Grand Rapids, MI -- Two things are clear about medical marijuana in Michigan. First, voters more than two years ago overwhelmingly approved the use of the otherwise illegal drug to help cancer patients and others who can benefit from its pain-relieving, appetite-inducing effects.
Second, administration of that citizen-approved law is a mess. Local communities are in a quandary about how exactly to regulate the drug. Some have banned it altogether, as Wyoming did in November, in absence of clear regulations from the state. Others, such as Grand Rapids, have adopted zoning ordinances to ensure the caregivers who grow marijuana are licensed as home-based businesses and do not pose a danger to their neighbors.
This legal patchwork serves no one well. The Legislature should do what it frequently must when voters approve new statutes - pass enabling laws that respect the will of voters and set in place reasonable safeguards against illegal activity. Newly inaugurated lawmakers, along with Gov. Rick Snyder, have the opportunity to clear away the confusing haze surrounding the law and provide the needed guidance. The absence of legislative action has left a morass that will ultimately be sorted out by courts - not a smart or democratic way to cement public policy.
The law, passed by 63 percent of voters in November 2008, allows people to register with the Michigan Department of Community Health to become sanctioned medical marijuana patients. A registered patient must have a medical condition defined under the law - including AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, chronic pain and others - and be certified by a physician. Patients are allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of the drug at one time and grow 12 plants in "an enclosed, locked facility." Qualified "caregivers" can grow plants for up to five patients.
Snipped
Complete Article: http://mapinc.org/url/Ep8ejnZy
Source: Grand Rapids Press (MI)
Published: January 4, 2011
Copyright: 2011 Grand Rapids Press
Contact: pulse@grpress.com
Website: http://www.mlive.com/grpress/
Friday, January 7, 2011
National Guard in Federal Raid Raises Questions
Lansing, MI -- On Nov. 30, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided a facility in Meridian Township. Along with ground forces, the Michigan National Guard provided two Blackhawk helicopters to assist in the operation.
The facility was a joint growing operation by several registered patient caregivers. The caregivers decided to rent the facility to grow medical marijuana for their patients, and remove the drug from their homes.
Dave Clark, an Okemos attorney representing one of the patient caregivers, told the City Pulse that his client and the others had done nothing illegal.
“We were surprised there was even a warrant. Everything inside was legal under state law,” Clark said. “I’m sure it was 100 percent legal.”
Clark and his client were not the only ones surprised by the raid. Meridian Township Police Chief Dave Hall tells Michigan Messenger that his department was never informed of the raid by federal authorities. Traditionally, when a law enforcement agency is going to be engaged in an action in another jurisdiction, they let the law enforcement from that jurisdiction know. This is done to prevent sending officers to the scene of a police action because of 9-1-1 calls.
United States District Attorney Rene Shekmer of the Western District in Grand Rapids told the City Pulse that the raid was conducted at several locations, and agents seized 400 plants, as well as growing equipment.
“Under federal law, there is no exemption for medical marijuana. Under Michigan law, there are limits and rules you have to follow,” Shekmer told the City Pulse. “As a broad brush, it does not appear they were (state-compliant) because of the number of plants.”
Feds are also seeking information from the Michigan Department of Community Health about several medical marijuana caregivers. It is widely believed this subpoena, issued in June, is directed at the caregivers involved in the Meridian Township growing operation.
But that conflict over whether or not the facilities were following Michigan law, also raises the questions about why the Michigan National Guard participated in the operation.
“Our helicopters do not support action in violation of state laws. A warrant authorizing Guard air support was issued for the Meridian Township mission. We supported the mission,” says Angela Simpson, deputy public information officer for the Michigan National Guard.
Simpson says in 2009 Guard assets were used to assist law enforcement in the seizure of 730,000 tablets of ecstasy, 607,865 pounds of illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, hashish, crystal meth, opium, and others) and 107,480 pounds of marijuana. The counter-drug program’s focus is on prevention, education and apprehension support.
The Blackhawk helicopters, Simpson said, were not armed, nor were National Guard personnel.
Simpson also released an 80 page document from the Secretary of Defense which is the basis for the Guard’s involvement in federal government operations. Under those standing orders, Simpson says, the Guard can assist when presented with a warrant. Civilian leadership is not required to be briefed on those actions, or to approve them.
Those orders also authorize the deployment of Guard units and assets in drug interdiction actions and outline specific rules of engagement including lethal force to protect lives.
Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office said last month that Granholm supported the actions of the National Guard, but declined to answer any specific questions.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this situation.
The ACLU of Michigan says it is too early to tell if the use of National Guard assets was legal, or if the DEA was right to conduct the raid.
“This situation seems to raise more questions than answers. The federal government has a policy of not enforcing federal marijuana laws where state medical marijuana laws are being followed,” said Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. “However, if a grow operation is being conducted outside of the confines of the MMMA, federal law enforcement may have reason to investigate and act.”
