Growing Outside And Raided

[Jakk]

I have tried to get my story out, but after numerous attempts to join the MMMA since August, I finally contacted Komorn’s office and I got on this site…here is my story

August 21th, 2010

My husband, age 58, with rheumatoid arthritis and I am age 59, with a second diagnosis (10 years apart) of stage 3 terminal breast cancer. Both of us have been approved and have a medical marijuana card for health reasons. We reside in Brighton, MI 48116.

Around 11a on Tuesday, August 10th, while we were both home, were raided by the police. This is my account from the time I was awoken by my husband with an officer standing at my bedroom door.

I was sleeping after working all night. We both work from home, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week taking calls from people calling from an internet site for opiate addiction drug detoxification treatment and also taking calls from past patients that we cover after they have been detoxed.

My husband came to my room and said “Jeanne, get up, the police are here” and as I was trying to wake up and I said, feeling very confused, “what do you mean?” and he said “the police are here for the marijuana in the yard.” I said “what are you saying?” I was dazed, got up walked out of my room and right there was a large muscular young man dressed in jeans and T-shirt. I got on my robe, walked to the kitchen, felt dizzy like I might faint so I got some coffee. Then I went to the bathroom where I was followed everywhere, I saw 2 other young men dressed in regular clothes; blue jeans, etc. I asked them if they were from LAWNET (Livingston and Washtenaw County Narcotics Enforcement Team). They said yes. I was shocked, scared and shaken. They asked me if anyone else was in the house so I went upstairs to get my mother from her room, they followed, but she was not there, I immediately knew she must have went out with my aunt and I told them that. They said “we need to secure the premises, anyone else here?” I said ”no”.

I then went back down to the basement where I was followed by two officers and one officer said to me “I’m sorry about your cancer, your husband told me about it” and I said nothing. They proceeded to keep a watch on me positioning a person to watch and stay with me as I was in the basement of the home where we have to live ( we have been renting our own home out for 12 years) so I can take care of my 87 year old mother who is blind. Another officer came downstairs and stood against my refrigerator while I sat at the kitchen table and the other one was across the room by the television and another one was upstairs, I assume with my husband.

At this point I didn’t know how many were in the house, they all looked alike to me with shaven heads and huge muscles. I didn’t really look at them or make much eye contact. I asked one if he was on steroids as I know anyone that pumped up is usually on steroids. He said no. After about 15 minutes I asked them what was going to happen and they said we are waiting for a search warrant. I thought to myself, how did they get into the house without a search warrant? Believe me, we know better than that.

One made a comment, “does the marijuana help your pain” and I said “yes”. He said, there are many pharmaceuticals to help people with pain, why would anyone need to use marijuana for pain. I explained to him that I help people get off of opiates drugs and briefly told him how damaging they were and that that is what they should be looking into. I told him I hate prescription drugs of any kind and would rather smoke marijuana for pain. I mentioned we have no place to grow marijuana in the house and they certainly could see there was not even a 3x3 foot space for anything. They said I should have a caregiver and I said I can grow my own, I don’t know any caregivers and thought a secured yard with a 6 foot fence locked up would be considered an enclosed and locked facility. I said Jackson Prison’s yard is fenced and the prisoners go outside and that the outside yard is considered a part of the secured locked and enclosed facility.

Finally, after an hour or so, maybe two others came and they must have presented the search warrant upstairs, I guess to my husband who was still upstairs sitting at the kitchen table. Then they all started searching my basement home. They looked in drawers, closets, kitchen cupboards, everywhere. There were other officers upstairs where my husband was, searching my mother’s room, spare bedrooms, kitchen etc. From our area of the home, which is the basement, they took all and any marijuana they found, doubtful it was over the 5 ounce limit, including a few “roaches” in ashtrays and they took pictures of it all. They collected things and put in baggies and wrote on them with magic marker. They took a scale, seeds, all the marijuana and any “roaches” left in ashtrays, and whatever else they took; I‘m not sure.

They said they had a tip about the marijuana growing outside and that it was illegal to grow outside without a top. He said “someone could reach over the fence and get it”. I showed him our receipt for a $250 motion detector with 2 alarms which I said would have been placed as soon as it started to flower. I told them I work from my home so there is never a time when someone is not home. He was surprised and commented that I have cancer and still work?

After they completed their search of the house, gathered and bagged their evidence, which they also took some old medication bottles (one was Phenobarbital prescribed for my dog, Hannah), then they went out to the yard and pulled all 24 plants up by the roots and took them to some vehicle that was in the driveway.

Once they left, I was near hysterical, extremely upset. I am a nurse and do not want to lose my license. I asked my husband angrily how they got into the home and why he let them in without a search warrant? I knew that was not something he would ever allow. We are not stupid, we would never trust any of them and we would never talk with them nor allow them to come in without a search warrant. My husband is very opposed to that and knows better and would never be intimidated to allow that.

