Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Medical marijuana laws prompt ordinance changes

By Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

New state laws regulating medical marijuana prompted communities across Michigan to decide how they will respond to the growing industry.

Kalamazoo has decided to be proactive.

Patients, caregivers and stakeholders attended two public forums on proposed changes to its zoning ordinance and code of ordinances last week. The Planning Commission will vote on whether to recommend to the City Commission approve the amendments Thursday.

Here’s a look at how medical cannabis might work in Kalamazoo. Information provided by the city remains in draft form, and is subject to change.

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AP file photo

A brief timeline of medical marijuana

Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot measure in 2008, which removed state penalties for registered patients to buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana.

In 2012, Kalamazoo voters passed a charter amendment that allowed three “medical cannabis dispensaries” to open with regulations.

The citizen-initiated ballot proposal in Kalamazoo passed by nearly a 2-1 margin, but no dispensaries were opened. Gov. Rick Snyder sent a letter to the city disapproving the charter, saying it was inconsistent with state law at the time.

In September 2016, Snyder signed the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, which gives Michigan cities the option to allow five types of medical marijuana facilities to be established in their jurisdictions.

Two other bills allowed for the manufacture and use of marijuana-infused products by qualified patients, and created a seed-to-sale tracking system to track all medical marijuana.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

What do the new laws say?

Under the new laws, applications for one of five licenses can be filed starting Dec. 15 -- 360 days after the facilities licensing act went into effect on Dec. 20, 2016.

The law protects people who have obtained a license from the state from criminal penalties under state and local law. The law defines who can apply for a license and places restrictions on each type of facility.

The five types of facility licenses include:

Provisioning Centers (also called dispensaries)

Processors (who refine the product into concentrates and edibles)

Growers (who cultivate the product)

Safety compliance facilities (which test the product for potency and contamination)

Secure transporters (who transport the product between facilities)

State operating licenses will be granted by the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, created within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (BMMR). The board consists of five members appointed by the governor to four-year terms.

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Mark Bugnaski

Local communities decide whether to embrace the industry

A municipality has to adopt an ordinance authorizing one or more medical marijuana facilities to open. Local governments can adopt ordinances imposing regulations on the businesses, but can't regulate the purity or pricing of marijuana or conflict with state law.

They can also establish an annual nonrefundable fee of up to $5,000 to cover administrative and enforcement costs.

Ten days after an application is submitted to the state, the local municipality must be notified. Then, the municipality has 90 days to give the state information about its local ordinances.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Kalamazoo hasn't reached a decision yet

Kalamazoo hasn't decided whether it will embrace the new law, but City Attorney Clyde Robinson has worked to provide a framework for what needs to be done in anticipation of Dec. 15, the date applications can be filed with the state.

If the city decides to move forward, Robinson said the goal is to have all necessary ordinance changes adopted before Dec. 15.

Mayor Bobby Hopewell said the City Commission is waiting for citizen input. A draft of the ordinances will likely be presented in September, to be voted on in October after a public hearing.

"I think that the commission overall is supportive of moving forward," Hopewell said. "The city attorney has taken a balanced, transparent and equitable approach to the work."

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It's not a cash cow

Three percent of medical marijuana retail sales will be taxed and distributed to local units of government, law enforcement departments at the state and county level and the state treasury.

Robinson said some high estimates state there will be up to $1 billion in sales next year. That sounds like a lot, but amounts to very little because the funds only a quarter of the funds are distributed to municipalities, and it’s allocated in proportion to the number of marijuana facilitates.

Look at it this way: If there’s $1 billion in sales, that means only $7.5 million goes to all the local governments with marijuana facilities in Michigan.

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Mark Tower | MLive.com

Who can't get a license?

The city of Kalamazoo requests information from people who apply for a medical marijuana license, but does not have the power to approve a license. Other state rules prevent people from having multiple types of licenses.

Applicants have to be Michigan residents for two years. This requirement goes away after June 30, 2018.

People are ineligible for to receive a license from the state if any of the following is true:

Convicted of a felony in the U.S., or released from incarceration for a felony, within the last 10 years

Convicted of a misdemeanor involving a controlled substance, theft, dishonesty or fraud in the last 5 years

Knowingly submitted an application with false information, or can't provide liability and casualty insurance

Holds elected office or is employed by a regulatory body of a governmental unit

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

There's no limit on the number of facilities, except dispensaries

It’s up to the state licensing board to determine who gets a license applications. Applications aren’t handled by the city of Kalamazoo, but entrepreneurs have to receive a certificate from the City Clerk’s office to bring to Lansing.

Only provisioning centers, defined by the state as a commercial entity that buys marijuana from a grower or processor and sells it to patients, have a recommended limit on the number of licenses available.

Kalamazoo’s 2012 charter amendment uses a slightly different description, called a medical cannabis dispensary. The charter guarantees three of these facilities, which have slightly different rules.

Only one provisioning center is recommended per 10,000 people according to the most recent U.S. Census. This means Kalamazoo would be allowed seven total “dispensaries.”

People who want one of four provisioning centers or three medical cannabis dispensaries will have to go through the city first. A lottery would select seven people who can apply for a license with the state.

Robinson said the lottery method protects the city from being sued for favoring one applicant over another.

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Marijuana businesses can't be in residential neighborhoods

None of these facilities will be allowed to set up shop in neighborhoods.

