Entire County To Ban Mmj

[Lindy]

Eddy , Baby, sing it with me now... "California here I come..."

 

I wonder if they'd give us refugee status...

[cephalopod]

Big thanks again to everyone, Mr.Starks if I can ever help you out, I'm at your disposal.

 

Well I think I have this one figured out. Monday I'm going to look into running this ad with the huron daily tribune.

 

GOT POT, ENJOY! (marijuana leave)

 

U.S. Supreme Court: State Medical marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal Law

Medical marijuana case appealed by the City of Garden Grove was denied review today

 

Washington, DC -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a landmark decision today in which California state courts found that its medical marijuana law was not preempted by federal law. The state appellate court decision from November 28, 2007, ruled that "it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws." The case, involving Felix Kha, a medical marijuana patient from Garden Grove, was the result of a wrongful seizure of medical marijuana by local police in June 2005. Medical marijuana advocates hailed today's decision as a huge victory in clarifying law enforcement's obligation to uphold state law. Advocates assert that better adherence to state medical marijuana laws by local police will result in fewer needless arrests and seizures. In turn, this will allow for better implementation of medical marijuana laws not only in California, but in all states that have adopted such laws.

 

"It's now settled that state law enforcement officers cannot arrest medical marijuana patients or seize their medicine simply because they prefer the contrary federal law," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the medical marijuana advocacy organization that represented the defendant Felix Kha in a case that the City of Garden Grove appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Perhaps, in the future local government will think twice about expending significant time and resources to defy a law that is overwhelmingly supported by the people of our state."

 

California medical marijuana patient Felix Kha was pulled over by the Garden Grove Police Department and cited for possession of marijuana, despite Kha showing the officers proper documentation. The charge against Kha was subsequently dismissed, with the Superior Court of Orange County issuing an order to return Kha's wrongfully seized 8 grams of medical marijuana. The police, backed by the City of Garden Grove, refused to return Kha's medicine and the city appealed. Before the 41-page decision was issued a year ago by California's Fourth District Court of Appeal, the California Attorney General filed a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Kha's right to possess his medicine. The California Supreme Court then denied review in March.

 

"The source of local law enforcement's resistance to upholding state law is an outdated, harmful federal policy with regard to medical marijuana," said ASA spokesperson Kris Hermes. "This should send a message to the federal government that it's time to establish a compassionate policy more consistent with the 13 states that have adopted medical marijuana laws."

 

Further information:

Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order denying review: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/do...s/Kha_USSC.pdf

Decision by the California Fourth Appellate District Court: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/do...veDecision.pdf

Felix Kha's return of property case: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/article.php?id=4412

[Kingdiamond]

Saginaw sicked the DEA on John Roberts and they raided his house so dont think local law enforcement wont find a way around this ruling they will lie cheat and contiue to arrest the sick and dying all for the name of their outdated draconian justice.

 

 

(fyi)

 

If you need monetary help posting that in the paper please dont hesitate to ask us patients and caregivers in these forums i got $20 for ya.

 

EVERYONE needs to lend support for this fight or just lay down their medical marijuana cards and walk away.

[Big J]

caphalopod it is Case 2:10-cv-01413-SR

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34998325/U-S-v-Arizona-Order-on-Motion-for-Preliminary-Injunction

[jamieuke]

Jamie could you site something specifically that will illustrate that for me? Thanks in advance for anything.

 

I will send you some information that is very compelling. However, remember that there are opposing forces who firmly believe that the Federal ban position is defensible. I do believe that an objective observer would rather be on our side of the argument.

[cephalopod]

Wow, the wonderful people don't cease to amaze me!! Kingdiamond, I'm touched by your generosity. I've a lot on my plate today, and will do my best to figure out how much things will cost. I have to see how bad my funds are and how high the cost will be. I really don't like taking hand outs or owing money. If need be I'll make an exception on this but, will insist on repaying any support. I just feel that the people need to know not to live in fear. I for one am still learning but, this situation has enamored my resolve to get over that.

[cephalopod]

Well I just finished call the commissioners on the list. Mr. Elftman, listened to me but, when I refused to tell him my name changed his mind and had no more interest. The only other person that I was able to contact was Mr.Leonard and he was very cool, so if anyone is going to call, treat him right, he's for us. Mr.Leonard said it seemed to more of an issue of zoning and regulating a store front, which I believe for anyone willing to pursue that, is just a matter of business. Mr. Peruski and Mr.Wruble where unavailable this morning, so I left messages expressing my concern. I'm still trying to track down the ones that didn't have #'s for the telly.