His story to me follows: they knocked on the door and through the glass, they saw him heading downstairs, so he had a feeling it was the police so he went to the door and he talked to them through the closed door, which is a full glass door with a mini blind. They said “Police” and he was up to the glass front door and 3 of them were outside on the front porch. Through the window of the closed door, they held up a badge. He said, with the door still closed and locked, that they told him they were here about the marijuana in the back yard.

He told them that the planter (a white duck planter) was just behind them, where they could find our certificates and paperwork to prove we were medical marijuana patients, all conversations were through the front door still shut and locked. The officers went over to look for the paperwork in the planter and couldn’t find it so they asked my husband to come out and find it for them. So he went outside, shutting the door behind him and got it out of the planter. One of the officers said “why do you have this wrapped in plastic and placed in a planter, I have never seen that before?” My husband stood out on the front cement porch with the door closed telling them “just in case we needed to show that to a law enforcement person”. We did that so we would not have to open a door to a policeman to hand them anything. I had done this for 2 years when I first got my card. We were prepared and not trying to hide anything. They were all trying to rip open the plastic that was wrapped in a plastic bag and heavily taped around the folded paperwork and they looked at the paperwork and said “all this doesn’t matter because you are growing marijuana outside without a top”.

My husband said “what kind of top are you talking about, do you have a picture of a top or an explanation of a top and how it should be constructed?” and an officer said “I don’t know, but because you don’t have a top on it, this is considered a felony.” My husband said, “so let me get this straight, you give me a license to grow marijuana and then you come and arrest me because I don’t have a top on it, that I didn’t even know I needed and it isn’t written in the law?” The officer said “this is not my idea, I’m just following what the prosecutor said to do and I would like to search your home with permission from you.” My husband said “NO, you have to have a search warrant” and he said “well, we’ll get a search warrant then.”

Then he said “will you show me the plants, I need to see if you have the correct amount?” My husband said “go around to the back yard and I’ll unlock the gate so you can count the plants”. So my husband opened the front door, came back in, shut and locked the door and went out the door to the screen porch connected to the house and through another door leading out to the backyard. He unlocked the gate and 3 of them walked into the back yard. They said they had seen the plants from a neighbor’s yard already. They counted the plants, there were the allowed amount of 24 and then they said again, “this is now considered a felony because you do not have a top on them and now we are going to call the prosecutor to get a search warrant for the house.” My husband said “go ahead and get your search warrant.” The officer said “can I enter the house with your permission?” and my husband said “NO, not without a search warrant”. Then the officer called on his cell and ordered the search warrant.

Then my husband said “okay, can I go now” and the officer said “no we have to watch you and secure the house so nobody destroys evidence, so go sit on the screened porch”. So he went to the screened porch and to sit down and they followed him through the door, uninvited and onto the screened porch and told my husband to sit down while they were going to secure the people in the house so they didn’t destroy evidence. They were all on the screen porch with the house door shut and the officer asked “how many people are in the house?” and he said “two”. They asked where they were and my husband told them I was downstairs sleeping and his mother in-law was in her bedroom just off the living room. Two of them opened the door to the house while my husband sat on the screen porch being detained. Without permission they started to walk in the house and my husband said, “you cannot enter the house without a search warrant”. That is when they said “we are allowed to, to secure the people from destroying evidence in this house.” He said “I never heard of that before”. The officer said “we have a right to secure the premises”. Then two of the officers just continued to walk into the house, through the door which enters from the screened porch, without my husband’s permission. They asked him, while they were already standing in the house, with my husband on the back porch with an officer guarding him, what my mother’s name was, so they could shout her name out before they entered her bedroom. He told them “Betty”.

My husband remained on the porch with one of the officers, all the time being told that he had to stay there while they secured the other two people in the house. Two of them headed towards my mother’s room, calling her name. When they saw no one was in that bedroom the officers came back out to the porch and asked my husband where the other person was and he said “in the basement, to the left is a bedroom and my wife is sleeping there.” So they said what is her name? My husband said Jeanne. So the two started heading down to the basement stairs and they told the officer that was with my husband, to have my husband come in the house and go downstairs with them. My husband came down to the basement with them and they told him to wake me up and that’s where this story began.

March 27, 2011-Following is a letter I emailed to Senators Levin and Stabenow and our governor, we are facing trial now.

To Whom It May Concern,

I have been a Michigan Medical Marijuana patient since May of 2009 due to the pain I have after diagnosis and treatment of stage 3 breast cancer which required total mastectomy with complete lymph node removal, radiation and chemotherapy. This is my second bout with breast cancer also requiring partial mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy.

My husband has been dealing with painful joints for years and sought medical care which resulted in testing positive for rheumatoid arthritis. He received his medical marijuana patient approval in May of 2010.

