Local rules trump Michigan’s medical cannabis law, state high court says

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Michigan’s medical marijuana law does not overrule certain zoning powers of local governments, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

An ordinance in Byron Township, south of Grand Rapids, bars registered caregivers from growing marijuana at a commercial property.

The state appeals court ruled that the ordinance conflicted with Michigan’s medical marijuana law, which allows cultivation in an “enclosed, locked facility.”

But the Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, said the state MMJ law does not prevent local governments from regulating land use as long as officials do not prohibit or penalize all medical marijuana cultivation.

The high court said Byron Township can also require caregivers to obtain a permit and pay a fee before they use a building to grow medical marijuana.

– Associated Press