Medical Marijuana Distribution System Working Document

[+RevThad]

Afternoon, just to interject something that I noticed from the current dialogue. I think we can all agree that patients DO have the right to acquire their medications from any source they choose, and that those choices should not be limited by the state or local municipalities.

 

It is as simple as that, and I would ask that we as a community stay away from falling into the trap of believing people targeted by police are guilty until proven innocent, or the "they must have done something" or "they were pushing the limits". From what I was always taught and are law clearly states that folks are to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise...

 

Have a great day, and I hope that some of the sunshine I saw awhile ago makes it to your part of the state today..

[Southern Cross]

blueberry, on 25 September 2010 - 01:10 AM, said:

Sounds to me that anyone, who is assisting a patient, is protected by the law. That's just a straight up English reading of the law. No gray areas needed. Thanks,Bb

 

Joe, note that the wording of that clause is assisting a registered patient. Also, that there is no clause to cover how much an other person (non patient or non-caregvier) can possess, and therefore might open them up to the legal system if not in the vicinity of patients or caregivers...

 

Any distribution "center" be it Compassion Club or Dispensary will have to keep that in mind as they structure their internal model.

I think that's an understatement. Even where the Act is perfectly clear the "justice system" seems determined to challenge it. In Redden the PA asserted and the circuit court agreed that because Bob and Torey didn't have §4 registry cards they couldn't claim §8 AD. Come on!

 

I think the only thing that's clear is the injustice system is going to challenge every jot and tittle of the act. Didn't Sal Agro and his wife both have §4 cards? And yet they were still raided by the *!#@ing @$$holes.

[Guest sub4me]

GanjaWarrior, my CGs were both liars and lets be real theres no place for a patient to go find a quality CG, its the web, a CC maybe but come on you dont know those people either, it a shot in the dark. I know all the CGs here are the best the honset guys, oh but guess what they dont need patients. I dont mind you or anyone growing their own or a CG growing for a patient that fine by me. What I don't like is having to have a CG or grow your own, thats crazy, esspecially since no system to qualify a CG exist, its stupid.

 

So now we have these dispensaries opening, which for most part patients seem to like, at least from what I read here. But then those raids come, but other dispensaries still remain open, its odd and makes one think if this dispensary or that dispensary is closed down and in trouble yet others remain open for example in Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and more then surely those still open must be doing something right while perhaps the others didn't. Now I did think CR of Ferndale was a legit business sure appeared that way to me and I feel horrible for what happened there and hope they can again open. I know nothing of Dryden execpt what I've read, maybe the small town didn't like all the traffic this place brought to the town.

[GanjaWarrior]

Hey if patients still want their CGs or want to grow themselves then so be it thats up to them. I'm not against CGs but I don't think a patient should have no other choice such as pick some unknown CG they find online or grow themselves. Most patients don't grow themselves, don't want or need the hassle, have the time, know how, or place to grow.

 

Being able to go to a dispensary keeps things above board and makes sense for patients, the community, and the law.

 

As far as the street goes, I'm sure alot of those CGs out there used to be the same guys out there doing it illegal and now have gotten a CG card and think their a legal drug dealer.

 

Where in the law does it say you have to pick a cg you don't know. Did anyone ever suggest even that you get some complete stranger to be your caregiver? Thats called a personal choice. I have had three patients so far, my mother in-law, a co-worker and my best friend. Some of us have known of the benefits of mmj for longer than the state has. I didnt feel the need to ignore what I know was right, so it is possible I may have helped someone find marijuana prior to the vote. The only thing that has changed is the quality of the meds they get. I dont know why you insist your not against the cg program when you cant speak on it with out the lifetime network spin.

[+RevThad]

sub4me,

 

You just hit the nail on the head, perhaps without realizing it. The big difference between most of the dispensaries that were raided and those that are still open, is simply based on their locations. Some are in more "accepting" counties or towns. I would guess that most if not all dispensaries are operating as legit businesses, and deserve at least that presumption.

