Traverse City commissioners Monday discussed allowing medical marijuana facilities in city limits - a discussion being taken up by communities across northern Michigan following new state laws regulating such facilities.

Commissioners unanimously affirmed their support for moving forward with a process to change the city’s ordinances and make medical marijuana facilities legal in Traverse City. Commissioner Brian McGillivary requested his fellow commissioners take action on changing city rules after new laws went into effect in December adding new structure and regulations to Michigan’s medical marijuana industry.

The new laws tax medical marijuana, require the tracking of plants from “seed to sale,” and establish a licensing system for growing, processing, testing, transporting, and selling products. However, the rules require that communities actively “opt in” and pass zoning and police power ordinances in order for medical marijuana facilities and licenses to be allowed in their jurisdiction. State law also gives communities broad leeway to set standards for medical marijuana facilities, including the ability to regulate factors like odors, noise, lights, vibrations, and air quality.

“I brought this up because I think it’s time for the city to start moving this project forward,” McGillivary told commissioners. He noted that when Michigan voters first took action in 2008 to make medical marijuana legal statewide, 67 percent of Traverse City voters supported the measure. Until recently, regulations prevented marijuana growers from making a profit on selling their products – “the only product in the state that could not be sold at a profit,” McGillivary said. That limitation has been lifted under the new provisioning laws.

“Maybe it’s OK to make a profit when you sell something in America,” McGillivary said. “It is after all the American way to be paid for your efforts.”

Changing the city’s rules to allow medical marijuana facilities will require a multiple-step process that includes the city’s planning commission studying and making recommendations to the city commission on rewriting the zoning ordinance, as well as city commissioners holding at least one study session to decide what type of licensing requirements they want to impose, followed by meetings to formally vote on the changes. McGillivary said he wanted to “get the ball rolling” because of how long it will likely take the city to go through that process.

“It’s not a quick process…(there’s) plenty of public notice, public hearings and an opportunity for public input,” he said. “I look at it this way: If we start today, I would be pleasantly surprised if we could actually have something adopted in June.”

Numerous medical marijuana patients and medical practitioners with ties to the industry spoke during public comment Monday and pleaded with commissioners to move forward as quickly as possible. Recent raids on local dispensaries have dried up available medical marijuana supplies, they said, posing health challenges to patients reliant on the drug.

“I suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)…I don’t have that kind of time, I can’t sit around and wait,” said Traverse City resident Catalina Harrington. “I don’t want to have to travel out of counties and counties to get what you can provide right here.”

City resident Lee Bowman told commissioners delays in changing the city’s rules to mirror state law could drive medical marijuana patients to desperate measures. “Bottom line, if you don’t allow a legal route for this to occur, an illegal route will occur,” he said. “You’re making people criminals, when they could have rules to follow.”

As part of the motion the board unanimously passed Monday, commissioners affirmed their intent to allow medical marijuana facilities in Traverse City, instructed planning commissioners to begin studying zoning changes, and directed staff to schedule a city commission study session to review licensing requirements. Commissioner Michele Howard said she wanted to move forward in a brisk manner in order to uphold the wishes of voters and provide clarity to local business owners.

“It’s not a question of do people want it or not – I feel like we have a clear record that says the city has approved (allowing medical marijuana),” she said. “This is the next step of implementing, and that’s why I feel like to me it’s not a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It’s a ‘how.’” Howard added that “right now (business owners) are in limbo. They can’t apply for a license without an ordinance, and if we don’t have an ordinance, they’re just sitting and waiting…I feel like it’s not fair to our business owners to leave them waiting.”

Following an often emotional public comment period during Monday’s meeting, Traverse City Mayor Jim Carruthers reassured audience members that the commission was committed to moving forward with allowing medical marijuana facilities in the city.

“It’s our intent to make this work,” he said. “Government unfortunately isn’t overnight. It happens slowly, it takes meetings, it takes approvals. No one wants to limit people…from your medication. We’re just trying to follow the rules that guide us.”