 

I also called Up North Media Center and left my contact info with the receptionist and will calling the ACLU back between 1-4 today to discuss what's happening here. I'm going to try to get some add space info from the Huron Daily Tribune next. Once again, thanks to all at MMMA for the outstanding support!

 

I've found this info but, I'll have to find my way in there to figure size and cost. Here are their published rates...http://michigansthumb.com/our_newspaper/advertising/. I would like to run for a week, just not sure if I'll be able to swing it. I'm afraid the amount of space needed for this might end up a little pricey, but I will settle for running on a single Friday or perhaps weekend.

[+RevThad]

Unfortunately, this is incorrect. Federal law always overrides State law. The Feds can go anywhere in America and enforce any Federal law and not any court would stop them. The only thing that stops this on a wide scale is that Obama directed his people not to target medical patients.

 

The Federal laws are unjust and draconian, but it is the law. Every medical marijuana patient in America is breaking Federal law. Bad laws put people in jail every day. Just because the laws are outdated and ridiculous doesn't make them go away.

 

The ironic (and pathetic) part, is that most of the people who are citing Federal law as a justification for the bans, are the same hypocritical Republicans who are constantly denigrating the Federal government for not supporting the rights of the State.

 

The only time these phony conservatives stick up for Washington is when they want to throw people in jail that they don't like....like all of us. So they use Federal law references when it suits their agenda and then turn around and slam the Feds for "interfering" in our lives.

 

Pure hypocrisy.

Ah but you miss the snag in the argument these county and local officials like to ignore, they are bound to follow state law unless there is a conflict with federal law. There is no conflict between our state's medical marijuana law and federal drug laws. The federal government and their enforcement officers can still fully enforce the federal laws, and that is recognized in the MMMAct. As I have stated in a couple of other posts in other threads, that issue has already made it to the SCOTUS, and they allowed the ruling of California Fourth Appellate District Court in Garden Grove v. Superior Court et all to stand. Here are some pertinent quotes from it:

 

"the question remains whether

in this state proceeding, the City can invoke and rely solely on federal law to justify a

particular sanction (i.e., the destruction of Kha’s property) when Kha’s conduct was

consistent with, and indeed sanctioned under, state law."

 

"Applying the

reasons of Tilehkooh, we think judicial enforcement of federal drug policy is precluded in this case because the act in question — possession of medical marijuana — does not

constitute an offense against the laws of both the state and the federal government.

Because the act is strictly a federal offense, the state has “no power to punish . . . [it] . . .as such.”

 

 

"Indeed, we, and all the trial courts in the state, would be

astonished if prosecutors began filing federal charges in state courts.

Given the restrictions on state courts’ enforcement of federal laws, section

11473.5 cannot be read as requiring the destruction of a controlled substance based solely on the fact that possession of the substance is prohibited under federal law. Unless the substance’s possession is also prohibited under state law, the state has no authority to invoke the sanction of destruction set forth in the statute. In other words, the question of whether a substance is lawfully possessed for purposes of section 11473.5 turns on state, not federal law."

 

"The City here invokes the preemption doctrine, but not by asking us to declare the

CUA and MMP unconstitutional across the board, nor by challenging the right of

Californians to use marijuana for medicinal reasons. Rather, it urges us to find the

federal drug laws preempt state law to the extent state law authorizes the return of

medical marijuana to qualified users."

 

“This express statement by Congress that the federal drug law does

not generally preempt state law gives the usual assumption against preemption additional

force. [Citation.]” (National Pharmacies, Inc. v. De Melecio (D.P.R. 1999) 51 F.Supp.2d 45, 54

"

"Despite this, the City argues that in enacting the CSA, Congress intended to

occupy the field of marijuana regulation so extensively that ordering the return of a

defendant’s medical marijuana under state law would be absolutely anathema to

congressional intent. We cannot agree. It’s abjuration of preemption is simply too clear.

Congress enacted the CSA to combat recreational drug abuse and curb drug trafficking.

Its goal was not to regulate the practice of medicine, a task that falls within the

traditional powers of the states. (Gonzales v. Oregon, supra, 546 U.S. at p. 269.)