 

There are actually some great places to meet a good CG if you are interested, one of the best places would be your local or other compassion club. Nothing states that you have to sign one on as soon as you meet them, you can build a relationship, and see if the fit would be right for both of you. While you are doing that you can still acquire meds from others, dispensaries, or even at the compassion club. A patient has the RIGHT to acquire their meds from any channel they wish.

 

I highly recommend networking and meeting people at various places that are MMJ friendly, those would include CCs, Dispensaries, and various events like the one going on tonight... worst case scenario you make a couple of friends, and have another possible avenue for getting meds when the need arises.

 

I wish you well.

[Guest sub4me]

I realized it, and thanks.

[Guest Marywanna]

Did any of you get a mail from Clinical Relief that said they will re-open Monday? Because it said only "existing" pts,no new ones. How do I know it isn't a trap...I don't put anything past LEO recently.

[Southern Cross]

Look state dispeansaries, private dispensaries, whatever the main point is patients having a place to buy meds safley and not be tired bound or enslaved to any CG, the CG system is set up for faliure and not patient orientated.

 

That's the first time I've seen that particular argument. I agree patients should have options for getting their meds, but to say the caregiver system is not patient oriented is hard for me to follow. I don't doubt that there are some CGs that are only in this for the money. You'll find greed under any system. What I don't understand is why anyone would sign up with a CG if they don't know them personally or they weren't referred by someone known to the patient. This is why compassion clubs are essential. They give people a place to network and find a reputable CG if they choose or simply transfer meds of known quality.

 

Any patient with a VALID card should be able to walk into a private dispensary and obtain meds, this is just common sense.

 

I also want to say that it seems that those that are having trouble with the law are maybe those who are pushing the limits of it and probably knew what the outcome would be. Those in trouble must have done something to provoke a raid or bust.

I warned about this in another topic. Polls have shown that many people on a jury will presume you are guilty. They think, "If the nice policeman arrested them, they must have done something wrong".

 

Be careful people! If you choose to try to help someone under §8 protections remember you could get a few people who think like this on your jury.

 

I do not see patients coming out in droves saying they were busted for having their MM while having their card, also thier are many dispensaries around and most of them seem to be doing just fine. Just my observation.

IIRC the people who own the Ferndale dispensary also own one in Lansing. Ferndale busted, Lansing still open.

[Guest sub4me]

Did any of you get a mail from Clinical Relief that said they will re-open Monday? Because it said only "existing" pts,no new ones. How do I know it isn't a trap...I don't put anything past LEO recently.

 

That info is on their site as well. I don't its a trap maybe their gonna operate diffrent, I really dont know. However considering what happened and not knowing the outcome I'm not sure anyone will feel very comfortable going there. Were any of the patients at CR arrested or busted, not the patient/caregivers that work thier but client patients??

 

AB, I realize CRs location is open in Lansing and operated by the same parties (I guess) however maybe that location is operating diffrent, I don't know and neither do you. It appears there are alot of allegations aganist the Ferndale location, founded or not someone thought it enough to raid them. I do not agree with the raids in anyway but then we don't know all the details. Theres alot of accusations about them but I think they were very professional and business like. By no means a drug den.

[+kurt klaas]

My observations are the following.

 

Law enforcement tactics and the attitude of officials results in clear instances of injustice and cruelty, which the mmj community can only combat through the courts and legislation.

 

A significant number of persons in the MMMP are breaking the law. This is very easy to do because the MMMA allows no monitoring whatsoever to enforce compliance with the law. The particular aspect of the law I have in mind concerns selling meds to noncard holders. It's far easier for an individual caregiver not to get caught selling mj to noncard holders than a "dispensary" or other business-type setups. I do not know if the things I hear are true about some of these businesses, but the number of rumor accusations I hear regarding such businesses in our part of the state breaking the law to me is shocking and stunning. If half of them are true, that's still way way to high.

