Attorney General Bill Schuette said the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2008 has been exploited by drug abusers who feign serious illness and criminals operating pot farms and drug houses disguised as dispensaries.
"Everybody knows what's going on," he said. "We've got a serious problem here."
Nearly 81,000 Michiganders have registered as medical marijuana patients, and an industry of doctors, growers and equipment retailers has blossomed to fill their needs.
"The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Initiated Law 1 of 2008, MCL 333.26421 et seq, prohibits the joint cooperative cultivation or sharing of marihuana plants because each patient's plants must be grown and maintained in a separate enclosed, locked facility that is only accessible to the registered patient or the patient's registered primary caregiver"Legislation that would limit where marijuana dispensaries are located and also regulate who can operate them was reported on Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SB 504 would prohibit a marijuana dispensary from being located within 1,000 feet of a school or church. SB 505 would prohibit a person who has been convicted of a felony to be designated as a primary caregiver. The two bills are part of the package announced last Wednesday to regulate medical marijuana.
Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge), the bill sponsor and committee chair, said it is inappropriate to have signs with marijuana leaves next to a school, and it doesn't make sense to have dispensaries operated by felons.
Jones said the bills would go through many changes and would not be passed until the fall. He also said the courts might decide dispensaries are illegal and then the regulations would not be needed.
Metro Council staff is carefully monitoring developments on this critical issue and will report developments as they occur.
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