Source: American Independent (NC)
Author: Todd A. Heywood
Published: January 6, 2011
Copyright: 2011 The American Independent News Network
Contact: editor@americanindependent.com
URL: http://drugsense.org/url/sE78mXn9
Website: http://www.americanindependent.com/
The facility was a joint growing operation by several registered patient caregivers. The caregivers decided to rent the facility to grow medical marijuana for their patients, and remove the drug from their homes.
Dave Clark, an Okemos attorney representing one of the patient caregivers, told the City Pulse that his client and the others had done nothing illegal.
“We were surprised there was even a warrant. Everything inside was legal under state law,” Clark said. “I’m sure it was 100 percent legal.”
Clark and his client were not the only ones surprised by the raid. Meridian Township Police Chief Dave Hall tells Michigan Messenger that his department was never informed of the raid by federal authorities. Traditionally, when a law enforcement agency is going to be engaged in an action in another jurisdiction, they let the law enforcement from that jurisdiction know. This is done to prevent sending officers to the scene of a police action because of 9-1-1 calls.
United States District Attorney Rene Shekmer of the Western District in Grand Rapids told the City Pulse that the raid was conducted at several locations, and agents seized 400 plants, as well as growing equipment.
“Under federal law, there is no exemption for medical marijuana. Under Michigan law, there are limits and rules you have to follow,” Shekmer told the City Pulse. “As a broad brush, it does not appear they were (state-compliant) because of the number of plants.”
Feds are also seeking information from the Michigan Department of Community Health about several medical marijuana caregivers. It is widely believed this subpoena, issued in June, is directed at the caregivers involved in the Meridian Township growing operation.
But that conflict over whether or not the facilities were following Michigan law, also raises the questions about why the Michigan National Guard participated in the operation.
“Our helicopters do not support action in violation of state laws. A warrant authorizing Guard air support was issued for the Meridian Township mission. We supported the mission,” says Angela Simpson, deputy public information officer for the Michigan National Guard.
Simpson says in 2009 Guard assets were used to assist law enforcement in the seizure of 730,000 tablets of ecstasy, 607,865 pounds of illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, hashish, crystal meth, opium, and others) and 107,480 pounds of marijuana. The counter-drug program’s focus is on prevention, education and apprehension support.
The Blackhawk helicopters, Simpson said, were not armed, nor were National Guard personnel.
Simpson also released an 80 page document from the Secretary of Defense which is the basis for the Guard’s involvement in federal government operations. Under those standing orders, Simpson says, the Guard can assist when presented with a warrant. Civilian leadership is not required to be briefed on those actions, or to approve them.
Those orders also authorize the deployment of Guard units and assets in drug interdiction actions and outline specific rules of engagement including lethal force to protect lives.
Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office said last month that Granholm supported the actions of the National Guard, but declined to answer any specific questions.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this situation.
The ACLU of Michigan says it is too early to tell if the use of National Guard assets was legal, or if the DEA was right to conduct the raid.
“This situation seems to raise more questions than answers. The federal government has a policy of not enforcing federal marijuana laws where state medical marijuana laws are being followed,” said Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. “However, if a grow operation is being conducted outside of the confines of the MMMA, federal law enforcement may have reason to investigate and act.”
Source: American Independent (NC)
Author: Todd A. Heywood
Published: January 6, 2011
Copyright: 2011 The American Independent News Network
Contact: editor@americanindependent.com
URL: http://drugsense.org/url/sE78mXn9
Website: http://www.americanindependent.com/
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Food Drive for Free Pot Nets 12,000 Pounds of Food from Medical Marijuana Dispensary
SANTA CRUZ (CBS/KCBS) The Second Harvest Food Bank in Santa Cruz County had a successful holiday food drive, thanks in part to an amazing number of donations from a small business.
No, not a car dealership or a restaurant.
The Granny Purps Marijuana Dispensary.
The food collection barrels were pretty empty at the dispensary in Soquel, until they got the bright idea to offer joints for food, reports CBS affiliate KCBS.
"We originally didn't have a limit and people could bring in as many cans as they wanted," said dispensary co-owner Phil Hicks. "And for every four cans, we would give them a free, pre-rolled joint. They had to be a legal medical marijuana patient and a part of our collective to participate in the promotion."
Each patient was also limited to a maximum of three cigarettes a day.
Hicks said the next thing they knew, they were inundated with cans of food.
"The response blew away anything we expected. We started in November. I was hoping we could fill five barrels before Thanksgiving, but we had seven filled by Thanksgiving," he said. "I said at this rate, I think we can get 10,000 pounds by Christmas."
Hicks said they ended up collecting close to 12,000 pounds of food.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Michigan's Medical Marijuana Law Shrouded in Haze
Lansing -- Michigan's two-year-old law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes is leaving communities, courts, patients and police locked in disputes over what is legal and what isn't.
