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House Oversight Committee 4-15-10

philanthropy

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philanthropy Advanced Member

philanthropy

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http://friendsofgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/03/state-officials-to-re-appear-before.html

 

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

State officials to re-appear before House Oversight Committee to answer questions regarding the Medical Marijuana Program on 4/15/2010

The Friends of Cushingberry

March 30, 2010

 

 

 

On April 15, 2010, administrators from the Departments of State Police, Information Technology, and Community Health will be testifying before an Intergovernmental and Oversight committee of the House of Representatives at the State Capitol in Lansing MI. They will be compelled to answer questions, complaints, and concerns regarding participation in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Program. One of the major issues is that patients are being arrested by City, County, and State police officers and their medicine confiscated. Law enforcement officials are confused on the issue of a person’s status in the program based on a Xerox copy of an application. This document can be easily forged and is very impractical because of its size.

 

 

What happens next is beyond belief and an embarrassment to the citizens of the State. When a person is arrested, the arresting agency has to call between the hours of 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. A good example of this is if you arrested at 5:01PM on a Friday, you have to wait until Monday morning until you are “verified” with a phone call as a valid participant in the program. Your weekend is all screwed up and any plans that you had that week are forever changed.

 

 

The law specifically states that after 20 days a person’s application is deemed valid if there are no anomalies and paperwork is properly filed. The wait up to 120 days for a card is basically un-acceptable and must be dealt with immediately. Currently some local law enforcement agencies have the ability retrieve information in their squad cars about the driver such as: warrants, status in the 7411 diversion program, and the lien holder of the car.

 

 

David Newman legislative liaison of the Department of Information Technology will answer to the committee regarding improving this current debacle in the bureaucracy. According to Mr. Newman no request for help was ever received from the Department of Community Health. He also admitted that the Department of Community Health has only one printer for the cards. When he was asked why is that printer not running 24/7 there was no answer.

 

 

The issue of privatization of the process will be addressed at this hearing. The State of Michigan’s Information Technology Department is a hodge-podge collection of contractors and consultants that the taxpayers support. These contracts are necessary because the agency’s employees do not have the time, money or ability to do the job.

 

Scofes Consulting Inc. has a program that can be quickly implemented to relieve the backlog in processing. The owner Stephen G. Scofes has stated that this program is already being used in California and, can be implemented in Michigan. The ultimate goal is to process the cards as fast as or faster than the Secretary of State, the gold standard in information processing for a government agency. Given the urgency of the situation it appears that Scofes has the answer to the problem. His company may qualify for a no-bid contract if they can perform the following tasks in a timely manner.

 

 

The bid will be based on the following parameters:

1. Registration of patients and caregivers via a secure web page to MDCH.

2. The processing of cards within the 20 day period including renewals.

 

 

The Department of Information Technology and Scofes will be asked to demonstrate how this proposed system will be implemented and maintained. If Mr. Scofes can demonstrate that his company can implement the system by April 20, 2010 @ 4:20AM, he will have earned the honor of being awarded a contract to perform that service for 2 years from the date of acceptance. If the demonstration shows that these participants can’t do the job, the process will be put out to a bid for the general public. When this bid is let out, there will be a required demonstration before a panel of committee members, department officials, and private citizens who have a vested interest in the process.

 

 

MDCH officials will answer to the committee regarding the status of the review board(PA 368 of the Public Health Code of 1978). According to the law there is a requirement for a 15 member board to review requests for additional qualifying conditions. As of March 30, 2010 there have been NO members selected and NO meetings scheduled.

 

 

 

 

Some of the questions the committee will ask are:

1.What is the delay in appointing this board(SOAHR Adm Rule 333.131)

2.What is the department doing to address the appointment of members to this board?

3.The benefit of allowing a private company to manage the Medical Marijuana Information System?

4.How can the MMJ program assist in sharing information with local law enforcement regarding a patient’s status in the program?

5.What is the cost savings to the taxpayers by storing additional information on the microchip of the enhanced driver’s license from the Secretary of State? Printing ONE card instead of two.

 

 

These questions and others from the committee and the public will be asked to these agencies. If you have additional questions that you want asked by the committee please leave it as a comment to this article. These questions will be compiled by Rep. Cushingberrys staff for review by the committee. If there are duplicate questions, they will be combined to address the main idea being expressed by the commenter.

 

 

Rep. Cushingberry appreciates the input from the following organizations: Americans for Safe Access(ASA), Michigan Medical Marijuana Educational and Defense Organization(3MED), Michigan Medical Marijuana Association(3MA), Michigan Chapter of the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (MI-NORML). Also appreciated is the Michigan Departments of Community Health, and Information Technology to improve the system for Michigan citizens. The ending result will be a system that will address the needs and wants of its customers. Government can work for the benefit of the people when the citizens provide positive and rational input to be reviewed, analyze, and implemented to the satisfaction of all sides of the issue.

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peanutbutter Advanced Member

peanutbutter

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There have been hundreds and perhaps even thousands of citizens in Michigan that have been harassed because of a major misconception.

 

Most people that are arrested will plead guilty. They will probably be granted some mercy with their plea.

 

These people will have had property seized that is illegal to seize.

 

There is no question that there are currently people being drug through the legal system that are completely innocent.

 

Normal procedure at this moment seems to be that property gets illegally taken and rarely returned.

 

It will take a very long time before our system actually reflects the will of the voters. Harsh treatment of cannabis consumers has been the norm for so long that some members of the legal community have a hard time making the transition. In practice, they are still at war against our community.

 

Not by intent, but rather by habit.