 

To me this seems to be a little diry secret that is taboo to mention in the mmj community because the general attitude seems to be that no one should go to jail for any mj related activity whatsoever; if persons where arrested for selling to noncard holders, SO WHAT, they should not have been. This attitude reflects the attitude of persons who were engaged in illegal mj activity before the MMMA ever went into effect, and they continue to hold this street attitude, which is understandable to some extent because most of us do agree that all mj use should be decriminalized.

 

In short, I do not trust LEO's tactics and accusations against the persons arrested who are linked with the dispensaries that got raided. Nor do I trust, based on what I hear going on in our part of the state, the statements of total innocence coming from those persons who were arrested. We shall see. Time will tell.

 

In my opinion, a new distribution system is completely meaningless if it is met with the same kind of noncompliance that is going on now. (I am referring to the rumors I hear going on in this part of the state that have to do with tranfers to noncard holders.) Most likely, any new distribution system persons in the mmj community propose is going to have the very same problem the current one does: law enforcement has no way to monitor for abuse other than to conduct secret investigations and run raids.

 

In my opinion. the current system is plagued more by abuse than the law has structural problems. I hold this view because I personally know of "dispensary" models that reduce the problem of suspicion and abuse by the way they structure and run their operation. Some clubs have indeed been able to create a model for transferring meds that have been accepted by local municipalities as nonthreatening. In contrast, the profit motive of "dispensaries" and other patient/caregiver businesses easily corrupts their actions. There's easy money to be made. Abuse by such businesses have the potential to destroy all legitimate operations in the eye of public opinion.

 

The attitude my observations reflect isn't very popular in the mmj community, it seems to me. Such things rarely, if ever, get mentioned, even though what I'm saying has truth to it and everybody knows it.

 

So my main question is, OK, you propose a new distribtion system. SO WHAT? If the new system does not attempt to fix the problem of looking suspicious to LEO and local officials along with the problem of noncompliance, SO WHAT????????????????????????????????????????????

 

Has anybody besides me thought about this?

 

The best model for a distribution system I have seen, after a lot of on the ground research, is one in which transfers are made within the context of a club whose primary purpose is educational etc. and exist specifically for aiding persons in the mmj community with a whole set of services that are all nonprofit. Unlike a "dispensary" business or whatever, such a club's purpose does not focus exclusively on distributing mmj and making money to run such an operation. For instance, the best clubs are heavily involved in social service activity for their local community, not just their own members. When citizens see that, they are very impressed and supportive. It is a club/business model that can succeed.

 

Such a model, in fact, does not even need the law to be changed. These things are happening right now in some places and can in many others.

 

This is the direction we are attempting to take here.

 

Kurt,

 

Director, the Holland Compassionate Care Community.

[bobandtorey]

those 12 plants thier growing for thier patient arent theirs

 

that may be true but i don't think you will fine one CG to say that

[RnJoe]

Dearest members of the medical marijuana community,

 

In recent weeks there has been a lot of uncertainty across the state, caused mainly by the raids, court rulings, and statements by civil servants. The goal of this letter is to clarify and bring focus back to what the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act intended and does provide for. This may seem like a tough task if you listen to all of the various voices chiming in across the state, yet I think we as a community can handle it. So buckle in and hang on for the ride, well it won't be that exciting, but I do ask that you read all the way to the conclusion and then verify on your own what this letter claims.

 

So here we go.

 

The MICHIGAN MEDICAL MARIHUANA ACT (aka) Initiated Law 1 of 2008 made 3 declarations.

 

That medical research has discovered beneficial uses for marihuana, that include “treating or alleviating the pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions.”

 

That changing state law would have the practical effect of protecting from arrest the vast majority of people who have a medical need to use marihuana.

 

That Michigan would join in the effort of not enforcing federal law when it comes to the medical use and cultivation of marihuana, for the health and welfare of its citizens.

