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Pot on pause: Municipalities wait to act on marijuana

ALPENA –It could take more than a year for eager users of marijuana to purchase the drug from a business in Northeast Michigan, if they will be able to at all.

Michigan voters on Tuesday approved the recreational use of marijuana statewide. However, the fact that the proposal failed in a majority of communities in the area could encourage local governments to ban the sale of marijuana all together.

There is a way citizens can undo that type of action, but it likely wouldn’t be easy because of the high turnout for the election on Tuesday and the lack of support for the proposal in Northeast Michigan.

Now that Proposal 1 has passed, recreational use of marijuana will be legal for those 21 years old and older and the state will be accepting license applications from those who want to commercially sell it. That is likely to be a slow and tedious rollout, if the 10-year saga of changes to the 2008 medical marijuana law are an indicator. In fact, by the time regulations are added to the new law, it could be well into 2020 before the state begins issuing licenses.

That doesn’t mean there will be marijuana shops open in the area, however, because each municipality can opt out of the law and make the retail sale of the drug illegal within its boundaries.

‘QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE’

The City of Alpena has formed a marijuana committee, which has been monitoring the medical marijuana issue, as well as Prop. 1.

Voters in the city approved of the proposal by a 2,335-to-2,049 margin, but voters in three of the city’s five precincts rejected it.

The city has yet to decide on whether or not to allow marijuana businesses to open, but will consider the election results in its decision-making process. It will also keep an eye on dispensaries that open in other cities to see the impact those businesses have on those communities.

Planning and Development Director Adam Poll said the city doesn’t expect a decision to be made for about a year, when opt-out decisions must be submitted to the state. He said that, before choosing a direction, he believes the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs needs to clarify portions of the law dealing with where a business can operate. Poll said dispensaries can’t operate in residential exclusive zones or near schools, and that would limit where they could open in the city.

“There is some questionable language that really needs to be ironed out before staff would feel comfortable making a recommendation to council,” Poll said.

‘WE WILL DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE’

Alpena Township voters rejected Prop. 1, by a margin of 2,342 against to 2,015 for, and elected officials are preparing a deep dive into the recreational marijuana issue and what impacts it could have on residents and the community as a whole.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said a marijuana committee could be formed and, as more is learned about the law and the possible implications of it, a direction will be established and a well-thought-out decision made.

“We will do our due diligence and not make a snap decision,” Skibbe said. “We will look at the pros and cons of it, look at what the community wants and needs, and make a sound decision before we move forward.”

‘THE REVENUE WOULD HELP’

The City of Onaway has also taken a wait-and-see approach on the issue and a decision on whether to opt out of the law is not coming in the near term.

City Manager Kelli Stochwell said little was done before the election because the city wanted to see if the proposal would pass or not. Unlike most municipalities in Northeast Michigan, Onaway voters supported the proposal 189 to 122.

Stochwell said that, now that voters have spoken, more work and fact-gathering will be done so the right decision is made.

Cities that allow marijuana businesses will share in tax revenue from its sale, and Stochwell said Onaway could benefit from that added revenue.

But money will not be the overriding factor in the decision-making process, she said.

“We have to determine how many we would allow, what the licensing fee would be, and what the potential impact would be on our community,” she said. “The revenue would help, but we will weigh all of the facts and go from there.”

There were more voters against legalized marijuana than for it in Hillman Township. Hillman Village Manager Dave Post said that, because of the small population of the village, he doesn’t believe there will be many businesses wanting to open to sell the narcotic.

“I really don’t see it being an issue here,” Post said. “I think they will go to the bigger communities, where there will be more customers.”

VOTERS CAN REVERSE

If municipalities opt out of allowing pot shops to open, there is action voters can take to reverse their decision. Although doing so could be challenging because of the lack of support the proposal had in the area.

Poll said marijuana supporters could circulate petitions and, if there were enough signatures from registered voters on it, the issue could be put back on the ballot in a community that rejected marijuana businesses. If that passed, the municipality would then be required to opt back into the law.

He said the number of signatures needed would be 10 percent of the total population that voted in the prior gubernatorial election. This process would need to take place in each city or township individually.

“If there were enough signatures, it would go on the ballot of the next election on whether to allow recreational facilities, dispensaries, growers and that stuff, in that unit of government,” Poll said.

If a city elects to not allow commercial sale of pot, it would lose revenue from the 10-percent tax placed on it. But Poll said that will matter little in the determination of allowing marijuana facilities in the city limits.

“The committee has always said money is not an issue in this particular topic,” Poll said.

Users of marijuana will be able to grow their own, but it will be illegal to sell it privately. Under the new law it will be legal for people to use the drug for their personal use, but not in public. You must be 21 and over to use it legally and can possess 2.5 ounces on your person, in a locked container, while in public and 10 ounces at home. Twelve plants can also be grown and the yield from them will not be included in the 10-ounce limit.

All of the plants and product must be secured.

According to state law, ballot initiatives must go into effect 10 days after they are approved by voters and the results are certified.

It’s likely Michigan’s legalization won’t be official until December.

The final vote total in Michigan was 2,339,672 yes votes to 1,844,880 no votes.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.

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