 

The state is unable to protect the patients and caregivers of Michigan. The war against marijuana harms the mmj community. This is unavoidable.

 

The only way to fully protect our community is to completely legalize it.

 

Now then, I understand that it would be a very difficult task to just "make it legal."

 

I would suggest that we simply put all marijuana proceedings on hold until we all get it figured out.

 

The current system assures thousands of victims of the state. With new victims being added every day.

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peanutbutter Advanced Member

peanutbutter

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I think it proper that a questionnaire be sent out to every person convicted of any marijuana offense in Michigan since the law went into effect.

 

And that questionnaire inquire of the defendant if the defendant felt that they had their rights violated under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.

 

That these questionnaires be tabulated by someone trustworthy.

 

The purpose would be to grant innocent records where proper and the return of any property illegally taken from the defendant.

 

Further that persons that had interaction with police and lost property to the police without arrest need to be included into this query of the people of the state of Michigan.

 

All current enforcement must stop while the situation remains. That situation is the grave risk the current policy poses to the patients of this state.

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peanutbutter Advanced Member

peanutbutter

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In addition to persons arrested there are citizens that are victimized in crimes of theft.

 

These crimes are being conducted by police.

 

In the past, there has been a form of corruption that has existed within our police forces.

 

That is when officers of the law take drugs for their own usage. Many times this will result in the person being released.

 

Many of us viewed it as a tax.

 

This is a perfect crime against a person. The victim can not complain as they were in violation of law also.

 

This seems to be a well established habit, for some small segment of officers. Or perhaps not so small.

 

We have a problem that arises when we are no longer in violation of the law. When the same chain of events takes place now, these officers are simply thieves. Plain and simple.

 

Even when the material goes directly into the evidence room, it is now an illegal activity. A crime. With a victim.

 

The medical marijuana patient.

 

Our new law states plainly that the patients medicine is not subject to seizure or forfeiture. It can not be taken by the police and can not be kept by the courts.

 

Sec. 4.(h) Any marihuana, marihuana paraphernalia, or licit property that is possessed, owned, or used in connection with the medical use of marihuana, as allowed under this act, or acts incidental to such use, shall not be seized or forfeited.

 

More crimes against property:

 

Our law enforcement agencies have become dependent property forfeitures as a source of funding.

 

Two years ago everyone that owned property and consumed marijuana was ripe for harvest.

There are some marijuana consumers today that don't fit into that category any longer.

 

Sec. 4.(h) Any marihuana, marihuana paraphernalia, or licit property that is possessed, owned, or used in connection with the medical use of marihuana, as allowed under this act, or acts incidental to such use, shall not be seized or forfeited.

 

Property, such as automobiles, is commonly taken in a property forfeiture action. That property is then sold or used by the agency.

The automobile is viewed as being used for illegal activity and therefore subject to forfeiture.

 

There is a case in Saginaw where the card holding patient was released but his truck was kept.

This is theft. The victim is a medical marijuana patient.

 

This kind of person is no longer an acceptable target for this kind of corruption.

 

Vandalism:

 

We have been victims of a terror campaign. A reign of terror directed by the government against the marijuana patient.

 

Smashed in doors in the middle of the night by heavily armed military. Did I mention that the WAR IS OVER FOR PATIENTS IN MICHIGAN?

 

Thousands of dollars of equipment gets destroyed in a couple of hours. Months of labor is destroyed. And another set of people are going to be in pain because their medicine was illegally destroyed.

 

We are no longer the "enemy" in a war.

We are no longer acceptable crime victims!

 

Each test case in Michigan, that goes in favor of the patient, will prove that the police have committed a crime against a patient or caregiver.

Will the criminals be arrested?

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HerbanLegendSeeds Advanced Member

HerbanLegendSeeds

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I think it proper that a questionnaire be sent out to every person convicted of any marijuana offense in Michigan since the law went into effect.

 

And that questionnaire inquire of the defendant if the defendant felt that they had their rights violated under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.

 

That these questionnaires be tabulated by someone trustworthy.

 

The purpose would be to grant innocent records where proper and the return of any property illegally taken from the defendant.

 

Further that persons that had interaction with police and lost property to the police without arrest need to be included into this query of the people of the state of Michigan.

 

All current enforcement must stop while the situation remains. That situation is the grave risk the current policy poses to the patients of this state.

 

I think that is a great idea, there needs to be a large showing of the number of victims that have been violated.

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philanthropy Advanced Member

philanthropy

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My ID card will expire in a few days.

 

If the police call, will the MDCH tell them I'm a criminal?

 

i believe if you carry a copy of your renewal form with your old card u should be fine until a new card arrives.

 

MDCH Renewal Application Info

MDCH Renewal Application

 

or did you mean your state ID card/drivers liscense?

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welj31 Advanced Member

welj31

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I got this email not rescheduled yet as far aas I know sorry

 

The Chair of the House Appropriations Committee was admitted to a Detroit hospital last night with a high blood pressure count of 188/98.

 

Detroit Democrat George CUSHINGBERRY Jr. has been battling off and on illnesses and has been on medication. His office confirmed to MIRS that the lawmaker is at Grace Sinai Hospital and is expected to be released sometime today or Tuesday.

 

 

Cushingberry wants to be part of the bugdet negotiations now that lawmakers have returned from Spring Break.

 

 

_________________________________________________

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welj31 Advanced Member

welj31

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FYI - I just heard 2nd hand that the House Appopriations committee meeting for tomorrow has been canceled. Can anyone confirm? Where's Greg when we need him?

 

 

 

yes its OFF Cushingberry was in the hospital. Not rescheduled yet. I will keep a eye on it.

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