Medical Marijuana Dispensary Seeks Seeks Royal Oak Address

ROYAL OAK, Mich. - A now vacant storefront on Main Street could become the site of a state licensed medical marijuana dispensary. The company called Mary Jane's Flowers has requested an exemption from the city's temporary moratorium on those facilities.

"Our main idea is to run the most professionally operated dispensary of medicinal marijuana around," said attorney Jalal Dallo, who represents Mary Jane's Flowers.

However, one city commissioner wants the temporary moratorium to become an outright ban on commercial medical marijuana operations in the city.

"I'd like to create an ordinance that would ban these facilities in Royal Oak and have that ordinance in place until there's some affirmative action taken by our friends in Lansing to correct the flaws in the state law," said Commissioner Charles Semchena.

The commissioner, a former drug prosecutor, argues easily available marijuana will breed crime.

"I think there's a way to do this through doctors' prescriptions and pharmacies where people can pick their prescription medications up and that would eliminate all the additional crime that would occur," Semchena said.

Royal Oak already has a business to help people file applications for medical marijuana licenses and learn the procedures.

"Our clients are patients. These are people that need something in order to feel better, and so they come in with a doctor's recommendation or a prescription and that's by a Michigan issued license," Dallo said.

In the 2008 ballot proposal, 70-percent of Royal Oak residents voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.

"The law was initiated in 2008. It's half way through 2010, so at this point, I believe that we are armed with enough education to follow through," said Dallo.

However, critics worry that medical marijuana users and providers will flock to the city.

"We've already had contacts by our planning department by at least 20 businesses that want to locate in here, and that's in addition to the mega growth farm that's being proposed on the north end of Royal Oak," said Semchena.