LANSING -- The closing of three medical marijuana dispensariesin the Grands Rapids area this week could send more customersto Lansing dispensaries.
It also couldput a spotlight on local enforcement in what isstill an unevenly regulated industry.
While Lansing City Council members and the City Attorney's Office mullproposed commercial and residential marijuana ordinances, the Kent County Sheriff's Department keeps issuing search warrants. On Monday, they forced three dispensaries to shut down and raided four other locations.
Kent County deems all dispensariesillegal, interpreting the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 differently from many other cities, Lansing among them.
Its important to crack down on dispensaries, Kent County Undersheriff Michelle Lajoye-Young said, becauseit's unfair and unsafe to play favorites.
"Otherwisegive perceived protection," Lajoye-Young said.
Lansing officials have estimated there could be up to 70 medical marijuana establishments operating in the city.Before a May 21 moratorium was set on the opening of new establishments, the businesses were left to operate at their own peril. In many ways, due to a lack of regulations and enforcement, they still are.
Pat Olin, 58, who lives in theGrand Rapids suburbof Wyoming, visits Lansing dispensaries once every two weeks for marijuana to help treat epilepsy and chronic pain. He plans to stay away from the seven dispensaries within 20 miles ofhis home because of Kent County's recent raids.
Olin visited one dispensary in Kent County's Plainfield Township just a few days before it was shut down by police.
"“The raids putmore fear in the patient," Olin said."What happens to the patient that’s right by the building when it’s raided? Are they arrested, too?”
The Michigan Marihuana Act of 2008 allows state-licensed patients to get medical marijuana from a licensed caregiver.But the definition of a caregiverremains under interpretation. According to currentlaw, a caregiver can also grow upto 72 plants in their home because they are allowedto care for up to five patients. A patient can also grow up to 12 plans in their home.
A state-appointedboard is expected to be formed next month to help determine how new laws should be enacted.
Governor Rick Snyder signed in September abill that provides for licensing of dispensaries and other establishments. The bill also approved regulation of growers, processors, transporters and safety compliance facilities. He also signed two separatebills that create a "seed-to-sale" tracking system for medical marijuana and allow for the production of non-smokable forms, including brownies or oils.
Cities such asLansing are trying to prepare for the new laws by crafting local ordinances that allow licences for commercial establishments like dispensaries. But it has been an often tedious process that's led to several public meetings and debates over multiple drafts.
"It's an evolving issue this year, and it will continue to evolve as the (state) statute comes in," Lansing City Attorney Jim Smiertka said Friday afternoon in a Committee on Public Safety meeting at City Hall.
Despite legislative uncertainty,most of Lansing'sdispensary owners plan tostayin business and welcome patients, wherever they come from.
Jacob Rufenacht, owner of aLansing dispensary called Kind,said he had five West Michiganpatients visit his dispensary in the first 90 minutes it was open on Friday morning. He estimates about "five to 10" patients from thatarea visit his place daily.
“People do need their medication, and that’s not going away," Rufenacht said. "They aren’t going to just stop getting it.”
If a Lansingordinance for commercial establishments is approved by council members, it could require all dispensaries and related business to purchase a license through the city. In its current form, the ordinance wouldn't set a cap on the number of dispensaries.
The latest draft of a proposed residential marijuanaordinancerequires owners of homes wheremedical marijuana is grown to register with the cityif they use more than 3,500kilowatt hours of electricity per month — intermittent or continuous. Homes wheremarijuana isn't grown would also have to register with the city, as well, if they exceed the monthly kilowatt limit.
It's unclear when the city's proposedordinancescould cometo council members for a vote. Council's Committee on Public Safety decided onFriday tosendthe proposed residential ordinance to the full eight-member body. Council members are expected to set a public hearing about the ordinancefor 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at City Hall in council's chambers.
The proposed commercial ordinance remains underreviewby the city's Planning Board. The board meets 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St.
The proposed ordinances don't scareChad Morrow, a dispensary owner in Gaylord. He visits Lansing twice a week to purchase medical marijuana and marijuana-infused productsfor his Gaylord dispensary called Cloud 45, whichhas been raided three times in the last 13 months by police, but remains open.
Morrowquestions why the city needs more regulations at a time when it already has a great reputation for embracinga growing industry.
"They aren't enforcing anything," Morrow said of city officials. "To me it's just smoke and mirrors. With Lansing, everybody knows this is a safe place to go."
Mayor Virg Bernero called for the moratorium on new dispensaries, but said in October the dispensaries haven't drawn widespread complaints and don't create a "crime explosion."
On Friday, Deputy City Attorney Mark Dotson told council's public safety committee that the office had received one complaint about commercial establishmentsfrom the public since its last meeting about two weeks ago. Last month, the officefollowed up on 17 complaintsand found that none resulted in moratorium violations.
For several months, At-Large Council Member Carol Wood has chaired the public safety committee with a sense of urgency to get both proposed ordinances ready for approval. She's more concerned about setting fair, legal policythat sets a standard residents can understand than pay attention to those who frequent dispensaries.
"When you ignore the law that’s out there, it sets a bad precedent for everything," Wood said.
Contact Eric Lacy at (517) 377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him onTwitter @EricLacy.