 

These declarations layout a very firm footing for the intent of the law. It declares that there is indeed a medical purpose for marijuana, that the law is intended to protect people from arrest that use it medicinally, and that for the health and welfare of the citizens of the state federal law would be ignored when it comes to use and cultivation of medicinal marijuana.

 

Those words are very much in step with the ballot initiative that we the people voted on. Far too many folks try to read something more or less into these simple words. The same mistake is made quite often when reading the rest of the law. To avoid this mistake, let us heed the words of the Court of Appeals when they suggest that the plain language of the MMMA is the correct way to interpret the law, and comparing it to the obvious intent of the ballot initiative is the correct way to weigh the language.

 

Still here? Great now we are going to get to the nuts and bolts

Hello and thanks for the information. Please forgive my ignorance and spelling but I could swear that "compensation" for a caregiver was permisable but the outright "sale" of the medicine was against the rules. Now some will say that I am just being semantic.. but the 'devil is in the details'. And words are our amunition, so to speak.

[Southern Cross]

Hello and thanks for the information. Please forgive my ignorance and spelling but I could swear that "compensation" for a caregiver was permisable but the outright "sale" of the medicine was against the rules. Now some will say that I am just being semantic.. but the 'devil is in the details'. And words are our amunition, so to speak.

The MMMA doesn't mention "sale" except to say anyone who sells to someone not covered by the act is in big trouble.

 

It does say a registered caregiver can receive compensation for costs. So the courts will look at every jot and tittle of this act and when a word is not defined in the act they will use the dictionary definition as they did in the Redden decision.

 

So,

compensation |ˌkämpənˈsā sh ən|

noun

something, typically money, awarded to someone as a recompense for loss, injury, or suffering : seeking compensation for injuries suffered at work | [as adj. ] a compensation claim.

• the action or process of making such an award : the compensation of victims.

• the money received by an employee from an employer as a salary or wages.

• something that counterbalances or makes up for an undesirable or unwelcome state of affairs : the gray streets of London were small compensation for the loss of her beloved Africa | getting older has some compensations.

• Psychology the process of concealing or offsetting a psychological difficulty by developing in another direction.

-----------------------------------------------

Cost

Noun

cost (the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor)

monetary value, price, cost (the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)) "the fluctuating monetary value of gold and silver"; "he puts a high price on his services"; "he couldn't calculate the cost of the collection"

price, cost, toll (value measured by what must be given or done or undergone to obtain something) "the cost in human life was enormous"; "the price of success is hard work"; "what price glory?"

---------------------------------------------------

 

My opinion is it will eventually be determined that compensation for costs will allow for money to cover the acquisition and production of medical marijuana including, seeds, clones, soil, nutrients, electricity, time and labor etc.

 

However, it will take a court ruling on every jot and tittle of the act before we know with certainty what is OK and what's not OK. Court rulings don't come cheep (or cheap). The cost of a court ruling will include time, attorney fees, stress and possible jail time etc.

 

Anita Bonghit

[Captain Obvious]

Where does that guy I saw on TV get that big can of joints? Does the cannabis get grown by legal growers for the Govt only? I am for Dispensaries as long as they are part of the private sector. No Govt run crap. I can just see it,you go in,take a number,and when you finally get up there,to greet you is a surly state worker that could give a flying rat butt about what they sell you. It would cost more,because they are Union workers. Rather go for the capitalistic approach. You have a great product line,good service,thats the way to get customers. You could run specials every week. Just my two cents. MW

 

U of Missisippi grows it, but it's only 8% THC and they grind up the entire plant for those medical joints.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8omcpXVjgQ&feature=player_embedded

[+RevThad]

I just did a quick once over of it, looks like a well thought out model and set of guidelines. The only part of it that I think may receive some fight from a municipal body would be section 1 ©. They will argue that is is an attempt to legalize cannabis for everybody... Anyways that is my quick thoughts on it, I will go over it more thoroughly this weekend.

