A look at other municipalities' takes on medical marijuana

Hazy. Smoky. In a cloud. There are so many puns you can associate with when writing about the medical marijuana laws and municipalities, I thought I would get a few out of the way right off the bat.

The Manchester Planning Commission seemed to take a step closer toward recommending a medical marijuana ordinance for the village at last week's meeting. The commission had been charged with drafting its own ordinance and sending it to the village council for approval.

While discussions will continue at next month's meeting, it seemed the commission leaned on adopting a similar model to the one being proposed in Dexter, which would define a dispensary and not allow sales or consumption of marijuana inside the building (Dexter held a public hearing on the matter last week). It would also ban a dispensary from opening with 500 feet of a school. Manchester currently has a moratorium on medical marijuana facilities, although it expires this spring.

Village Manager Jeff Wallace said he has been contacted by people looking to open a dispensary in the village, mostly because of the opportunity to use larger barns for growing.

The subject of medical marijuana has caused such a headache for some muncipalities since voters approved the measure in 2008, that many are still hashing (there's another one!) out the details. Here's a look at some other Michigan communities that are or have wrestled with ordinances pertaining to medical marijuana:

• Manchester Township: The area surrounding the village recently proposed an ordinance very basic in nature, requiring dispensaries be at least 1,000 feet away from schools. The township could also regulate how long a dispensary remains open.
• Ypsilanti: The city in eastern Washtenaw County became one of the select few in Michigan that approved ordinances for medical marijuana, doing so at its city council meeting last week. It states that dispensaries that apply for licenses (which will begin after a 45-day waiting period) must be at least 1,000 feet from a school and 500 feet from another dispensary. It also requires a security plan in place and at least $500,000 in insurance coverage in case of a fire.
• Chelsea: The city does not allow any medical marijuana dispensaries, as decided by the city council at its meeting Dec. 15, 2010. It became the second community within Washtenaw County to outright ban facilities, the first being Saline.
• Royal Oak (my hometown!): The city voted last month to adopt the "Livonia model," which would effectively ban any dispensaries within homes in the city, although patients would still be allowed to use the substance. Similar ordinances were approved by Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, which are currently being sued over the ordinances.
• Walker: The city on the western side of Grand Rapids voted this week to extend a moratorium until Sept. 10, hoping the state legislature will have worked out better guidelines on the issue. 
• Bay City: The city commission in the town near the Saginaw Bay approved a moratorium for 180 days this week and has no current ordinances to deal with dispensaries.