Prosecutor Asks Judge To Limit Court Filings By Medical-Marijuana Advocates In Controversial Case In Grand Rapids

[Croppled1]

Prosecutor asks judge to limit court filings by medical-marijuana advocates in controversial case in Grand Rapids

By John Agar | The Grand Rapids Press

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GRAND RAPIDS – A federal prosecutor said today that two medical-marijuana advocacy groups should not be allowed to file briefs in a case in which the federal government is seeking state-held medical-marijuana records.

 

Michigan Association of Compassion Clubs first filed paperwork asking to intervene in the case, which delayed an effort to enforce a Drug Enforcement Administration subpoena for records of seven people on the registry who are under investigation in a drug case.

Cannabis Patients United and Americans for Safe Access have since asked to be allowed to file briefs to argue against the federal government obtaining medical-marijuana information.

 

The agencies said they acted after state Attorney General Bill Schuette, an opponent of medical-marijuana, said the state would hand over records upon a judge's order.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bruha, in a five-page brief filed today, said the three organizations essentially make the same arguments. He said that the law requires a judge to determine if information offered by non-parties is “'timely, useful or otherwise necessary to the administration of justice.'”

 

“Here, CPU is urging the court to 'stay the proceedings and allow a full opportunity for the controversies at issue in this case to be addressed,'” Bruha said. “In addition to further delaying this proceeding, that would encourage even more intervenors … . This proceeding has already been unduly delayed as it is.”

 

 

A hearing is Tuesday in U.S. District Court

 

Please visit the source to comment

 

http://www.mlive.com...e_to_limit.html

[mizerman]

Is this case open to the public?

 

 

Mizerman

[bobandtorey]

Thanks for the update i will go to Mlive and post it wont do any good but we have to help the best we can it's better then rolling over and doing nothing IMO

[Croppled1]

Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/crgASgJl

Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jan 2011

Source: Grand Rapids Press (MI)

Copyright: 2011 Grand Rapids Press

Contact:male2('pulse','grpress.com'); pulse@grpress.com

Website: http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/171

Author: John Agar, The Grand Rapids Press

Referenced: Emergency Motion to Intervene http://mapinc.org/url/Ut3rKrAd

Referenced: Answer to Motion to Intervene http://mapinc.org/url/7kULAq5G

Referenced: CPU Amicus Brief http://drugsense.org/temp/CPUAmicusBrief01-25-11.pdf

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan) FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY FOCUS IS NARROW IN REQUEST FOR MEDICAL-MARIJUANA RECORDS

 

GRAND RAPIDS - Federal prosecutors say the Drug Enforcement Administration has a narrow focus in its demand for state records of seven people related to use of medical marijuana.

 

"For purposes of this investigation ... the DEA does not need nor care about the target's medical information," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bruha said in court documents filed Tuesday.

 

He said that "current Department of Justice policy discourages expenditure of investigative or prosecutorial resources on individuals or caregivers 'whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.'"

 

The DEA in June issued a subpoena requesting information for Michigan Department of Community Health, which compiles records on users and providers of medical marijuana. In December, Bruha filed a motion in U.S. District Court to enforce the subpoena.

 

State Attorney General Bill Schuette said the state would hand over the information if ordered to do so by a judge. He also requested immunity for state workers who provided the information to federal agencies.

 

As a judge was to act on the motion to enforce the subpoena, Michigan Association of Compassion Clubs and unnamed individuals filed an emergency motion to intervene. A hearing is set for Feb. 1 on that request, which is opposed by prosecutors.

 

On Tuesday, Cannabis Patients United filed a brief supporting MACC. It said the records of medical-marijuana records are expected to be confidential. Any release would violate state law, and discourage others from taking part in the program.

 

"There is obvious tension between the State's authorization of the production and use of of marijuana as a medicine and the federal authority to make such an activity a crime," attorney Daniel Grow wrote on behalf of Cannabis Patients United.

 

"This court may be faced with the question of at what point should that tension be broken by the compelled production of records," he wrote.

 

Bruha said: "The 'emergency' motion to intervene has already delayed this proceeding, and will continue to do so if granted. If permissive intervention is granted in this proceeding, it will likely be sought in every such proceeding, which would ( and is probably intended to ) delay and frustrate the enforcement of federal law."