Bessemer Council seeks medical marijuana facility business plan

By TOM STANKARD

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Bessemer - After much debate, the Bessemer City Council voted 3-2 Monday in favor of seeking a business plan from the medial marijuana facility being developed at the former Big Dollar grocery store.

In September, City Manager Michael Uskiewicz announced two business partners from Wisconsin and South Carolina purchased the store and planed to convert the space into a "state-of-the-art facility for producing medical marijuana." Uskiewicz said their product will be sold out of Gogebic County to downstate facilities that process the marijuana into medicine for treatment of patients with seizures, epilepsy, cancer and other ailments.

At Mondays' meeting, council member Linda Nelson said she doesn't know what exactly will be going on there and wants to know in writing.

"I'm not sure if it complies with the law," she said.

Nelson said she is curious how the business complies with the city's zoning ordinance.

To answer her question, Uskiewicz said the business complies with the city's C-1 district under "small medical service."

"If you read the definition, medical suppliers, that's what it is."

In response, Nelson said the business does not qualify to be classified as a medical services establishment.

"Small medical suppliers do not supply pharmaceuticals in any way, shape or form," she said. "Small medical suppliers supply toilets, crutches, but they don't have pharmaceuticals."

In addition, Nelson asked Uskiewicz to indicate where it says in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act the business is legal and then proceeded to argue it isn't.

To elaborate, Nelson said the act states that growers "have to have a medical marijuana card."

"If you have a card, you can grow 12 plants for yourself," she said. "If you have a care givers card, you can grow 12 plants for up to 5 patients. That's what the act describes. That's not what they're doing there."

Uskiewicz said that is what the business partners will be doing there.

"You can have more than one caregiver in a facility," he said.

To back up his claims, Uskiewicz said the planning commission got in touch with the assistant Attorney General's office, explained the situation and the office approved what the city is doing.

Uskiewicz said the Department of License and Regulatory Affairs is regulating the business, not the city of Bessemer.

"We don't cover grow operations in the ordinance," he said. "It has been approved."

At this stage in the game, council member John Frello said he's worried what will happen if the city says "sorry, we messed up, you shouldn't have been allowed here to begin with."

"They've already invested to purchase the building and whatever in remodeling inside," he said. "They purchased in Bessemer on the premise of the place opening. Don't you think that's what the legality would be. I'm not a lawyer, but I find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be (legal action taken)."

In agreement, Uskiewicz said "at this stage in the game it would be discriminatory to go against them."

Several members of the council expressed the opinion that there isn't a lot the city can do at this point.

"I know the state police and county are going to make sure whatever they're doing in there is legal," council member Rob Coleman said.

After much discussion, Coleman, council member Al Gaiss and Nelson voted in favor of seeking the business plan for the medical marijuana facility.

Frello and Mayor Kathy Whitburn voted against the motion. In addition, Gaiss expressed an interest in touring the facility.