Shall Section 16.2 of the Charter be amended to require waiver of fines and costs upon proof that the defendant has a recommendation of a physician, practitioner or other qualified health professional to use or provide marijuana or cannabis for medical treatment; to prohibit Ann Arbor police officers from complaining, and the city attorney from referring any complaint, of the possession, use, giving away, sale or cultivation of marijuana upon proof of such recommendation; to prohibit other punitive or rehabilitative measures; to establish an affirmative defense; and to set the fine for the third and subsequent such offenses at $100.
Proposed Amendment to Charter of the City of Ann Arbor Michigan:
(additions) (deletions)
Section 16.2
(a) No Person shall possess, control, use, give away, or sell marijuana or cannabis, which is defined as all parts of the plant cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; its seeds or resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the above, unless such possession, control, use, or sale is pursuant to a license or prescription as provided in Public Act 196 of 1971, as amended. This definition does not include mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compounds, manufacture, sale, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks, except the resin extracted therefrom, fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination.
(b) Violations of this section shall be civil infractions. Persons convicted
of violating this section shall be fined $25.00 for the first offense, $50.00
for the second offense, and not less than $100.00 for the
third or subsequent offense, and no incarceration, probation, nor any
other punitive or rehabilitative measure shall be imposed. Fines and
all other costs shall be waived upon proof that the defendant is recommended
by a physician, practitioner or other qualified health professional to use
or provide the marijuana or cannabis for medical treatment. The court
may waive all or part of the fine upon proof that the defendant attended
a substance abuse program. It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution
under this section that the use or intended use of the marijuana or cannabis
relieves, or has the potential to relieve, the pain, disability, discomfort
or other adverse symptoms of illness or medical treatment, or, restores,
maintains or improves, or has the potential to restore, maintain or improve,
the health or medical quality of life of the user or intended user or users
of the marijuana or cannabis. Requirements of this subsection shall not be
construed to exclude the assertion of other defenses.
(c) In all arrests and prosecutions for violations of this section, appearance tickets and the relevant procedures set forth on Public Act 147 of 1968, as amended, shall be used.
(d) No Ann Arbor police officer, or his or her agent, shall complain of the possession, control, use, giving away, or sale of marijuana or cannabis to any authority except the Ann Arbor city attorney; and the city attorney shall not refer any said complaint to any other authority for prosecution.
(e) No Ann Arbor police officer, or his or her agent, shall complain, and the city attorney shall not refer for prosecution any complaint, of the possession, control, use, giving away, sale or cultivation of marijuana or cannabis upon proof that the defendant is recommended by a physician, practitioner or other qualified health professional to use or provide the marijuana or cannabis for medical treatment.
(e) (f) Should the State of Michigan enact lesser
penalties than set forth in subsection (b) above, or entirely repeal penalties
for the possession, control, use, giving away, or sale of marijuana or cannabis,
then this section, or the relevant portions thereof, shall be null and void.
(f) (g) The people of the City of Ann Arbor specifically
determine that the provisions herein contained concerning marijuana or cannabis
are necessary to serve the local purposes of providing just and equitable
legal treatment of the citizens of this community, and in particular of the
youth of this community present as university students or otherwise; and
to provide for the public peace and safety by preseving the respect of such
citizens for the law and law enforcement agencies of the City.