Woman Wants To Open Medical Marijuana Business

[bobandtorey]

An Ann Arbor woman’s bid to open a medical marijuana dispensary and growth operation is forcing Plymouth Township officials to address how the township should regulate such a business.

Michigan voters opened the door to medical marijuana for specific conditions, including cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain and severe nausea, with the passage of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act in 2008. But township officials say the law has many gray areas and is open to abuses.

“We need the Legislature to step up and give us some clear direction,” Supervisor Shannon Price said.

Stephanie Fischer of Ann Arbor, who provides medical marijuana to three patients out of her home, applied in July for an occupancy permit for a site on Joy Road. Fischer wants to expand her business there and offer space for other caregivers to grow pot, plus provide a resource for education about medical marijuana.

“I’ve seen the variety of people that it helps, the variety of people in different walks of life who medicate for various reasons,” said Fischer, who once worked in a medical marijuana dispensary in California and is herself a medical marijuana patient.

Fischer said her plans are being stalled by the township.

‘Just delaying’

In response to her application for an occupancy permit, she said, she received a questionnaire from the building department, to which she responded in August. She’s had a couple of meetings with Police Chief Tom Tiderington, she said, but no official word on the status of her permit request.

“I can understand their hesitancy,” said Fischer, who has hired a lawyer, James Fiselski. “If they were going to tell me no, they should’ve told me four months ago. Now they are just delaying it.”

Fischer has appeared at the last two Board of Trustees meetings to ask, during public comment, about the status of her request.

Price admits the issue is one he’s reluctant to tackle.

“I’m not jumping for joy about this,” Price said Tuesday.

Price said he is organizing a “task force” to discuss how the township should approach medical marijuana businesses. The committee, he said, will include trustees, a building department representative and the police chief.

“This isn’t about bringing in a new restaurant or a high-tech company, this is about bringing in somebody who wants to grow and sell marijuana,” Price said. “We’re got to make sure whatever we’re doing, we’re doing right.”

Price said there are gray areas in the law that concern him and that officials need to decide if they should restrict medical marijuana businesses to specific zoning classifications.

Plus, Price said, Fischer’s plan is different from the typical dispensary in that she intends to rent growing space to other caregivers, thus expanding the number of patients the business could service. Michigan’s medical marijuana law allows each registered caregiver to provide marijuana for to up to five patients and to grow up to 12 marijuana plants for each of those patients. Medical marijuana patients must have a doctor’s certification and also be registered with the state.

“This task force is going to look at every option and try to come up with what we’re going to do,” Price said. Township attorney Kevin Bennett has already been consulted, as has an attorney with the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, an insurance provider, who has experience in medical marijuana issues, Price said.

Seeking clarity

Tiderington said the type of business Fischer wants to open would be illegal. “I don’t think that the medical marijuana act provides for that type of facility,” he said.

Tiderington said a marijuana dispensary in the township was raided about two years ago and charges filed against the operators.

At the same time, Tiderington said, the vagueness of the law is unfair to law enforcement and to people like Fischer who want to operate within the law.

“Law enforcement agencies statewide are looking for clarification in terms of what is legal and what is not legal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fischer is stuck paying rent on her site, about 1,400 square feet, while she waits for an occupancy permit.

“I haven’t even been able to put carpet on the floor, paint the walls, do anything, because I don’t have that occupancy permit,” she said.

Fischer added: “I want to be part of the community. I look forward to being able to help and educate those in the area.”

The Michigan House of Representatives earlier this year approved legislation intended to clarify the medical marijuana law, but the proposal has yet to be voted on by the state Senate.

 

http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/plymouth-township/2015/12/02/woman-fights-open-medical-marijuana-business/76658970/