Board holds off on medical pot vote for clarification

The Waterford Township Board of Trustees tabled action on medical marijuana uses at its Monday, March 14 meeting in order to provide time for the township attorney to clarify some ambiguity in a resolution recommended for adoption by the Planning Commission.

Initially, the board imposed a six-month moratorium on medical marijuana that expired in February to give the township time to study the issue in response to Michigan voters legalizing marijuana for medical use at the November 2008 general election polls.

“We wanted to research the issue to decide whether we should make changes to the zoning ordinance and allow certain activities,” said Community Planning Director Bob Vallina.

The Planning Commission forwarded its recommendation that the zoning ordinance remain unchanged at this time, but specified several medical marijuana activities in the home that will not constitute a violation of the zoning ordinance.

As a result, each of the following Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) activities are not regulated or prohibited under the zoning ordinance: An individual registered with the state as a medial marijuana patient possessing, smoking or ingesting medical marijuana in their home; an individual registered with the state as a medical marijuana caregiver transporting medical marijuana grown and processed outside the township to medical marijuana patients in the township; a medical marijuana patient registered with the state and growing no more than 12 marijuana plants in his/her home solely for his/her medical use; and a medical marijuana caregiver growing medical marijuana in his/her home in accordance with the MMMA solely for the purpose of providing such cultivated medical marijuana to a state-registered medical marijuana patient residing in the same home as the caregiver without the caregiver receiving compensation.

The resolution was tabled by the board once some board members and residents questioned some of the language in the resolution.

“People were questioning if the law says the caregivers must reside at home with the patient and I did, too,” said Treasurer Margaret Birch.

The board will revisit the resolution at its next meeting on Monday, March 28, once the attorney clarifies the concern.