We work in the field of opiate addiction and provide opiate detoxification treatment which over the years in this business has proven to us the horrors of addiction to pain medication. We have treated thousands of patients from all over the United States, from all walks of life. Use of these dangerous addicting drugs is at an epidemic proportion right now. We would never consider at this point using opiate based drugs knowing how destructive they are on the body; mentally and physically. We choose instead to go a more natural and non addicting route for pain control; Marijuana.

Because of our living situation we had not even a 3 foot by 3 foot space in our area where we lived with my blind and elderly 87 year old mother. Our living space was in her finished basement where we have lived for the past 12 years so we could take care of her.

After thoroughly reviewing the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act we determined that our totally enclosed back yard with a 6 foot high locked privacy fenced area would be the only place where we could grow the marijuana. This we thought fell under the MMMA wording as “an enclosed locked facility such as a room or a closet or other enclosed area”. We looked up the legal definition of a facility, enclosed, etc. and felt we were within the law. Beforehand, we called Genoa Township and talked with the supervisor who could not answer our questions about if this would be acceptable. We called the Michigan Medical Marijuana Office to inquire if this was acceptable. We only were able to leave a message on a recorder, which a call was never returned. So I suppose, foolishly and never thinking we were breaking any laws, we went forward and planted our marijuana plants sometime in June of 2010. We are NEVER “not home”. We work from our home 24/7. We purchased an expensive $250 motion detector that we were going to place in the yard once the plants started to flower. This we thought fell under the MMMA wording as “or other security devices”.

On August 10, 2010 we were visited by 4 police officers from LAWNET that came into our home as if we were criminals, searched our entire home after obtaining a search warrant, cut down our plants and proceeded to charge my husband with a Felony Offense: CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE-DELIVERY/MANUFACTURE (MARIJUANA) Statute/citation: 333.74012D3.

Since the voters approved medical marijuana it has come to my attention that other approved medical marijuana patients have been tied up with charges that do not seem to fit the crime as the court charges. The MMMA is vague and poorly written with nowhere for the patient to find out what exactly is appropriate and acceptable according to the new law. We were told by the LAWNET officers that my husband was being charged as a felon because our growing area “did not have a top on it”. Nowhere in the wording of the MMMA does the word “top” even exist.

I would like to request that since Michigan has a new medical marijuana law/act approved overwhelmingly by the Michigan voters, wouldn’t it make sense to create new terms and new wording that applies to charges that fit the new crime. My husband should only be charged with a new crime such as “VIOLATING THE TERMS OF THE MMMA” because it is a new crime that comes about from violation of a new act, not charged with a felony for delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance. We were not delivering, selling or illegally manufacturing a controlled substance. This charge was not meant for an approved medical marijuana patient. We were approved and had received our card and were legally allowed to grow 12 plants each for our personal use for pain control. If we were guilty of anything, it would be the way we interpreted the law as written. So, the law as written needs charges that applies to the violation of that law. The charges being applied were never intended to cover this very different situation.

I plead with someone to take the initiative to immediately bring this to the attention of our lawmakers as to the harshness and mis-directed charges that should not apply in these cases. The charge of a “felony for delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance” applies to certain drug charges, but this is a new Michigan act and requires new wording for new charges to fit the new crime and the “felony charge for manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance” should not apply to a marijuana patient simply found in violation of the terms of a vague new MMM Act and the courts erroneous interpretation.

The charges against my husband were not meant for a person that the court determines is in violation of the MMMA concerning the court’s interpretation of the marijuana growing conditions. How can a charge apply to a law that didn’t exist when this felony charge was created and was not meant to include violation of MMMA? It is simply wrong to use this charge that was never intended for a patient found guilty of violating the terms of the new MMMA. How can this misunderstanding of a MMMP’s wrong interpretation of a poorly written act justify bringing felony drug charges that include the wording “distribute and manufacture of a controlled substance” when a MMMP has the right to grow marijuana legally?

Even more outrageous is now the inability of my husband to even be allowed to defend himself as an MMMP in a trial. This is due to the recent ruling from The Michigan Court of Appeals decision on a case they heard which they determined being a MMMP was not a defense when growing marijuana outside without a “top”. Again, no wording in the MMMA even has the word “top” in the entire act. We now have been told by our attorney that while in trial our status as an approved patient with a card cannot be a defense. If during the trial, we were even to mention the fact that we were licensed medical marijuana patients, that we will be held in contempt of court. How can we fairly defend ourselves when this can’t even be brought up at trial?

Any reasonable person would certainly find this situation unconstitutional, a violation of the rights of Michigan citizens approved for the medical use of marijuana and as public servants you have a duty to help the citizens caught up in this law that was poorly written, as many judicial representatives have stated. I urge you to enact new wording for charges that would apply to the MMMP that you consider in violation of the act. Our trial will be in the future...pre-trial is this week.

