| cityofjackson.org |
| Jackson, Michigan. |
Lawmakers in Jackson, Michigan apparently know how medical marijuana patients should use the space in their homes better than medical marijuana patients themselves.
At least, that’s the message they sent last night by passing an ordinance on a 4 to 3 vote that would limit medical marijuana use and cultivation to just 20 percent of someone’s home. The law goes into effect Sept. 12, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.
Thankfully, not everyone has their head up their ass at Jackson city council.
“I don’t think people should be restricted in their homes in any way,” council member Kimberly Jaquish said before the vote. “Your house is your castle. We shouldn’t be involved in your home.”
And plenty of cannabis advocates agreed. According to the Detroit Free Press, medical marijuana advocates protested the vote before the meeting and then walked out en-masse once the vote was taken. Joe Cain, who runs a medical cannabis farmer’s market, promised a lawsuit.
“I respect the law,” Cain told council, according to the Free Press. “You’ve been told 50 times by attorneys and by everyone that what you’re doing is illegal and conflicts with state law. You don’t respect the law.”
| LauraDwyerSchlecte.com |
| Laura Dwyer Schlecte. |
Some, including Cain, have pointed out that the law is a ploy by the real estate agents on the council to raise property values. As councilwoman and local real estate agent Laura Dwyer Schlecte said before the measures was introduced in June:
“Our concern is the ease of access if caregivers were allowed to grow in their homes. Having marijuana in a neighborhood decreases property values.”
Two other measures to restrict medical cannabis use were (thankfully) shot down. They included provisions that would have required written permission from a landlord before a renter could use medical cannabis on their rented property. The other was a vaguely written piece of garbage that would have made it illegal to have any “combustible materials” in homes where cannabis is being cultivated.