The CDXX Boutique i
n downtown Shelbyville will remain open, at least for now.
The medical marijuana exchange location and head shop received a surprising reprieve from the Martin Township Planning Commission Monday night when it voted 4-2 to reject a proposed ordinance amendment that specifically would have forbidden sites that dispense medical marijuana.
The vote surprised even the almost three dozen supporters who again flooded the township hall meeting room to urge the commission to recommend a “no” to the Township Board, which will have the final say either at its Oct. 14 meeting or in November.
It was surprising because four members, Mark Vanelderen, Kevin Dekkoekoek, Dan Buskirk and Vince Tuinstra, went against the wishes of Commission Chairman Pete Zeinstra, Secretary Margaret Smith and Township Attorney Jeffrey Sluggett. Jim Brenner was not present.
Jerry Dan Patrick and Lisa Edwards opened the CDXX Boutique last May in the former site of the Shelbyville post office, which most recently had been a small business selling medical massage and related products.
Professional Code Inspections was ordered by the Township Board to present the owners with a ticket charging a violation of the local ordinance, but there wasn’t yet specific wording prohibiting d
ispensation.
Patrick further complicated matters by insisting he does not dispense medical marijuana, but merely provides a safe place for caregivers and patients to make their transactions. He acknowledged that he does ask for donations.
A group of people again came to the meeting, just like on Sept. 1, to talk about the value of having a place to exchange compensation for medical marijuana by legal growers and legal users.
Judy Kraft of Hopkins Township said, “I enjoy having a place where I can get what I need, so I don’t have to go down some dark alley.”
Her husband, David, pointed out that just before World War II farmers were encouraged by the federal government to grow hemp to make rope and for the war effort.
Smith questioned the growers and users in the audience in a prosecutorial style in her attempt to find out just what takes place when medical marijuana is exchanged.
She questioned why patients can’t just get their product from their designated caregivers and have it brought to their homes.
David Kraft replied, “Sometimes a provider has a crop failure and is unable to provide.”
Buskirk told the audience, “It’s important that we (commission members) understand what type of business this is as a reason for asking so many questions.”
Patrick produced a makeshift petition with the signatures of 34 Martin Township residents who said they have no problems with the presence of CDXX Boutique. This was in response to Smith’a assertion in the Sept. 1 meeting that she was hearing from many outsiders, but very few who live in the township.
Not everybody in the audience was in support, however.
Tanya Griffiths said, “I don’t want it (the marijuana exchange) in my community… I wish I would have known about this sooner. A lot of people don’t know anything about it and it’s very frustrating.”
Her husband, Curt, said, “We’re not here to debate the need (for medical marijuana). But it could be very easy for other people to take advantage of the situation.”
Thomas Levigne, attorney for CDXX Boutique, said, “This is about medicine much more benign than other medications.”
He added that the State Legislature now is examining a bill introduced by Rep. Michael Callton (R-Nashville) that would license places that provide safe transfer of medical marijuana between patient and caregiver.
Some in the audience said another reason why they support CDXX Boutique is its availability. Too many people on limited budgets cannot afford to make frequent trips to Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo.
Sluggett insisted the Michigan Medical Marijuana law makes no provision for dispensaries, so the township is free to adopt a text amendment to its ordinance.
He said that with the ordinance change, “Nothing prevents the caregiver from providing to the patients in their homes. That’s what’s going on the State of Michigan… How medical marijuana is exchanged has not been addressed (in the law), but there is no right to have a dispensary.”
He insisted the Medical Marijuana Act passed by voters in the 2008 state-wide election, “doesn’t do anything beyond establishing the relationship between caregiver and patient.”
Sluggett acknowledged that if another voter ballot issue is passed in 2016, legalizing it recreationally, the ordinance then would be obsolete.
The first commissioner to vote “no” on adopting the ordinance amendment was Vanelderen, who explained, “We’re moving the opposite way from everybody else in the state.”
Dekkeokeok maintained, “We’re still kicking the can down the road.”
Buskirk said it is not the job of the Planning Commission to shut down a business if it is indeed illegal. “I feel it’s a reach to say this business would have a negative impact on our community.”
Tuinstra said, “These people (Patrick and Edwards) are trying to run a business. We’ve got to come up with a better ordinance.”
Smith gave a lengthy and impassioned explanation of her support for adopting the ordinance amendment.
“I didn’t like any explanation of what’s going on in that building at all,” she said. “We need to pass an ordinance that is consistent with the law of the State of Michigan.”
Smith said not adopting the ordinance would result in “irreplaceable harm with the image of Martin as a place to go to get medical marijuana.”
Zeinstra, who also voted in the affirmative, simply explained, “I think there are means for people to obtain medical marijuana without having a dispensary.”
PHOTO: A few of the audience members gathered outside the township hall in the parking lot again before the Planning Commission meemting.
PHOTO: This is where the CDXX Boutique is located on 124th Avenue in downtown Shelbyville.