[highhope]

It may be very helpful to all if we get weed re-scheduled as a Class 2 or below drug..see article. Michigan needs this, we are allowing people to get medical relief, we need to reclassify marijuana as medicine..

 

Oregon Reclassifies Marijuana As Medicine

By Steve Elliott in Legislation, Medical

Wednesday, Jun. 16 2010 @ 4:19PM

 

​Oregon on Wednesday became the latest state -- and the first in many years -- to officially reclassify marijuana from its Schedule I status as a dangerous drug with no medical value.

 

The Oregon Board of Pharmacy (BOP) voted 4-1 on June 16 to move cannabis to Schedule II, thereby recognizing its medical use.

 

The BOP decision came after months of deliberation and input from the public. The Oregon Legislature passed SB 728, which directed the BOP to reclassify marijuana to Schedule II, III, IV or V, in August 2009.

 

Although Oregon and 13 other states in the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical use, it has officially remained a Schedule I substance according to the federal government. Most states defer to that federal status.

 

Caren Woodson ASA.png

Photo: ASA

Caren Woodson, ASA: "This... should send a clear message to the federal government"

​ "This latest decision by a state public health and drug regulatory body to reclassify marijuana as medicine should send a clear message to the federal government," said Caren Woodson, director of government affairs with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a medical marijuana patient advocacy organization.

 

"The reclassification of marijuana at the federal level is long overdue and certainly ripe for consideration," Woodson added.

 

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, enacted in 1970 as President Richard Nixon introduced the War On Drugs, the U.S. government placed marijuana in an erroneous Schedule I classification, which means it has a "high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value."

 

Since then, several attempts have been made to reclassify cannabis at the federal level.

 

A petition filed in 2002 by the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis is the latest attempt, and is currently pending before the notoriously anti-pot and unresponsive Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently made its recommendations to the DEA, the final agency to review the petition. Acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, a Bush Administration drug warrior holdover who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, is the final remaining arbiter as to the rescheduling petition's fate.

 

"DEA Administrator Leonhart has a less than impressive record on medical marijuana," Woodson said. "But, with the changing political winds on this issue, the Obama Administration has a chance to do the right thing for the hundreds of thousands of sick Americans that benefit from medical marijuana."

 

So far, only four states -- Alaska, Iowa, Montana, and Tennessee -- along with the District of Columbia, have classified marijuana as a therapeutic substance. But there seems to be a strong trend towards changing that.

 

In addition to the June 16 decision, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy recommended in February that the Legislature there reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II, thereby recognizing its medical use.

 

"While such moves are more symbolic than practical, especially in medical marijuana states like Oregon, it does tend to reinforce the argument that marijuana has medical value," said Kris Hermes, ASA media specialist.

 

By law the Oregon BOP has until June 30 to implement the new rules.

[dutch&Dutchess]

I am going to lay this out in a bit of a different order than is customary when discussing this issue. Most people want to know whether patient to patient, cg to cg, cg to patient, or patient to cg transfers are legal or not. With that in mind let us start with what we know is not legal, the law itself lays this out in very plain language and even structures the penalties.

 

(k) Any registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver who sells marihuana to someone who is not allowed to use marihuana for medical purposes under this act shall have his or her registry identification card revoked and is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both, in addition to any other penalties for the distribution of marihuana.

 

So where does that leave us? The only people that a registered patient or registered caregiver cannot sell marijuana to are those not covered by the act.

 

So who is covered by this act? The recent Court of Appeals ruling (People vs Redden) makes that very clear:

 

“The language supports the view that registered patients under

§ 4 and unregistered patients under § 8 would be able to assert medical use of marijuana as a defense. Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not err by permitting defendants to raise the affirmative defense even though neither satisfied the registry-identification-card requirement of § 4.”

