Martin Twp. could face legal consequences with pot ordinance

ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.

“All of your children are poor unfortunate victims of lies you believe. A plague upon your ignorance.” — Frank Zappa

The Martin Township Planning Commission Tuesday night was only delaying the inevitable when it tabled action on an ordinance dispensing medical marijuana.

The commission seems solid in its opposition to Jerry Patrick’s request to allow his boutique to continue selling “head shop” items while providing a safe place for marijuana caregivers and clients to transact legally. But this strange story could end badly for the township in a court of law.

The essence of the problem is whether the CDXX Boutique is guilty of “dispensing” marijuana for sale to users. Patrick insists it is not. The question very likely may have to be settled in a court of law at taxpayers’ expense.

Township officials also are perturbed that Patrick did not first submit a site plan for his business and service in downtown Shelbyville. Chairman Pete Zeinstra clearly stated his problem with the boutique not following customary procedures.

Yet I heard from more than one of the three dozen boutique supporters say that if a site plan would have been submitted, it would have been rejected summarily and there would be no issue to discuss.

Another clear sign the boutique will be rejected by the township is the old tried and true fear factor that has been operating in America for nearly a century — the false notion that marijuana somehow is a dangerous drug. Commission Secretary Marge Smith told the three dozen visitors in the township hall that she has to consider what the people of Martin Township want, whatever that is. She said that as a township official, she must protect the people who live here. Protect them from what?

Smith went over the top in the category of fairness when she identified Patrick as a relative of disgraced former local restaurateur and convicted murderer Gordon Lyons.

Despite promises by Patrick and his associates that his service and business will be safe and legal, and despite testimony from many area citizens, some of whom used to live in Martin Township, officials will not allow it to continue.

So that means Patrick and friends, who already have an attorney, just might bring a legal challenge, insisting a government cannot prohibit a legal establishment from operating as long as it follows the regulations.

This game is far from over, folks. It serves as a microcosm of the failed national “War on Drugs” and the impressive gains the marijuana legalization movement has made in recent years. It is a battleground of fear and ignorance against progress and compassion.

Eventually, the latter will win.

Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. voters have legalized it entirely in the last couple of years. And voters in Michigan could seal that same deal next year at the ballot box, rather than state lawmakers, whose incompetence helped create this unpleasant mess in the first place.