Aclu Sues Michigan Cities Over Medical Marijuana.

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ACLU Sues Cities That Banned Medical MarijuanaPosted by CN Staff on December 01, 2010 at 10:39:46 PT

By RoNeisha Mullen, The Detroit News

Source: Detroit News

 

Detroit -- The ACLU of Michigan today filed lawsuits against three metro Detroit communities that have adopted ordinances banning medical marijuana.

 

The suit, filed on behalf of Linda and Robert Lott of Birmingham, alleges the cities of Livonia, Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham each have adopted ordinances effectively banning the couple and other patients from legally using medical marijuana.

 

"We're seeing a lot of cities that are passing very burdensome ordinances that stand in the way of patients and their doctors on this issue," said ACLU attorney Dan Korobkin. "When patients use medical marijuana in compliance with state law, they shouldn't be penalized for it."

 

Linda Lott, 61, who has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 28 years, is legally blind and uses a wheelchair. Linda uses medical marijuana to control muscle spasm and "ease her pain."

 

"It's simply unfair for these cities to try to play doctor and tell me how to treat a disease I've lived with for 28 years," she said. "I could have a terrible spasm, and a little bit of marijuana would take it away in just a few minutes."

 

Michigan voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 2008. The act, which decriminalized the use of medical marijuana for debilitating medical conditions, passed by 71 percent in Birmingham, 63 percent in Livonia and 62 percent in Bloomfield Hills.

 

But local governments have been struggling over how to interpret the law. Some have adopted moratoriums on the use of medical marijuana and others have banned it outright. Some local police departments have said federal drug laws banning marijuana supersede Michigan's medical marijuana act, and some users who say they have the legal right to smoke marijuana have been arrested.

 

The ACLU lawsuit seeks to have the city ordinances banning medical marijuana be declared invalid. The suit maintains that patients and caregivers who comply with the state law should not be prosecuted.

 

Source: Detroit News (MI)

Author: RoNeisha Mullen, The Detroit News

Published: December 1, 2010

Copyright: 2010 The Detroit News

Contact: letters@detnews.com

Website: http://www.detnews.com/

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