 

They even point to the ballot language as guidance:

 

“• Permit registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving

marijuana.”

 

So how do we know if an unregistered person is a qualifying patient? The law defines that again in plain language: “(h) "Qualifying patient" means a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition.”

 

Note there is no need to be registered in that definition,.

 

So lets sum this little section up before we get to far into the law.

 

The law in plain language limits sales to folks covered by this act, those people are both registered and unregistered patients and caregivers. Note: that this falls perfectly in step with the definition of medical use, and handles the transfer and acquisition portions for both patients and caregivers.

 

One last side note before we move on, in the definitions section of the law one will notice there is a clear differentiation of a registered qualifying patient and qualifying patient, and registered primary caregiver and primary caregiver.

 

If you tell me you are a patient and you may benefit from cannabis then I must help you get some asap or I am less than human. This is why I gave a bottle of PB's oil to a stranger who said she had MS. She happened to be leaving the Oakland county courthouse. Should I or anyone ask more of her? If one asks for help why do we question it? Why do we have to register and be approved for something that cannot kill? Why can I go get several toxic substances with some coin? Do I live in Bizzaro land still?

Lets ask the politicians this fall

[+Dickinson County CC]

So, how about a history lesson.

 

3MA persons and Victor come up with the 'compassion club' model as a support group. 3MA backs said model until the 'shift' in focus to industry.

Now the

'model' that many of us have been faithful to since the beginning is being bastardized in favor of basically calling them a dispensing unit.

I take serious issue with any of this and calling any of this a compassion club.

I am already sick of getting calls about when we open and how much for meds.

The compassion club model is a support group that does not engage in any illegal activity, holds public meetings to inform the general public, and gets patients where they need to be.

All other definitions are just a dispensary in cc clothing.

[Shredder]

Are you saying that no transfers occur at your meetings?

 

Absolutely That is the way we do it at the northeast mi cc. We meet at a township hall, no meds, no distribution, education is our goal, not distributing meds to patients. Our leaders are not about the almighty dollar, we just try to help people through education, and provide SAFE meetings, where there is no threat of jail time. We help with patient paperwork, have Dr on site for rec's, and answer questions. A large % of our members are very sick and disabled and trust us. To ignore their trust and safety for a few bucks would be unconscionable. BTW when did the good name of compassion clubs come to mean dispensarys?.......shredder

[westmich]

I like the purposed ordinance, but I think anything short of rule changes and/or changes or additions to the law at the state level will continue to result in raids, arrests, and prosecutions. LEO does not see a dispensary or distribution through a compassion club as legal. All of the kicking and screaming and protesting is not going to change their minds. IMHO, just the opposite, it makes them dig their heals in more. I mean, mmj has been legal in CA for fourteen years now. CA has a much more liberal law, a hundred dollar fine now reduced from a misdemeanor, numerous amounts of local government support, and yet the raids still continue.

 

The purpose of the thread was to focus on rule changes or law changes that would provide for an improved distribution system. Where are we at on that? Are we even agreed that is what is needed?

[westmich]

Believe it or not, Joe, no transfers are allowed at DCCC meetings. We meet in the Public Library in Iron Mountain on a monthly basis and provide free information on obtaining a permit, where to find a doctor, where to find a care-giver if needed, etc. We also operate as a patient support group to help current patients with legal and other issues. As the secretary of the club, I can assure you, that transfers do not occur in the library at our meetings. We also advise everyone that currently any transaction outside of a registered patient and their registered caregiver is illegal as far as the MSP is concerned. An arrest may be overturned in court and the issue may be settled differently in the future....we hope so anyway.....but it still is currently illegal.

 

So, you do not have a private place to meet as well?

 

I understand what you are saying, but the simple fact is that patients need the option to be able to procure cannabis as soon as they are legal in a safe and professional environment. If the best we can offer someone in severe pain is to wait until the end of the month to go to a "support group" who might be able to point them down the road so they might get cannabis a few months out, then we have failed miserably.