[bobandtorey]

I have tried to get my story out, but after numerous attempts to join the MMMA since August, I finally contacted Komorn’s office and I got on this site…here is my story

August 21th, 2010

My husband, age 58, with rheumatoid arthritis and I am age 59, with a second diagnosis (10 years apart) of stage 3 terminal breast cancer. Both of us have been approved and have a medical marijuana card for health reasons. We reside in Brighton, MI 48116.

 

Around 11a on Tuesday, August 10th, while we were both home, were raided by the police. This is my account from the time I was awoken by my husband with an officer standing at my bedroom door.

I was sleeping after working all night. We both work from home, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week taking calls from people calling from an internet site for opiate addiction drug detoxification treatment and also taking calls from past patients that we cover after they have been detoxed.

 

My husband came to my room and said “Jeanne, get up, the police are here” and as I was trying to wake up and I said, feeling very confused, “what do you mean?” and he said “the police are here for the marijuana in the yard.” I said “what are you saying?” I was dazed, got up walked out of my room and right there was a large muscular young man dressed in jeans and T-shirt. I got on my robe, walked to the kitchen, felt dizzy like I might faint so I got some coffee. Then I went to the bathroom where I was followed everywhere, I saw 2 other young men dressed in regular clothes; blue jeans, etc. I asked them if they were from LAWNET (Livingston and Washtenaw County Narcotics Enforcement Team). They said yes. I was shocked, scared and shaken. They asked me if anyone else was in the house so I went upstairs to get my mother from her room, they followed, but she was not there, I immediately knew she must have went out with my aunt and I told them that. They said “we need to secure the premises, anyone else here?” I said ”no”

 

.

I then went back down to the basement where I was followed by two officers and one officer said to me “I’m sorry about your cancer, your husband told me about it” and I said nothing. They proceeded to keep a watch on me positioning a person to watch and stay with me as I was in the basement of the home where we have to live ( we have been renting our own home out for 12 years) so I can take care of my 87 year old mother who is blind. Another officer came downstairs and stood against my refrigerator while I sat at the kitchen table and the other one was across the room by the television and another one was upstairs, I assume with my husband.

At this point I didn’t know how many were in the house, they all looked alike to me with shaven heads and huge muscles. I didn’t really look at them or make much eye contact. I asked one if he was on steroids as I know anyone that pumped up is usually on steroids. He said no. After about 15 minutes I asked them what was going to happen and they said we are waiting for a search warrant. I thought to myself, how did they get into the house without a search warrant? Believe me, we know better than that.

 

 

 

One made a comment, “does the marijuana help your pain” and I said “yes”. He said, there are many pharmaceuticals to help people with pain, why would anyone need to use marijuana for pain. I explained to him that I help people get off of opiates drugs and briefly told him how damaging they were and that that is what they should be looking into. I told him I hate prescription drugs of any kind and would rather smoke marijuana for pain. I mentioned we have no place to grow marijuana in the house and they certainly could see there was not even a 3x3 foot space for anything. They said I should have a caregiver and I said I can grow my own, I don’t know any caregivers and thought a secured yard with a 6 foot fence locked up would be considered an enclosed and locked facility. I said Jackson Prison’s yard is fenced and the prisoners go outside and that the outside yard is considered a part of the secured locked and enclosed facility.

 

 

Finally, after an hour or so, maybe two others came and they must have presented the search warrant upstairs, I guess to my husband who was still upstairs sitting at the kitchen table. Then they all started searching my basement home. They looked in drawers, closets, kitchen cupboards, everywhere. There were other officers upstairs where my husband was, searching my mother’s room, spare bedrooms, kitchen etc. From our area of the home, which is the basement, they took all and any marijuana they found, doubtful it was over the 5 ounce limit, including a few “roaches” in ashtrays and they took pictures of it all. They collected things and put in baggies and wrote on them with magic marker. They took a scale, seeds, all the marijuana and any “roaches” left in ashtrays, and whatever else they took; I‘m not sure.

 

 

They said they had a tip about the marijuana growing outside and that it was illegal to grow outside without a top. He said “someone could reach over the fence and get it”. I showed him our receipt for a $250 motion detector with 2 alarms which I said would have been placed as soon as it started to flower. I told them I work from my home so there is never a time when someone is not home. He was surprised and commented that I have cancer and still work?

 

After they completed their search of the house, gathered and bagged their evidence, which they also took some old medication bottles (one was Phenobarbital prescribed for my dog, Hannah), then they went out to the yard and pulled all 24 plants up by the roots and took them to some vehicle that was in the driveway.

