Marijuana Blog

In November voters in Kalamazoo, Michigan will have the chance to decide whether or not 3 medical cannabis dispensaries open in their city. This is according to City Attorney Clyde Robinson, who said a measure filed last August by the Kalamazoo Coalition for Compassionate Care will be decided on by voters this fall.

"At this point there's a significant legal cloud over medical marijuana," Robinson said.

While the proposal was filed last year, an error in the City Clerk’s office caused some of the signatures to be counted. By the time the error was found and rectified, it was too late for the measure to be on the 2011 ballot. The measure needed to get 2,567 signatures to qualify.

The question the voters in the city will see this fall will say, "Shall the Kalamazoo City Charter be amended such that three (3) medical cannabis dispensaries are permitted within the city limits?"

"Simply put,” said City Attorney Robinson, “the proposed charter language violates existing federal law which outlaws marijuana/cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance and violates the provisions of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act and Michigan Public Health Code regarding the sale, possession, transfer, use, or cultivation of marijuana." But, he added, "the legal requirements of getting on the ballot were satisfied."

So one has to wonder if the measure does pass, will it will be enforced or challenged by the City Attorney? And where will that leave patients in Kalamazoo who have restricted access to their medicine?

But, as they say, first things first. Voters in Kalamazoo will have a chance to allow these dispensaries, then it will be up to the City Attorney to challenge a voter-approved law. Will he really go out of his way to challenge three new businesses in his city and the jobs that come with them?

Source: http://www.mlive.com