KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — Kalamazoo city commissioners will get a briefing this evening on Michigan’s new medical marijuana reforms.
There are decisions the city will be required to make if they want to control their future when it comes to marijuana. Failure to act could be construed by the courts as having no restrictions whatsoever.
The new state reforms will require each city, township and village to decide if they will permit growers, distributors, dispensaries and testing labs to locate their facilities in their borders.
Voters in Kalamazoo overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment in 2002 requiring the city to permit three dispensaries. City Attorney Clyde Robinson said no permits were ever issued because state law barred dispensaries. When the reforms kick in, that barrier will fall.
Commissioners will have time to consider some their options. In fact, Michigan’s new Medical Marijuana Licensing Board is just getting around to holding its first meeting Monday in Lansing. They were just appointed last month. They have decisions to make about how the program will operate, and the State may not be in a position to begin issuing licenses until December at the earliest.
The reforms are expected to create what is projected to be a $700 million industry in the state, providing a new source of tax revenue for state and local governments. It is also expected to provide the model for expansion, should voters approve the legalization of marijuana in November of next year.
It could become a major local employer, if for instance, the local bedding plant industry decides to diversify into marijuana, or if local firms that have specialized in testing new pharmaceutical products decide to add testing Medical Marijuana to their services. The basic industries are already here.
Each community has to weigh the potential for jobs against the problems such an industry might bring to the area, and make a decision.
