Communities struggling to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries may get some direction from the state legislature later this year, a lawmaker told officials from the Village of Dexter and several surrounding townships Thursday night.

“The state has put you in a tough position and no one has an answer yet,” said State Rep. Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Township. He said two state committees are looking into the medical marijuana law, and he expects “some type of legislation” to come down from the state this summer.

About 25 officials from the Dexter and Scio, Dexter, Webster and Lima townships met Thursday night to explore possible regional cooperation in crafting medical marijuana zoning regulations.

The five communities are in different stages of dealing with the confusing law that governs the use, sale, cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. Meanwhile, some communities, including Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, have already approved or are nearing approval of regulating ordinances.

The officials agreed that they’d like to discuss the situation with law enforcement officials from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police. The sheriff’s department provides police protection to the village, Scio, Dexter and Webster townships while Lima Township relies on the Michigan State Police.

“It will be difficult to move forward on any stable ground until the courts decide (on the current lawsuits that are in front of them),” said John Shea, the chairman of Dexter Township’s Planning Commission.

On Dec. 1, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the cities of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Livonia — municipalities that have approved resolutions banning dispensaries similar to the ones that Chelsea and Saline have approved.

Although the municipalities have some common zoning areas, the townships have large agriculturally zoned areas where requests for cultivation could occur, but officials said none had been received.

Dexter Village and Scio Township have large commercial areas where dispensaries could be located.

Perhaps, officials said, there could be some common language in an ordinance that would help individual areas in the region. “We’re in a position that our Planning Commission has done a very good job putting something together,” Village President Shawn Keough said, “But what as a region, do we think is best?”

Dexter Village is the furthest along of any of the communities.

“We’re ready to move forward on this and I think we should move forward on this,” said Dexter Village Councilman Jim Carson.

Dexter Councilman Paul Cousins agreed, but Councilman Jim Smith disagreed saying “Not all of us feel that way.”

Smith and Council member Donna Fisher said after attending a conference on the topic in Lansing, it was their opinion that Dexter did not need to hurry into adopting an ordinance.

Dexter Township Supervisor Pat Kelly said Dexter officials can move forward on their own. “The village can do what the village will do. If you’re ready to pull the trigger, I don’t see this as something that would change regional cooperation.”

Shea ageed. “Those of us who have had the pressure (of a serious inquiry), you would be well suited to do something. Don’t lose sleep over lawsuits, but you don’t want to invite them, either. Those of us who haven’t felt the pressure can slow walk it,” he said.

The next step is expected to be a meeting with law enforcement officials but no date has been set.

Here's a rundown of efforts to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the various communities:

Dexter: Dexter Village has twice extended a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries following a request to place a dispensary in its downtown, Keough said.

A proposed zoning ordinance has been drafted, public hearings have been held, and it has been approved by its Planning Commission.

In early March, the Village Council was poised to act when Smith proposed that the village meet with neighboring municipalities to discuss a regional approach.

Dexter Township: Dexter Township Zoning Administrator Patrick Sloan said the township has had no inquires from dispensaries, but imposed a six-month moratorium on the facilities in November, and an ad hoc committee is studying the law before making recommendations to the Planning Commission.

He said the township might extend the moratorium by 12 months as concerns are “fleshed out and identified.”

Scio Township: Spaulding Clark, Scio Township’s supervisor, said the township’s stand is that medical marijuana is illegal and against federal law. “Technically, it’s not legal in Michigan,” he said.

Lima Township: Ken Unterbrink, Lima Township’s supervisor, said the township has a six-month moratorium in place and an ad hoc committee of the Planning Commission is looking at the law.

Webster Township: John Kinsgley, Webster Township’s supervisor, said the township is working on a new zoning ordinance that includes the statement “any uses that are illegal under federal, state and local law are illegal in Webster Township.”

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.