According to state law, all facilities must be on at least one acre of land and 500 feet away from other licensed marijuana facilities. Only one kind of facility is allowed per parcel of land.

They must also remain 1,000 feet from a public or private school, college, university, playground or public housing facility, and 500 feet from a child care center, place of worship, public recreation facility, youth center, public library or any halfway house, correctional facility or drug rehabilitation center.

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Kalamazoo zoning rules decide where marijuana facilities go

Medical marijuana facilities in Kalamazoo will likely either be placed in two kinds of manufacturing districts or a commercial district.

Limited manufacturing districts are primarily intended to accommodate low-impact manufacturing uses and activities that are not significantly objectionable to surrounding properties in terms of traffic, noise, odor, smoke and other nuisance factors.

General manufacturing districts accommodate low, moderate and high-impact industrial uses and activities and to are intended to prevent encroachment by residential and other uses that would eventually lead to land use conflicts.

Community commercial districts are intended to accommodate larger community and regional shopping centers that serve a community-wide market area.

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Grow facilities limited to manufacturing districts

According to the state law, growers are commercial entities that cultivates, dries, trims or cures and packages marijuana for sale to a processor or provisioning center.

Growers can obtain separate licenses to grow up to 500, 1,000 or 1,500 plants. They must have an employee who has two years of experience as a caregiver.

Those licensed to grow between 500 and 1,000 plants would be allowed in both limited manufacturing districts and general manufacturing districts, under the proposed Kalamazoo ordinance changes.

Growers with 1,500 plants must locate their facilities in general manufacturing zones meant for more intensive industrial uses. A person with a grower and processor license can be located at the same place.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Processors permitted in manufacturing districts

Processors refine marijuana product into concentrates and edibles. Secure transporter licenses authorize the storage and transport of marijuana and cannabis-infused products.

These types of licenses are only allowed in limited and general manufacturing districts.

Processors must use secure transporters to move marijuana.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Secure transporters allowed in a few areas

These 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.

Owners of a secure transporter business are not allowed to be involved with any of the other types of facilities.

Each driver needs a chauffer’s and driver’s license issued by the state. Vehicles operate with a two-person crew, with one person remaining in the unmarked car at all times.

A route plan and manifest is entered into a statewide tracking system. Law enforcement officers can inspect the vehicle at any time.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Safety compliance facilities allowed in a few areas

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. Kalamazoo could allow these in commercial community districts.

They test for contaminants and the type of cannabinoids and determine whether marijuana complies with standards established by the state. Safety compliance facilities must be accredited and have staff with advanced degrees in medical or laboratory science.

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Hear from a marijuana biologist

The Spott, located on the northeast side of Kalamazoo, is one of a handful of safety compliance facilities in the state. Hear from how marijuana samples are tested by Mike Swartz, director of biological analyses.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Provisioning centers permitted in commercial, community districts

As mentioned earlier, these types of facilities sell marijuana products to patients. They are only allowed to sell to a registered patient.

The sale or use of alcohol and tobacco is not allowed on the premises.

All provisioning centers or dispensaries have to stay outside 660 feet of the following intersections:

East Cork Street and South Burdick Street

East Cork and Portage Street

West Ransom Street and North Westnedge Avenue

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Caregivers are allowed to operate at home

Ordinance changes include a proposed amendment to the zoning code permitting a registered caregiver to operate as a home occupation.

The zoning ordinance would be amended to allow a single primary caregiver to operate out of a home, as long as it is outside a 1,000 foot radius from a public or private school, college, university, playground or a public housing authority building.

A primary caregiver must also be 100 feet from a youth center, public pool or "video arcade" to comply with Federal "Drug-Free Zone" requirements. Other parts of the ordinance control the number of patients the caregiver can serve, how plants will be stored, lighting methods and other considerations.

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Security will be a concern

According to draft documents, a description of a security plan will have to be submitted to the city with an application for a license. This includes cameras, storage of marijuana in locked safes, and an alarm system.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Other rules and regulations

A draft amendment to the city’s code of ordinances provides other requirements.

Don't expect to see any pot-leaf billboards; it'd be illegal to advertise with the word marijuana, cannabis or any other words or symbols referring to marijuana unless the “medical” is in front of it.

Businesses must be conduct their activities behind enclosed spaces. Steps must also be taken to control marijuana odor.

Warning signs would also state that the possession, use or distribution of marijuana is a violation of federal law. Signs have to state that it’s illegal to drive or operate machinery while under the influence of marijuana.

No one under 18 years old is allowed on the premises of any marijuana facility.

Free samples can’t be given out.

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Kalamazoo ranks 79th for patients compared to population

About 22 of every 1,000 Michigan residents has a medical marijuana card, according to the most recent data from the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Kalamazoo County has far fewer that other counties when based on population.

About 1.6 percent of Kalamazoo County residents have a patient medical marijuana card. As of Sept. 30, 2016, there were a total of 4,081 patient cards in the county, plus an additional 758 cards for caregivers.

There were 1,913 new cards issued in the 12 months before Sept. 30.

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Malachi Barrett | mbarret1@mlive.com

Read more about medical marijuana in Kalamazoo

Marijuana testing lab ensures safe medicine for patients

Medical marijuana industry optimistic of Kalamazoo ordinance changes

Charter 'half baked' on medical marijuana, says Kalamazoo city attorney

Medical marijuana licenses require Kalamazoo ordinance changes