No go on pot dispensaries

 
By Charles Sercombe
For what appears to be an indefinite period of time, the idea of allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in Hamtramck has gone up in smoke.
City Manager Katrina Powell was asked a year ago when she first came on board to tweak an ordinance to regulate the growing industry. There has not been a word since.
Just what the concerns were at the time appear to be lost to the fog of time.
In the meantime, there are two city ordinances on the books allowing dispensaries, ordinances 2011-7 and 2011-5.
In light of a first-ever local ordinance she is proposing to make the use and possession of marijuana illegal, we asked Powell what the status is on dispensaries.
It’s not going to happen any time soon.
“The issue was tabled by the city to observe pending litigation in other cities and proposed legislation,” Powell said.
“Some of those are ongoing, including the new House bill regarding dispensaries. It would be more prudent for the city to wait and enact an ordinance that is based on current legislation versus having to change the ordinance later on to comply with state law. Once the legislature takes a stand once and for all on this issue, we can all move forward.”
Next Tuesday the council will take up the newly-formed local ordinance making marijuana possession a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.
There is also a hearing Tuesday (March 15) during the meeting to allow the public to speak on the issue. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Although Powell is not willing to move forward on the dispensary issue because of pending changes to the law, there is also a pending ballot issue for state voters to decide on whether to legalize recreational marijuana use.

So far, some on the city council, and the mayor as well, are questioning Tuesday’s ordinance. At the last council meeting it was suggested that the city should downgrade the ordinance from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction in which a much smaller fine would be imposed.
There are 17 cities in the state with such an ordinance, and there are four states that have made marijuana use legal.
But there are some cities that are sending out mixed messages. Detroit voters, for example, voted to legalize marijuana. But Mayor Mike Duggan is now moving toward severely restricting medical marijuana dispensaries.
In Hamtramck, the city never adopted a local misdemeanor ordinance outlawing marijuana use. For the past several decades the police department has relied on the state’s ordinance prohibiting it.
By using the state law, most of the fines go into the pockets of the state, not the local district court. By adopting a local ordinance, the city’s district court will keep most of the fines.