Many patients who have the state's OK to use marijuana to ease their pain from conditions ranging from cancer to Crohn's disease have been arrested and others have been fired because of different interpretations of the law approved by Michigan voters in late 2008. Courts face a rash of medical marijuana cases, with the law raising so many questions one state appeals court judge described reading it as a "maze."
Local governments are jumping in and passing their own ordinances, mostly trying to limit, ban or regulate a wave of businesses popping up to grow and sell the drug.
Michigan isn't alone in trying to sort out hazy medical marijuana laws. Fourteen other states have similar statutes — prompting raids and debate over local regulations in California, disputes over which doctors can recommend pot in Colorado and fights over proposed regulations in New Jersey.
Many of the clashes are between medical marijuana advocates who say they're acting within the law and police who say they aren't. Adding to the tension is federal law that continues to ban the use and possession of marijuana. Although it won't be a top priority for lawmakers in a state swamped by economic and state government budget problems, Michigan's next Legislature likely will devote some time to clarifying the law.
A class on legal issues is a staple at Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, one of the few medical marijuana trade schools in the nation. Nick Tennant, who last year opened up the trade school in suburban Detroit, said the goal of the class is to provide students some clarity about a law that has gray areas.
"A lot of people want definitive answers," Tennant, 25, said. "It's just hard, because sometimes the attorneys can't really give a definitive answer. They can give almost a 'best practices, here's how you stay out of trouble, don't raise your risk tolerance in this gray area' type of thing."
The school also provides students with instruction on the medical and horticultural aspects of growing pot for medicinal use.
"We don't want the people and the public to be afraid of us or to think we're drug dealers, because that's really a popular misconception as well. We're here to help," said Travis Williams, a 38-year-old Detroiter who took classes at the school and now provides marijuana he grows himself to patients.
Michigan's more than 45,000 licensed medical marijuana patients can possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana and have up to 12 plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility — or have a registered caregiver grow the drug for them.
Some police agencies want a better system to verify the authenticity of authorization cards. Physicians must certify patients would benefit from the pain-reducing aspects of marijuana, but it's left to the patients to register with the state and to self-regulate the amount and quality of the drug they take.
"There is absolutely no connection to medicine and what's going on with medical marijuana right now," said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. "You don't have a required patient-doctor relationship. You don't go to a state-licensed, inspected and regulated facility like a pharmacy. ... It's creating already a lot of problems and a lot of misconceptions."
Advocates of medical marijuana say nothing in the law prohibits dispensaries and collective growing facilities, and that communities are ignoring the will of Michigan voters by cracking down on those businesses. Advocates of the law say it's broad by design to protect a wide range of activities.
Many Michigan communities have said state law isn't clear or is largely silent on how the drug can be grown and distributed by anyone other than patients or caregivers, or how plants and seeds can be bought in the first place.
Oakland County narcotics agents raided two medical marijuana dispensaries this summer after they sold the drug to deputies carrying phony state ID cards. The city of Lansing recently adopted an ordinance banning the opening of any new medical marijuana businesses until July, in hopes of buying enough time for local officials to draft rules for their operation.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the southeast Michigan cities of Livonia, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills and joined a lawsuit against the west Michigan city of Wyoming over policies it says effectively ban the use of medical marijuana.
Local governments counter that they are trying to make sure illegal drug dealing and other crimes don't take place in the absence of a clear state law.
Individual patients also have run into trouble with police or employers. Joseph Casias, authorized by the state to use marijuana because of pain associated with cancer, lost his job at a Wal-Mart store in Battle Creek in 2009 after testing positive for pot. He's battling the company in court.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Peter O'Connell wrote in a September opinion that the law is susceptible to multiple interpretations and that reading it "carelessly or out of context could result in jail or prison time for many of our citizens." He urged state officials to clear up contradictions and vague areas in the voter-approved law.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for incoming Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger, said "the level of confusion" that exists related to the law likely will prompt the new Legislature to address it during the 2011-12 session.
Householder reported from Southfield, Mich.
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Tim Martin and Mike Householder, Associated Press
Published: December 22, 2010
Copyright: 2010 The Associated Press
Many patients who have the state's OK to use marijuana to ease their pain from conditions ranging from cancer to Crohn's disease have been arrested and others have been fired because of different interpretations of the law approved by Michigan voters in late 2008. Courts face a rash of medical marijuana cases, with the law raising so many questions one state appeals court judge described reading it as a "maze."
Local governments are jumping in and passing their own ordinances, mostly trying to limit, ban or regulate a wave of businesses popping up to grow and sell the drug.
Michigan isn't alone in trying to sort out hazy medical marijuana laws. Fourteen other states have similar statutes — prompting raids and debate over local regulations in California, disputes over which doctors can recommend pot in Colorado and fights over proposed regulations in New Jersey.
