Officials respond to medical marijuana

LAPEER COUNTY — The county’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors just a few weeks ago in the village of Dryden. The Compassionate Care Center of Michigan took the village by surprise when they opened their doors, and it left the village officials with some quick thinking to do.

“I’ve gotten quite an education on it,” admitted village council president Pat Betcher recently. He noted that there was nothing the village could do to restrict its operation since it was a legal business. Nevertheless, he and other council members moved quickly to take steps to make sure the business operates without impacting the village in unforeseen ways.

“It’s a challenge, because they’re already there,” said Betcher. The council started by preparing and approving a regulatory ordinance. That ordi- nance set up a permitting process. It also restricts the number of dispensaries allowed in the village to one per 1,000 population. The village currently has about 800 residents.

In addition, the regulatory ordinance determines that the hours of operation for a dispensary must fall within 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

“This is just trying to lasso the horse until we can build the barn,” said Dryden Village Trustee Jeff Quail of the regulating ordinance.

Next, the council will take up zoning relative to the matter. Some residents expressed concerns about locating such businesses near places where children congregate downtown or near the library, churches or schools. Any medical marijuana dispensary would have to comply with the federal drug-free zone constraints, which limits the distance such a business could be located from a school to 1,000 feet.

Betcher said the location of the business right downtown was a good one. “This area is as good as any — it’s visible,” said Betcher.

When the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act was originally passed in 2008, there were some concerns expressed about the development of dispensaries, but so far, most Lapeer County municipalities have yet to address the matter.

Lapeer Township took the matter up at their regular board meeting Monday, at the recommendation of the township’s police chief Bill Marshall. They approved a 90-day moratorium on medical marijuana facilities. No dispensaries will be permitted during that time, giving the township planning commission a window to study the topic. That group will take the matter up at their next meeting May 17.

Not all the municipalities are taking up the matter as swiftly. When, and if, they do, boards will have several options. Around the state, municipalities have approached the issue from various angles. Some are enacting zoning and regulatory ordinances, like Dryden, to regulate the businesses. Others are instituting moratoriums to give them time to study the issue prior to developing ordinances. Yet others have enacted bans on dispensaries by approving ordinances that give federal law precedence over state law.

It remains to be seen how the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act will ultimately play out. “The way the law is written, it’s so vague,” said Betcher.

In the meantime, he is working closely with the area’s first dispensary to make sure there are no problems.

“They seem to be willing to work with us,” said Betcher. “They’ve been up front.” The business agreed to keep things low-key, and so far, no one’s been able to point out any problems.

— Emily Caswell contributed to this article.