 

Once they left, I was near hysterical, extremely upset. I am a nurse and do not want to lose my license. I asked my husband angrily how they got into the home and why he let them in without a search warrant? I knew that was not something he would ever allow. We are not stupid, we would never trust any of them and we would never talk with them nor allow them to come in without a search warrant. My husband is very opposed to that and knows better and would never be intimidated to allow that.

 

 

His story to me follows: they knocked on the door and through the glass, they saw him heading downstairs, so he had a feeling it was the police so he went to the door and he talked to them through the closed door, which is a full glass door with a mini blind. They said “Police” and he was up to the glass front door and 3 of them were outside on the front porch. Through the window of the closed door, they held up a badge. He said, with the door still closed and locked, that they told him they were here about the marijuana in the back yard.

 

 

He told them that the planter (a white duck planter) was just behind them, where they could find our certificates and paperwork to prove we were medical marijuana patients, all conversations were through the front door still shut and locked. The officers went over to look for the paperwork in the planter and couldn’t find it so they asked my husband to come out and find it for them. So he went outside, shutting the door behind him and got it out of the planter. One of the officers said “why do you have this wrapped in plastic and placed in a planter, I have never seen that before?” My husband stood out on the front cement porch with the door closed telling them “just in case we needed to show that to a law enforcement person”. We did that so we would not have to open a door to a policeman to hand them anything. I had done this for 2 years when I first got my card. We were prepared and not trying to hide anything. They were all trying to rip open the plastic that was wrapped in a plastic bag and heavily taped around the folded paperwork and they looked at the paperwork and said “all this doesn’t matter because you are growing marijuana outside without a top”

 

 

.

My husband said “what kind of top are you talking about, do you have a picture of a top or an explanation of a top and how it should be constructed?” and an officer said “I don’t know, but because you don’t have a top on it, this is considered a felony.” My husband said, “so let me get this straight, you give me a license to grow marijuana and then you come and arrest me because I don’t have a top on it, that I didn’t even know I needed and it isn’t written in the law?” The officer said “this is not my idea, I’m just following what the prosecutor said to do and I would like to search your home with permission from you.” My husband said “NO, you have to have a search warrant” and he said “well, we’ll get a search warrant then.”

 

 

Then he said “will you show me the plants, I need to see if you have the correct amount?” My husband said “go around to the back yard and I’ll unlock the gate so you can count the plants”. So my husband opened the front door, came back in, shut and locked the door and went out the door to the screen porch connected to the house and through another door leading out to the backyard. He unlocked the gate and 3 of them walked into the back yard. They said they had seen the plants from a neighbor’s yard already. They counted the plants, there were the allowed amount of 24 and then they said again, “this is now considered a felony because you do not have a top on them and now we are going to call the prosecutor to get a search warrant for the house.” My husband said “go ahead and get your search warrant.

” The officer said “can I enter the house with your permission?” and my husband said “NO, not without a search warrant”. Then the officer called on his cell and ordered the search warrant.

Then my husband said “okay, can I go now” and the officer said “no we have to watch you and secure the house so nobody destroys evidence, so go sit on the screened porch”. So he went to the screened porch and to sit down and they followed him through the door, uninvited and onto the screened porch and told my husband to sit down while they were going to secure the people in the house so they didn’t destroy evidence.

 

They were all on the screen porch with the house door shut and the officer asked “how many people are in the house?” and he said “two”. They asked where they were and my husband told them I was downstairs sleeping and his mother in-law was in her bedroom just off the living room. Two of them opened the door to the house while my husband sat on the screen porch being detained. Without permission they started to walk in the house and my husband said, “you cannot enter the house without a search warrant”. That is when they said “we are allowed to, to secure the people from destroying evidence in this house.” He said “I never heard of that before”. The officer said “we have a right to secure the premises”.

 

Then two of the officers just continued to walk into the house, through the door which enters from the screened porch, without my husband’s permission. They asked him, while they were already standing in the house, with my husband on the back porch with an officer guarding him, what my mother’s name was, so they could shout her name out before they entered her bedroom. He told them “Betty”.

 

 

My husband remained on the porch with one of the officers, all the time being told that he had to stay there while they secured the other two people in the house. Two of them headed towards my mother’s room, calling her name. When they saw no one was in that bedroom the officers came back out to the porch and asked my husband where the other person was and he said “in the basement, to the left is a bedroom and my wife is sleeping there.

 

 

” So they said what is her name? My husband said Jeanne. So the two started heading down to the basement stairs and they told the officer that was with my husband, to have my husband come in the house and go downstairs with them. My husband came down to the basement with them and they told him to wake me up and that’s where this story began.

March 27, 2011-Following is a letter I emailed to Senators Levin and Stabenow and our governor, we are facing trial now.

To Whom It May Concern,

 

 

I have been a Michigan Medical Marijuana patient since May of 2009 due to the pain I have after diagnosis and treatment of stage 3 breast cancer which required total mastectomy with complete lymph node removal, radiation and chemotherapy. This is my second bout with breast cancer also requiring partial mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy.