Many of the clashes are between medical marijuana advocates who say they're acting within the law and police who say they aren't. Adding to the tension is federal law that continues to ban the use and possession of marijuana. Although it won't be a top priority for lawmakers in a state swamped by economic and state government budget problems, Michigan's next Legislature likely will devote some time to clarifying the law.
A class on legal issues is a staple at Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, one of the few medical marijuana trade schools in the nation. Nick Tennant, who last year opened up the trade school in suburban Detroit, said the goal of the class is to provide students some clarity about a law that has gray areas.
"A lot of people want definitive answers," Tennant, 25, said. "It's just hard, because sometimes the attorneys can't really give a definitive answer. They can give almost a 'best practices, here's how you stay out of trouble, don't raise your risk tolerance in this gray area' type of thing."
The school also provides students with instruction on the medical and horticultural aspects of growing pot for medicinal use.
"We don't want the people and the public to be afraid of us or to think we're drug dealers, because that's really a popular misconception as well. We're here to help," said Travis Williams, a 38-year-old Detroiter who took classes at the school and now provides marijuana he grows himself to patients.
Michigan's more than 45,000 licensed medical marijuana patients can possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana and have up to 12 plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility — or have a registered caregiver grow the drug for them.
Some police agencies want a better system to verify the authenticity of authorization cards. Physicians must certify patients would benefit from the pain-reducing aspects of marijuana, but it's left to the patients to register with the state and to self-regulate the amount and quality of the drug they take.
"There is absolutely no connection to medicine and what's going on with medical marijuana right now," said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. "You don't have a required patient-doctor relationship. You don't go to a state-licensed, inspected and regulated facility like a pharmacy. ... It's creating already a lot of problems and a lot of misconceptions."
Advocates of medical marijuana say nothing in the law prohibits dispensaries and collective growing facilities, and that communities are ignoring the will of Michigan voters by cracking down on those businesses. Advocates of the law say it's broad by design to protect a wide range of activities.
Many Michigan communities have said state law isn't clear or is largely silent on how the drug can be grown and distributed by anyone other than patients or caregivers, or how plants and seeds can be bought in the first place.
Oakland County narcotics agents raided two medical marijuana dispensaries this summer after they sold the drug to deputies carrying phony state ID cards. The city of Lansing recently adopted an ordinance banning the opening of any new medical marijuana businesses until July, in hopes of buying enough time for local officials to draft rules for their operation.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the southeast Michigan cities of Livonia, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills and joined a lawsuit against the west Michigan city of Wyoming over policies it says effectively ban the use of medical marijuana.
Local governments counter that they are trying to make sure illegal drug dealing and other crimes don't take place in the absence of a clear state law.
Individual patients also have run into trouble with police or employers. Joseph Casias, authorized by the state to use marijuana because of pain associated with cancer, lost his job at a Wal-Mart store in Battle Creek in 2009 after testing positive for pot. He's battling the company in court.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Peter O'Connell wrote in a September opinion that the law is susceptible to multiple interpretations and that reading it "carelessly or out of context could result in jail or prison time for many of our citizens." He urged state officials to clear up contradictions and vague areas in the voter-approved law.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for incoming Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger, said "the level of confusion" that exists related to the law likely will prompt the new Legislature to address it during the 2011-12 session.
Householder reported from Southfield, Mich.
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Tim Martin and Mike Householder, Associated Press
Published: December 22, 2010
Copyright: 2010 The Associated Press
Cannabis Cookbooks
Cooking with Ganja
Written and published by Eric,"Cooking with Ganja" is an original English cookbook that teaches all you need to know about cooking grass and hash. Clearly written, with no beating around the bush, this is Ganja cookery at it's best.
Written and published by Eric,"Cooking with Ganja" is an original English cookbook that teaches all you need to know about cooking grass and hash. Clearly written, with no beating around the bush, this is Ganja cookery at it's best.
JOIN US MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2011
Southfield Compassion will meet MONDAY, January 10, 2011 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Southfield Library, to discuss Medical Marijuana in Michigan.
Join us in a safe, comfortable environment as we discuss growing, cooking and the use of Medical Marijuana.
One-on-one legal advice from an Attorney based in Southfield, that specializes in Medical Marijuana.
DIGITAL VAPORIZER RAFFLE!!!!!!!
Network with Attorneys, Grow Specialists, Patients and Caregivers.
Join us in a safe, comfortable environment as we discuss growing, cooking and the use of Medical Marijuana.
One-on-one legal advice from an Attorney based in Southfield, that specializes in Medical Marijuana.
DIGITAL VAPORIZER RAFFLE!!!!!!!
Network with Attorneys, Grow Specialists, Patients and Caregivers.
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