Speaking for the majority in Gonzales v. Oregon, Justice Kennedy explained, “The

[CSA] and our case law amply support the conclusion that Congress regulates medical

practice insofar as it bars doctors from using their prescription-writing powers as a means to engage in illicit drug dealing and trafficking as conventionally understood. Beyond this, however, the statute manifests no intent to regulate the practice of medicine generally.” (Ibid., italics added.)

 

Anyways, there are a few snippets from the ruling. If these counties and municipalities wish to engage in a war on law, they (not us) are fighting an up hill battle.

[DT61]

That's great info there Rev; until we can get each and every city/township city official to read it - we still have a long road.

[puffaway]

I believe that local municipalities can specify that their zoning laws must be consistant with state and federal zoning laws. This simply gives them an excuse for not allowing a grow or distribution operation in their jurisdiction. It allows them to deny an occupancy or use permit for a specific building if anything regarding the permit does not comply with state or federal law.

They can (and will) argues that such denial could extend as far as safety issues for wiring codes, sprinkler requirements, fire egresses etc etc. The local municipality puts thier palms in the air in the courtroom and says "your honor...we are not trying to prevent legal use of MMJ by use of zoning codes, we are simply trying to require all zoning uses to be consistant with federal law and thereby consistant from county to county etc for the safety of all of our citizens as well as preventing us from getting sued by developers for being inconsistant in our re-zoning requests". MMJ therefore ends up falling between the cracks of the system. And municipalites may have a leg to stand on based on how many times they have been sued by developers in the past for their resistance to changing zoning so that the developers/builders can make more money by buying a cheap piece of land and getting it rezoned to a use that allows the developer to make more money on the property later on.

Unfortunately, they are using this crap as an excuse to prevent what they personally feel in inappropriate use of a property, and it MIGHT hold up in court.

How this affects and individual who is growing plants in his home is another matter. The Macomb Township supervisor said in the local Advisor newspaper two weeks ago that they are working on an MMJ ordinance that will not allow people to grow it in their homes because "we don't want people doing this type of thing in their house". And thats a quote folks...so keep it on file if you have to use it in a civil suit at a later date.

[Greg Starks]

Nice work, C-pod! That is the way to get it done!

[dutch&Dutchess]

the county would have to get the DEA to bust any operation that violated their asinine ordinance as that would be the only federal entity that could ENFORCE state law. Any body who says that they must enforce federal law who is not a federal servant is LYING

[cephalopod]

Well everybody, I had a nice conversation with the ACLU today. The receptionist/secretary took my info and said she was going to forward it to their staff attorney. So that seems good, I believe that they're going to start by trying to get a copy of the proposed ordinance.

[+RevThad]

Well everybody, I had a nice conversation with the ACLU today. The receptionist/secretary took my info and said she was going to forward it to their staff attorney. So that seems good, I believe that they're going to start by trying to get a copy of the proposed ordinance.

Awesome work with all of your efforts. Please keep us informed on any updates...

[Clear and Unambiguous]

Take careful note of this development. County level regulation is the future of Michigan’s medical marijuana bureaucracy.

 

2012 is when all of the prosecutor seats are up for grabs at the county level.

 

Let's show these politicians what we are capable of with the AG race.

[Clear and Unambiguous]

Forgive me for an error in the above post.

 

County level regulation is not just the future of the bureaucracy, it is the present. Many of our localities act based on county instruction now.

[cephalopod]

I know Bad Axe is some distance but, if there is anyway I can talk some people to support us on Nov.3 7:30, please let me know what I can do to persuade you. I'm desperate for some support, I'm all by myself up here and have only know of one other patient/caregiver and that was Mr. Jeff Ellis. For anyone that isn't familiar to who he is; Mr.Ellis, his wife, and patients fell victims to the Bad Axe PD, when they kicked down his door and destroyed his legal grow and confiscated all medicine. To the best of my knowledge, nothing has ever been returned and he was never charged with anything. As a result of stress, Jeff's beloved wife passed months later. It's simply heart wrenching for me to even think of, I tear up every time, and can't begin to imagine what it must be like for him. These people need to be stopped before they destroy any more lives.

[cephalopod]

I see NORML has picked up this story now.http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v10/n854/a07.htm

[greenbuddha]

the county would have to get the DEA to bust any operation that violated their asinine ordinance as that would be the only federal entity that could ENFORCE state law. Any body who says that they must enforce federal law who is not a federal servant is LYING

 

EXACTLY!

 

IF local LEO's enforce the Federal law and arrest patients and caregivers the courts will become a zoo and eventually Huron County will run out of money to put on these little legal shows of force.