[+Dickinson County CC]

Are you saying that no transfers occur at your meetings? I would find that hard to believe that people don't exchange meds. Regardless of the model of CC you use. There must always be a distribution system in place. The object of our movement is not to have clubs, but to take care of patients. You yourself say that you are getting patients to where they need to be. So you are in fact distributing patients to caregivers. Your club is your club. Each club is independently owned and operated. So the decision is made by the owner of the club. We are discussing what is already happening across the state. Putting you head in a hole, does not change reality.

YES! I can say that there are no transfers at out meetings of ANY KIND!

Where patients need to be is called informing them, handing them the paperwork, telling them where clinics are, clarifying the law so they know where the borders are on what is allowed.

The distribution you speak of we already have. Its called the patient caregiver system!

 

Nice that you say regardless of the model you use... um it was 'your' 3MA model.

/laughs

 

I don't put my head in a hole. I keep my head on the path in front of me, which brings me back to this subject.

 

You will singlehandedly tarnish the name of any 'compassion clubs' operating well and above in the most legal sense who don't do anything that is even gray and only help patients in the most legal way possible.

 

This whole thing you helped write is fine, just take out compassion club from the text and I won't continue to speak against it.

[westmich]

Good points, westmich, and I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Through talking with a lot of patients and caregivers all over the state, up top and down below, I think the main stumbling block in our distribution discussions is a difference in the fundamental makeup of the program participants.

 

Here in the city, we have thousands of non-growing patients and caregivers. This is a reality that does not lessen these patients need for cannabis and should not cast doubt on a caregivers motivations. Some patients need LOTS of care beyond just growing their medicine.

 

In addition, the volume of people participating in the program is much larger in the Detroit metro area than upstate.

 

This puts us in a very different situation than those living in the more remote areas of the state. Our program SIMPLY WILL NOT WORK if we are busted down to five patients to a caregiver. We will not have enough medicine and patients all over the metro area will go without while patients and caregivers unload their overages to the black market or destroy them. Desperate patients will buy other patients' meds from street dealers for marked up prices.

 

We will have set up a system of perverse incentives that lead people to sell any overage to street dealers or other non-cardholders instead of patients. Not what the voters intended, I am certain, but it is happening as we speak and will happen more as threat levels increase from law enforcement.

 

Agreeing as a community on open distribution models that serve patients' needs first while preserving all the rights granted us by the voters is a step toward making law enforcement recognize and accept the purpose of this law. One part of the community standing back and calling out the other part for illegal activity emboldens law enforcement and puts us on the defensive.

 

Also, continuing to call out greed on CCs "dispensing" downstate is non-productive. Some of these clubs have thousands of members who know first hand that they are not based in greed. To imply that these clubs dispensing betrays the trust of the patient and caregiver members is ludicrous; they have gained the trust of their members by being a reliable and safe source of education, support, AND medicine.

 

3 +reps !!!

[+Dickinson County CC]

Like I said, I don't have much issue but doing something that is considered gray, even out of compassion is ignorant of the law as intended. The system isn't perfect and I will be the first to admit it. Patients need to come first.

 

There is a great need to a distribution system, just don't include groups that have been operating within the law since day one as part of your group without asking everyone else.

 

It also appears that there may be a need for a patient advocacy group in the state.

[Shredder]

This whole thing you helped write is fine, just take out compassion club from the text and I won't continue to speak against it.

 

 

I agree, when our club formed in April of 09, distribution was not on the radar. As a club, our mission did not change at all. Now that there are many clubs thoughout the state, and many are, and are not dispensaries, we take offense that the name 'compassion club' has been subverted to mean dispensary. It's a black eye for the folks who want keep our patients as safe as possible. We feel it is our responsibility to keep them safe, and when we mean safe we mean 100%, not cause some group thinks so. Please just call it something else is what I'm suggesting.......shredder