Council tacks six more months on medical pot ban

The Wixom City Council has extended by six months a moratorium on all land uses involving the growth/cultivation of medical marijuana in the city.

This is the second time the council has voted to extend the medical marijuana moratorium.

Based on recommendations from the Planning Commission and the city attorney, council members thought it prudent to postpone drafting an ordinance regulating medical marijuana land uses until cases currently in litigation come to some conclusion.

Bloomfield Township, Livonia, and Birmingham are among the communities in the state involved in litigation related to municipal medical marijuana bans or restrictions.

“According to our attorney, movement on these cases will occur mid-summer, so we are awaiting the outcome,” said Assistant City Manager Tony Nowicki. “It only makes sense to follow the direction of the courts.”

Wixom Mayor Kevin Hinkley said the unanimous council vote to extend the moratorium came on the heels of the recent federal raid in Walled Lake and Novi, where the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) suspected violations of law occurring at medical marijuana facilities. As a a result, eight warrants were executed at various metropolitan locations.

“It’s ironic that our moratorium came up at the same time people are suspected of violating the current law in place,” Hinkley said. “It had significant bearing on our decision to stay the course.”

The city has yet to receive any formal requests from a business owner interested in setting up a medical marijuana facility in Wixom, but city administrators have received a number of calls inquiring about the parameters involved.

“We get calls all the time asking questions, mainly from our building department and focused on the zoning implications,” Nowicki said.

The City Council approved the moratorium extension — which is scheduled to expire on Nov. 9 — at its Tuesday, April 12 meeting.