COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI — Medical marijuana facilities will not be allowed to open in Comstock Township.
In front of a large audience Monday, the Comstock Township Board of of Trustees voted 5-2 to opt-out of passing an ordinance that would allow state-licensed medical marijuana businesses to open in its jurisdiction. Trustees said Comstock could reverse its decision in the future, but for now patients will have to go elsewhere for their medicine.
New state laws regulating medical marijuana prompted communities across Michigan to decide how they will respond to the growing industry. Each municipality can decide for itself whether to pass an ordinance allowing the facilities to open, or not.
Trustee David Camburn and Bob Pratt voted against keeping medical marijuana businesses out of Comstock Township. Camburn said supporting the industry could have ancillary benefits like growing the tax base, attracting new residents and spurring economic activity.
Now, Camburn worries that Comstock will miss a surge of new investment. Those interested in starting businesses will go elsewhere to find their fortune, he said.
“I don’t think that people who want to invest in this industry are going to wait around,” he said. “Nearby communities are opting in and will get their business.”
However, some trustees felt uneasy that the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs took so long to release rules governing the regulation of medical marijuana facilities. The full set of rules were released Dec. 4, less than two weeks before facilities can apply to do business in Michigan.
Entrepreneurs can apply to operate one of five types of facilities on Dec. 15, and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs will begin giving out 1-year renewable licenses during the first quarter of 2018.
Municipalities like the city of Kalamazoo decided to wait until the rules were released to pass medical marijuana ordinances. Kalamazoo Township decided to opt-in in November.
“Maintaining the status quo didn’t do any harm,” Camburn said. “But it didn’t do any good either. We failed to provide a source for people who need medical marijuana.”
The board heard from medical marijuana cardholders Monday, whose primary concern was having a reliable source to obtain their medicine, Camburn said.
“They stressed it was not recreational for them,” he said.
A proposed ordinance was based almost entirely on a template prepared on behalf of Michigan Townships Association. It did not place a limit on any of the license types other than provisioning centers, suggesting that one per 10,000 people be allowed.
New zoning ordinances would have also provided a 1,000-foot separation from protected land uses, and a 50-foot setback. All licenses types would have been classified as a special exception use.
Provisioning centers would have been allowed in B-2, community business districts, and B-3, general business district, with a 750-foot buffer from all residential properties.
Growers, processors, safety compliance facilities and secure transporters would have been allowed in the LD, restricted industrial districts, LM, light manufacturing districts and M, manufacturing districts.
Licenses for growers are split among three classes. Class A growers can have up to 500 marijuana plants, Class B growers have up to 1,000 and Class C growers have up to 1,500 marijuana plants.
Secure transporter licenses allow the storage and transport of marijuana and money associated with the purchase or sale of marijuana. Transporters move these items between marijuana facilities.
Processors refine marijuana from a grower into concentrates and cannabis-infused edibles to be sold to a provisioning center.
Safety compliance facilities test samples of medicinal cannabis to make sure dispensaries, caregivers, and home growers are providing patients with a safe and properly dosed product.
Provisioning centers take marijuana products from growers and processors and sell them to patients. They are only allowed to sell to a registered patient.
In Kalamazoo County, there were 4,081 patients and 758 caregivers in 2016.
credit:mlive.com
