By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Marijuana is back on the agenda, this time in Oxford Township. The board of trustees will soon consider an ordinance to regulate the growing of medical marijuana in the I-1 and I-2 industrial zoning districts.
At its March 10 meeting, the board approved a motion to direct attorneys Gary Rentrop and Hans Rentrop to draft an ordinance for the planning commission. After a public hearing, the proposed ordinance will go back to the township board for a first reading. The motion passed 6-1, with Treasurer Joe Ferrari voting no.
The township cannot prohibit medical marijuana from being grown within the township, according to Gary Rentrop. A recent Michigan Supreme Court case (DeRuiter vs. Township of Byron) has determined, however, that townships can regulate caregiver growing operations if there is a zoning ordinance in place.
Under state law, any person over the age of 21 can own 12 marijuana plants. Additionally, under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008, a caregiver of a medical marijuana patient may grow up to 12 plants for that patient and each caregiver can have five patients. A caregiver can grow 12 more plants for themself, so up to 72 plants can be grown under the umbrella of one caregiver.
A caregiver can also share a facility with other caregivers, if they meet certain requirements. “It would be possible, hypothetically, to have four or five caregivers under one facility,” Rentrop said. Multiplying 72 by five, 360 plants could exist under the same roof.
If the township choses not to enact an ordinance, these growing operations could potentially happen anywhere in the township, including residential areas. A zoning ordinance would confine it to a certain area. “The case law says you can regulate by zoning. Well, if we haven’t got any regulation, then it arguably can go anywhere,” Rentrop said.

Township Supervisor Jack Curtis reiterated that under state law anyone can grow 12 marijuana plants, “but what you are stopping is 72, 144, 288 plants from being grown in a house in Waterstone, or on Gibson Street or on Grampian Drive, that’s what you’re doing.”
This township zoning ordinance should not be confused with the proposed adult use recreational marijuana ordinance Oxford Village has been developing for the last two years. The village ordinance would allow recreational businesses, including growers and retailers, to operate in the industrial zoning district of the village. Recreational marijuana facilities are prohibited in the township.
The new township ordinance would apply only to caregiver growers. Rentrop pointed out “there’s no such thing as a caregiver” for recreational marijuana. Caregivers would have to register with the township and declare their number of patients.
The township can still prohibit dispensaries (or “provisioning centers”), Rentrop said. “That would legally preclude the sale, basically the retail sale of marijuana within your community.”