 

 

My husband has been dealing with painful joints for years and sought medical care which resulted in testing positive for rheumatoid arthritis. He received his medical marijuana patient approval in May of 2010.

 

We work in the field of opiate addiction and provide opiate detoxification treatment which over the years in this business has proven to us the horrors of addiction to pain medication. We have treated thousands of patients from all over the United States, from all walks of life. Use of these dangerous addicting drugs is at an epidemic proportion right now. We would never consider at this point using opiate based drugs knowing how destructive they are on the body; mentally and physically. We choose instead to go a more natural and non addicting route for pain control; Marijuana.

 

 

Because of our living situation we had not even a 3 foot by 3 foot space in our area where we lived with my blind and elderly 87 year old mother. Our living space was in her finished basement where we have lived for the past 12 years so we could take care of her.

 

 

After thoroughly reviewing the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act we determined that our totally enclosed back yard with a 6 foot high locked privacy fenced area would be the only place where we could grow the marijuana. This we thought fell under the MMMA wording as “an enclosed locked facility such as a room or a closet or other enclosed area”. We looked up the legal definition of a facility, enclosed, etc. and felt we were within the law. Beforehand, we called Genoa Township and talked with the supervisor who could not answer our questions about if this would be acceptable.

 

We called the Michigan Medical Marijuana Office to inquire if this was acceptable. We only were able to leave a message on a recorder, which a call was never returned. So I suppose, foolishly and never thinking we were breaking any laws, we went forward and planted our marijuana plants sometime in June of 2010. We are NEVER “not home”. We work from our home 24/7. We purchased an expensive $250 motion detector that we were going to place in the yard once the plants started to flower. This we thought fell under the MMMA wording as “or other security devices”

 

.

On August 10, 2010 we were visited by 4 police officers from LAWNET that came into our home as if we were criminals, searched our entire home after obtaining a search warrant, cut down our plants and proceeded to charge my husband with a Felony Offense: CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE-DELIVERY/MANUFACTURE (MARIJUANA) Statute/citation: 333.74012D3.

 

 

Since the voters approved medical marijuana it has come to my attention that other approved medical marijuana patients have been tied up with charges that do not seem to fit the crime as the court charges. The MMMA is vague and poorly written with nowhere for the patient to find out what exactly is appropriate and acceptable according to the new law. We were told by the LAWNET officers that my husband was being charged as a felon because our growing area “did not have a top on it”. Nowhere in the wording of the MMMA does the word “top” even exist.

 

 

I would like to request that since Michigan has a new medical marijuana law/act approved overwhelmingly by the Michigan voters, wouldn’t it make sense to create new terms and new wording that applies to charges that fit the new crime. My husband should only be charged with a new crime such as “VIOLATING THE TERMS OF THE MMMA” because it is a new crime that comes about from violation of a new act, not charged with a felony for delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance. We were not delivering, selling or illegally manufacturing a controlled substance. This charge was not meant for an approved medical marijuana patient. We were approved and had received our card and were legally allowed to grow 12 plants each for our personal use for pain control. If we were guilty of anything, it would be the way we interpreted the law as written. So, the law as written needs charges that applies to the violation of that law. The charges being applied were never intended to cover this very different situation.

 

 

I plead with someone to take the initiative to immediately bring this to the attention of our lawmakers as to the harshness and mis-directed charges that should not apply in these cases. The charge of a “felony for delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance” applies to certain drug charges, but this is a new Michigan act and requires new wording for new charges to fit the new crime and the “felony charge for manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance” should not apply to a marijuana patient simply found in violation of the terms of a vague new MMM Act and the courts erroneous interpretation.

 

 

The charges against my husband were not meant for a person that the court determines is in violation of the MMMA concerning the court’s interpretation of the marijuana growing conditions. How can a charge apply to a law that didn’t exist when this felony charge was created and was not meant to include violation of MMMA? It is simply wrong to use this charge that was never intended for a patient found guilty of violating the terms of the new MMMA. How can this misunderstanding of a MMMP’s wrong interpretation of a poorly written act justify bringing felony drug charges that include the wording “distribute and manufacture of a controlled substance” when a MMMP has the right to grow marijuana legally?

 

 

Even more outrageous is now the inability of my husband to even be allowed to defend himself as an MMMP in a trial. This is due to the recent ruling from The Michigan Court of Appeals decision on a case they heard which they determined being a MMMP was not a defense when growing marijuana outside without a “top”. Again, no wording in the MMMA even has the word “top” in the entire act. We now have been told by our attorney that while in trial our status as an approved patient with a card cannot be a defense. If during the trial, we were even to mention the fact that we were licensed medical marijuana patients, that we will be held in contempt of court. How can we fairly defend ourselves when this can’t even be brought up at trial?