 

Because from what I've seen of Huron County they don't have any better 'tax base' than some of the worst counties in Michigan.

 

Good luck to them in hiring all those new LEO's they would need to enforce the 'Federal' law.

 

And this is the SAME scenario that will be played out in California once Prop 19 passes... there won't be enough LEO's to do the job and IF they can arrest all those people the courts ABSOLUTELY could NOT keep up with that number of cases.

 

VOTE the dumb a**s out of office this November 2nd. Let THEM stand in the unemployment line for a while.

[floweralliance]

it is SAD for sure

when i saw this What are we going to do?

Patients or groups could request a variance or multiple variances based on medical necessity due to patient requisite needs for physically being close to medical facilities in the county. If too many variances are requested it could cause problems with even getting a permit to build an outhouse in the county and maybe sensible minds will prevail at the next zoning commission meeting and rescind the bad rules. Would seem the logical place to start overriding a zoning ordinance to me. ACLU or some other pro bono legal support might also be available and it appears NORML is on it from another post. I'm not a lawyer but I slept at the Hangover Hotel last night.

[greenbuddha]

I know Bad Axe is some distance but, if there is anyway I can talk some people to support us on Nov.3 7:30, please let me know what I can do to persuade you. I'm desperate for some support, I'm all by myself up here and have only know of one other patient/caregiver and that was Mr. Jeff Ellis. For anyone that isn't familiar to who he is; Mr.Ellis, his wife, and patients fell victims to the Bad Axe PD, when they kicked down his door and destroyed his legal grow and confiscated all medicine. To the best of my knowledge, nothing has ever been returned and he was never charged with anything. As a result of stress, Jeff's beloved wife passed months later. It's simply heart wrenching for me to even think of, I tear up every time, and can't begin to imagine what it must be like for him. These people need to be stopped before they destroy any more lives.

 

This b*ll Sh*t WILL come to an end... it may take a little while longer... but it WILL come to an end.

 

Find some peace in it until then.

 

But don't give up.

 

We're getting there.

[cephalopod]

In an unscheduled County Commissioners meeting the proposed 6 pg. amendment to ordinance was read. They first said that they want to have a public hearing on Nov.3 to hear concerns of the people, then they do this. The ordinance is unavailable to be read on the county's web page, in the minutes of meeting, and is not listed as a current issue. In a recent news article some truth started to come out. First, the city attorney is only "writing" this amendment because, of concerns from the city's police chief dave rothe. In so many words the police chief is writing this. Secondly, the way that it's written is completely contradictory. I.E. nothing in any manner is going to be allowed...all dispensaries must have medicine in a childproof container labeled with quanity and % of thc. Dispensaries must keep a ledger of all transactions, including the names of the persons to whom the marijuana is sold, and the times and dates that it's sold. The ordinance then goes on to say that "Every 'medical marijuana dispensary' must comply with and not be contrary to local, county, state, and federal law." This after building and zoning Russ Lundberg commented that there are just to many gray areas and they felt the easiest thing was just not to allow it altogether. When the Mayor, Jim Hicks,was asked "why the ordinance has so many requirements if the end result is a ban on medical marijuana"....which he answered that he was going to discuss the issue with the city's attorney. Finally, knowing that all of the comes from one over zealous police chief and that it's presented as a ruse. They set a public hearing to have some public input. Yet they have a unscheduled meeting to preview the amendment and it's made unavailable to the general public. So, come on in to the public hearing and say how you feel and we'll take note of you and then proceed with things as they are, because we've already made up our minds. And in all fairness "we" is BAPD chief dave rothe.

[Mememe]

building and zoning Russ Lundberg commented that there are just to many gray areas and they felt the easiest thing was just not to allow it altogether.

Filing taxes has tons of grey areas that can be hard to figure out. Maybe we should just stop allowing taxes as well.

[cephalopod]

yeah, that would be nice. Funny how it wasn't a problem to whip up 6 pages against it though. I'll be mailing rothe and other officials an informational packet this week, mainly a blanket letter from the ACLU stating their opposition to situations like this. Maybe someone will show some common sense before things escalate.

[cephalopod]

If too many variances are requested it could cause problems with even getting a permit to build an outhouse in the county and maybe sensible minds will prevail at the next zoning commission meeting and rescind the bad rules. Would seem the logical place to start overriding a zoning ordinance to me.

 

Unfortunately this already this case. Besides it's clearly the police chief pushing for this, not the people, obviously.