In 2008, Michigan voters enacted the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), to allow the medical use and cultivation of marijuana and to shield qualified medical marijuana patients from “arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner” under state law. In 2010, the city of Wyoming told medical marijuana users, “not here!” and passed this zoning ordinance: “Uses that are contrary to federal law, state law, or local ordinance are prohibited.” Sanctions for violating Wyoming’s zoning ordinance include fines, damages, expenses, and costs. Wyoming resident and qualified medical marijuana patient John ter Beek sued the city and claimed that the MMMA preempted Wyoming’s ordinance. The court of appeals agreed and held Wyoming’s ordinance to be void and unenforceable “to the extent that it prohibits medical use of marijuana in accordance with the MMMA.” Ter Beek v City of Wyoming, No 306240 (Mich Ct App July 31, 2012).
After ter Beek, can a city zone medical marijuana in any way? Wyoming’s ordinance was a blanket prohibition on medical marijuana within city limits. Can a city ordinance place lesser limits on medical marijuana, such as regulating the location of medical marijuana collectives or clubs? Can a city ordinance allow injunctive relief for a medical marijuana-related zoning violation, where the ordinance imposes no fines or other penalties? The court of appeals decision may not be the last word on these issues: Wyoming’s application for leave to the supreme court is currently pending.
For more discussion on the implications of the MMMA, take a look at Chapter 17 of Michigan Municipal Law.