Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/01/2016

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I 4 This advisory from the DOJ reduced the poten- the initiative following a period of confusion tial conflict between the federal government over the definition and regulation of dispen- and those states that have legalized recreation- saries. at or medical marijuana.And reducing conflict between the states and the federal government Humboldt County,California . . will consequently constrain the ability of lo- Earlier this year,California's Humboldt County ... . . cal jurisdiction to successfully ban marijuana passed one of the most comprehensive land- . . businesses based on an argument that such use ordinances to date regulating medical businesses are in violation of the CSA. marijuana production.The Commercial Medi- . . . Division One of the Arizona Court ofAp- cal Marijuana Land Use Ordinance(CMMLUO) . . peals is currently considering a case in which passed the Board of Commissioners unani- . .• Maricopa County attempted to prevent White mously,a testament to the many disparate . . Mountain Health Center,a dispensary,from groups coming together to draft the ordinance . . opening(White Mountain Health Center,Inc. (Ordinance No.2544)•Much of Humboldt v.Maricopo Countyetal.,i CA-CV 12-o831). County is unincorporated land,and although The county argued that denying a dispensary a there are municipalities in the county,much . . . ., - permit to open is legally permissible since such of the cultivation is done on unincorporated a business violates the CSA.However,while land. states can regulate marijuana,they are not The CMMLUO includes two parts:one .. required to enforce federal law.In this case, regulating the coastal zone and the other Arizona has legalized medical marijuana and regulating inland cultivation.Both zones are regulates dispensaries,and White Mountain regulated according to a list of factors,includ- . . . argues that the county's denial of a permit was ing whether the applicant is a new or existing . . . impermissible in that it conflicted with state grower,the parcel size,the cultivation area law.The White Mountain decision will likely be size,and whetherthe proposed grow opera- issued soon. tion will be outdoors,indoors,or mixed-light, In February 2014,the Michigan Supreme meaning that both natural light and artificial . . . .- . Court declared a city zoning ordinance in light will be used. Wyoming,Michigan,void because it prohibited The goal of the CMMLUO is very clear:"to uses that were permitted under state law(Ter limit and control such cultivation in coordina- . . . . . Beek v.City of Wyoming,846 N.W.2d 531,495 tion with the State of California."Although . . Mich.1(2o14)).The plaintiff was a qualifying the Compassionate Care Act was passed in . . . .. - patient who wished to grow and use marijuana 1996—the first medical marijuana taw in the for medical purposes in his home.The town of country—the state failed to enact medical marl- . . . Wyoming had passed an ordinance prohibiting juana regulations until late 2015.Humboldt the activity.The court held that a municipality County was proactive in enacting a countywide is precluded from enacting an ordinance if the ordinance to immediately comply with state ordinance directly conflicts with the state's law.The ordinance specifically defines exactly statutory scheme of regulation,in that the or- what it is regulating."This section applies to dinance permits what the statute prohibits,or all facilities and activities involved in the Com- prohibits what the statute permits.In this case, mercial Cultivation,Processing,Manufacture the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act permitted or Distribution of cannabis for medical use,in the energy baseline,with the aim of discourag- qualified patients to grow their own medicine; the County of Humboldt"(CMMLUO§55.4.9)• Ing indoor growing(Municipal Code§2628.5). therefore,the city could not prohibit such a The type of approval necessary for licensing Eureka passed a much more restrictive and practice. is dependent on the size and current zoning detailed ordinance,only allowing licensed classification of the parcel,as well as the type patients to grow and process medical cannabis MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGULATORY MODELS of state license that the applicant is required within a 50-square-foot area in their residence The first medical marijuana statute was passed to obtain. (§158.olo(A)).The ordinance also states that 20 years ago,but in many ways it is only within The Humboldt municipalities of Arcata such cultivation will constitute neither a home the last few years that those early statutes have and Eureka have also passed ordinances occupation nor an ancillary use(§158.olo(C)). been refined on the local jurisdictional level. related to cultivation.Arcata essentially per- Patient marijuana processing is likewise nar- Some jurisdictions were required by newly mits only small-scale and home cultivation, rowly regulated(§158.o11). passed state regulations to create local ordi- although those with special needs may request nances,such as Humboldt County,California, more grow space(Land Use Code§9.42.105). Detroit and the municipalities within the county,while It also enacted a 45 percent tax increase on Detroit recently passed a medical marijuana other local jurisdictions,including Detroit,took residences that use more than 600 percent of ordinance requiring dispensaries,now called ZONINGPRACTICE 8.16 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION page 3