Brighton City Council Debates Proposed Medical Marijuana Ordinance

The Brighton City Council moved Thursday to send a proposed medical marijuana ordinance to a public hearing at their next meeting, but not without some concerns brought up by a few council members.

The ordinance classifies medical marijuana primary caregivers as a home occupation, meaning they can grow and sell the medical marijuana out of their homes, and sets regulations for them in Brighton. The ordinance has the backing of the Planning Commission.

City attorney Paul Burns, one of the authors of the ordinance, said its purpose is to set time, place and manner restrictions for the medical marijuana.

Councilwoman Claudia Roblee said she wasn't very comfortable with having the practice in residential areas, and suggested zoning it in a specific area. She said that the business of medical marijuana in residential areas could "grow into something that is illegal."

Burns said that the zoning of the medical marijuana in a specific district could be looked into.

Acting Planning & Zoning Director Amy Cyphert said that the Planning Commission felt most comfortable with the home occupation option. 

"It keeps these operations at a smaller scale versus ... a large scale operation you might see in a commercial district," she said. "Planning Commission felt that the state law allows this to occur in residential areas."

Brighton Police Chief Thomas Wightman said that the ordinance does not allow medical marijuana collectives, cooperatives or dispensaries, which are all public locations that are specifically set aside for growing and selling medical marijuana. Cyphert said that dispensaries and collectives are examples of how medical marijuana could turn into a large-scale operation in a commercial district.

Councilman Shawn Pipoly raised the issue of how much control the city had over medical marijuana, pointing out that the ordinance didn't require permits for the primary caregivers.

Although Cyphert said that permits required for structural changes to the home--to increase lighting or water supply, she said--were already required under the city and outlined in the ordinance, Pipoly said there still wasn't a way to know for sure if the primary caregivers in the city were abiding by the rules.

"How much authority is it really giving us to regulate this?" Pipoly asked. "If we're going to allow it, I would think that there should be a permit requirement and there should be an annual inspection on it to make sure that they're not growing 100 plants in their basement and that it's not a full-blown operation."

Under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, primary caregivers can only grow up to 12 plants in their home. Burns said the permit and inspection ideas could be looked into.

Still, the council moved to set a second reading and a public hearing for the ordinance at the next City Council meeting on July 7 at the , to allow public comment on the proposed ordinance before the council takes further action.