NILES AND BUCHANAN CITIES MOVING FORWARD TO ALLOW MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES IN THEIR CITIES

BUCHANAN – The medical marijuana debate is entering a new phase in at least two Berrien County communities. Both the Niles City Council and the Buchanan City Commission approved moving forward with work ordinances to allow medical marijuana facilities in their cities.
In Buchanan, the first steps will be taken at the the city’s planning commission meeting on April 11. That meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the Buchanan City Hall. Municipalities like Buchanan which have decided to “opt in” to the new medical marijuana laws have until December to get ordinances and other rules in place.
The new medical marijuana laws Gov. Rick Snyder signed last fall expand the types of medical marijuana facilities permitted and sets up a regulatory and licensing process similar to what is done for liquor licenses.
Five categories of facilities are allowed for all steps of marijuana production including the selling of seeds, propagation, harvesting and processing, transporting the product, testing the product, delivery and selling the product.
The state must still set up the licensing board with the first applications accepted in mid-December. Municipalities allowing facilities can charge an annual fee of up to $5,000 to cover administrative and enforcement costs. They also will get a share of the state taxes collected from the businesses.
In both Niles and Buchanan, their governing bodies voted after a few months of debate including public forums where people had the chance to express their opinions. While the majority of those attending the Niles forums appeared to support medical marijuana ventures, Buchanan residents were more evenly split on the issue.
Officials in both cities have reported interest from people and businesses hoping to open medical marijuana related facilities in the area. A third venture in Galien Township was scheduled to be the subject of a public forum earlier this week.
Last week, only three of the 50 or so people in attendance spoke out and all three were against the city getting into the medical marijuana business. Beverly Vite Wilcox said she didn’t want to see Buchanan become a medical marijuana town, while Superintendent Andrea van der Laan said she thought it sends the wrong message to youth.
“This is a great town, how will this make life better here as the sign behind you (the commission) says?” Eric Hageman said. “I’m here to make a plea for you to vote against it so we don’t have it in our town.”
The commission itself ended up divided as they passed a resolution to move forward with the development of new ordinances to license facilities involved with the growing, processing and selling of medical marijuana. The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Patricia Moore the sole no vote.
Moore said she had several concerns about the city getting involved in the medical marijuana business. “On the one hand, we have a very strict law that’s not opening the gates to free flowing access,” she said. “But my major concern is that any provisional center can deal only with cash with I think makes for a very dangerous situation.”
She said she believes that any extra revenue the city will see in licensing fees and taxes generated by such businesses will be offset by the extra money the city will have to spend on police protection. She fears that the revenue from medical marijuana will go down just as the amount of state shared revenue municipalities get has declined over the years.
“In 20 years we maybe will have to scrape the money together to pay for extra police,” she said. “Will the state be a worthy partner 20 years from now? I don’t think so. People deserve the medication they need but I don’t think our town is the place.”
Other commissioners had a different take on the matter. Mayor Brenda Hess and Commissioner Carla Cole both spoke of the health benefits of medical marijuana. “I’m at the age when I wonder what will happen if I get sick and there is no medication that works,” Cole said. “That’s why I voted yes. Think of the future and people needing help.”
Commissioner Dan Vigansky said he doesn’t necessarily think that medical marijuana will be “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” but sees it as something the city needs to pursue. “This makes the drug more stable and we will be able to collect some revenue,” he said.
Commissioners urged people to stay involved in the issue as the city’s planning commission now meets to develop new ordinances and rules on the number and kind of facilities the city will allow as well as where they can be located.