 

 

Any reasonable person would certainly find this situation unconstitutional, a violation of the rights of Michigan citizens approved for the medical use of marijuana and as public servants you have a duty to help the citizens caught up in this law that was poorly written,

as many judicial representatives have stated. I urge you to enact new wording for charges that would apply to the MMMP that you consider in violation of the act. Our trial will be in the future...pre-trial is this week.

did the best i could it's long i know

[Kevin]

I've seen firsthand that an outside grow by a legal patient, and the definition of 'is it, or is it not secured' [roof or no roof], is interpreted and determined by local LEOs in each region and county.

 

Even within the law, what won't fly in one county, is allowed in another.

 

I know personally of a patient's grow last summer, right in his back yard. You could see it from the road which was also a state highway. Hercules fence like a dog run, locked, but no roof. Deputies were called by a nosy neighbor, they came and checked it out, made sure he was under or at his plant limit, checked his paperwork to see if his cards were in order, and they left. Their interpretation apparently was that a roof was not required by law. His grow fenced on 4 sides and secured with a padlock met their definition of 'secured facility' as is required by law.

 

Depends where you live. Not right, but the way it is for now.

 

I hope it works out for the better for you and your husband.

 

 

 

 

Peace.

[+EdwardGlen]

bump...

[+EdwardGlen]

Bump...

[pic book]

Bump...

 

 

Lucky dude, one time. Next time? Same grower new sheriff grower cud still be looking out.

[bobandtorey]

. He had to plead guilty for a felony: "delivery/maufacture of marijuana" or they would have charged him with "felon in posession of a firearm" which if we went to trial and lost, he would get mandatory 2 years in jail. He will be sentenced this Thursday,

7-21, not sure of the time.

[bobandtorey]

. He had to plead guilty for a felony: "delivery/maufacture of marijuana" or they would have charged him with "felon in posession of a firearm" which if we went to trial and lost, he would get mandatory 2 years in jail. He will be sentenced this Thursday,

7-21, not sure of the time.

 

Now our case has been adjourned until ? time on August 25th. I tried to find the court schedule on this site to give notice of that change

[LongHairBri]

Now our case has been adjourned until ? time on August 25th. I tried to find the court schedule on this site to give notice of that change

well, they ARE persistant! Your day is coming Bob. I see dismissal/aqiutal in your future!

[bobandtorey]

well, they ARE persistant! Your day is coming Bob. I see dismissal/acquittal in your future!

 

 

Thanks are day is tomorrow at 8 am we are hoping we will be FREE i will post right after court as to what happen

 

thanks to all the people here that supports us

 

Peace From The Front

[LongHairBri]

in Pontiac?

[Guest knucklehead bob]

in Pontiac?

200 West 13 Mile Rd. Madison Heights Mi. 48071

[LongHairBri]

Bob has been there for EVERY other defendant. If there is one patient that deserves our support it's Mr. Redden.

 

we should be there by the HUNDREDS!

 

H3ll, I'm gonna set my alarm and I don't normally stir till 9 or so.

 

SOME THINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SLEEP

[bobandtorey]

THANKS for the support we will be meeting with are Lawyers today we are hoping for Case Dismissed again it's going to be worth getting up Early for IMO just to see the PA face when it happens again

[Nix]

Good luck to the victims of this ridiculous and unjust prosecution of the sick.

 

I think that someone should sum up what we can gain from this story. I am writing this for people who want to stay out of jail. If your purpose is to challenge the law, then this isn't for you.

 

- Never ever, EVER open the door for the police. I also do not open the door for anyone I don't know. Talk to them through a window, or don't talk to them at all.

 

- If the police knock, they probably don't have a search warrant. If they have a warrant they will break down the door. While they are breaking down the door you have a few minutes to destroy any evidence they can use against you. Flush your meds, destroy scales, ANYTHING they can use to prosecute you.

 

- This is the saddest: if you grow, you should probably not own a gun even though it your Constitutional right to do so. It doesn't matter if it's a shotgun, a handgun, or a muzzle loader. Growing legal marijuana + a legal firearm = felony.

 

- If the police do enter your home, do not talk to them. Do not answer their questions without an attorney present. Do not show them your garden or your medicine. Make them find it if they can.

 

- If you have neighbors, never grow outdoors where they can see it. Everywhere I've lived, my neighbors have been nosey. You can't trust anyone. Besides getting the police involved, people can steal it.

 

- Even if you live in the woods don't give a random LEO flying overhead the chance to see what you're doing. Put your plants in a greenhouse, plant them in the deep woods in irregular patterns, or just grow inside.

 

- The OP mentioned that they have no place to grow inside and didn't want to deal with a caregiver. Look how that turned out for them. Hide what you are doing or get someone to do it for you. You can also buy from a dispensary without having to send any money or paperwork to the state.

