not allow people to drive away from the facility if they are under the influence of marijuana.

 

In addition, Lang said the collective encourages more healthy ways of ingesting the medicine. Rather than smoking the dried plant material, collective organizers encourage the use of "medibles," or edible treats made with marijuana. The collective also encourages vaporizers, which heat the plant material to the point where it releases cannabinoids, or the active ingrediants, without actually burning the plant.

 

During the meeting, Lang and the organization's attorney, Daniel Burns, fielded questions from the township residents. Burns explained how the collective is, and will continue, obeying the laws set forth by the state governing this type of business.

 

"We're here today to let you know what we're about," Burns said. "It is the law in the state now. They've complied with the laws. This is something being properly done."

 

Some township residents voiced their concerns with the nature of the business. Burns said there is always going to be apprehension when any new business moves into town, particularly a controversial one. However, he assured the township the Grass Roots Society is all about integrity.

 

Yet, some claimed the business was bringing their property values down. Others were concerned that someone may go to a different dispensary and then visit the collective, ultimately stockpiling medical marijuana to be sold on the street. Some questioned why pharmacies have not begun to dispense medical marijuana. One resident was concerned with the potency of the marijuana.

 

"There is no toxic level (with marijuana)," Burns said.

 

In addition, Lang and others at the cooperative test all the medical marijuana reaching collective members. Using microscopes and chromotography, the collective knows exactly how much cannabinoids each patient receives.

 

"It should be regulated like the pharmacy is," Lang said. "We feel it should be the same for medical grade marijuana."

 

In the end, as long as the collective maintains its integrity and legality, the township intends to allow it to operate.

 

"They have a legal right to be here," Adams said. "We, as a township, can't stop what they are doing."

 

However, rather than be merely tolerated, the collective wants to be a part of the community. Burns encouraged people to come to the collective to ask questions and see for themselves how it operates.

 

"We're not hiding out here," Burns said. "This is a first class operation."

 

The collective is made up of active citizens who are mothers and fathers, neighbors and friends, and many hard-working people in the community. The only thing the collective desires is to get along with the rest of the greater community, Lang said.

 

"We figure, if there is going to be a fight, let it be down at the capital," he said. "Not among the town(ship residents)."

 

For more information, call Grass Roots Society at (616) 225-2200.

 

 

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