 

- If you decide to ahead and plant a crop outside in the open, despite the risk, then put it in a kennel with a top and lock on the door. Obviously busting people who, under the law, can grow 12 plants on their property is a travesty. However they are going to make it hard for us. Be smart and be safe!

[lawyercaregiver]

Not to belabor the obvious but there is nothing in the law about a "top." The MMMA says: "Locked enclosed facility." The word "enclosed" means surrounded- it does NOT usually refer to surrounded by 360 degrees. If you "enclose" a herd of cows in the field you don't need a darn top.

 

This enclosed issue is another red herring. The only issue is whether you had security equivalent to a "lock" on your facility.

 

I know, my opinion, the judges could differ.

[Kingpinn]

.

 

 

[+EdwardGlen]

Politics. The diplomatic name for the law of the jungle.

- Ely Culbertson

 

Its the politics baby...

 

"they are going to make it hard for us" - then we vote or recall them out of office! We have the numbers we need the will power!

 

The thing that T's me off is the attempt by the state to get rid of our CG's. Either by legislating away the CG system or by intimidation and fear, making way for state run dispensaries to fill the void, they the state created.

 

A CG following the letter of the law is as protected as a QP following the letter of the law and should be left alone.

 

we also need to bring to the general public's attention the fear and lying campaign being waged against us in the press, in particularly those papers that are right wing conservative.(Tea Party GOP freaks in disguise)

 

Grow room caused house fires on the increase, drugged driving on the increase, crime on the increase, children in danger...

 

Those things were happening long before 2008 (except for the grow room fires and thats a lie anyway) but now schuette head and the rest are using those tragedies against us and the public needs to be informed correctly.

 

Also, Being the victim of a para-military style raid, you ain't gonna have 'a few minutes" to run around and try and find stuff to 'flush" and if you do flush any thing, more charges will be levied against you.

 

IF...the unfortunate happens and a home is raided, hit the floor and shut-up!

 

And don't be surprised if one or more of the LEO' involved aren't as or more scared as you. The one who had me on the floor with a 12g shotgun at my head was shaking more than me and I thought for sure it was my last day on earth.

 

As for gun ownership. I own two guns one long gun, one hand-gun. And until they change the constitution that says a citizen cannot own a gun, mine stay.

 

California has had their law since what 96, fifteen-years, and they're still having to deal with the same BS over and over again.

 

Until the political will is there to embrace not just the law, but the MM community. Its going to be a struggle but one WE can win by education and changing the political make-up at all levels of government local, state, federal.

 

Make sure you're registered to vote and make sure your feelings and concerns are known to your rep. Call them daily or weekly, e-mail, faxes, and letters also.

[Wild Bill]

And don't be surprised if one or more of the LEO' involved aren't as or more scared as you. The one who had me on the floor with a 12g shotgun at my head was shaking more than me and I thought for sure it was my last day on earth.

Creepy thought for today, . . .

Are you sure he was shaking from fear? Did you ever tremble during a sexual encounter? Or just before you pulled the trigger on a 10 point buck?

 

[bobandtorey]

Just have the man show you in the law it says anything of a roof. Other than that the same people that want a roof don't want you to have a Marijuana law either so you going to knuckle under to that too just cause they say so.Just cause LEO says so don't mean its so. Let them prove it in court then. Not there call any way this is a matter of the MDCH and not the State Police.

 

OOO bye the way drive by Kinross State Prison . Send us a picture of the roof on the fenced in enclosure they use to keep prisoners inside

 

:goodjob:

[Kevin]

They would all agree that a pen made of Hercules fence is more than enough to keep 4 Rottweilers from running free.

 

What makes them think that a medical plant can escape from a fenced in enclosure? Maybe the plant is smarter than the dogs.

 

 

 

 

Everyone in the cannabis community be extra safe this weeekend.

[Royal Smoke]

Those MF's are at it again?

[petoskeystoned]

Good luck everyone. My pointless opinion? When the officer admittedly did not have a search warrant, and obviously had to call to get one, he was required to provide the magistrate issuing the warrant with probable cause, which would be the neighbor calling initially. However, the leo would have been required, one would think, to provide the magistrate with the new information, i.e. the now verified fact that you were patients, in order to secure the actual warrant to search the premises. Leo stated that they saw the plants from the neighbors, which would justify an investigation maybe, but the cards would then stop a warrant, one would think. It's not like you were accused of illegal sales or having 1000 plants. They should have assumed you were compliant. I know, it's the roof. This one we still fight!

See Judge May's opinion in my recent dismissal. And thanks again, Jesse L. Williams!

[Jakk]

We all know that Shuette, our Attorney General is helping the Michigan Supreme Court with decisions on the upcoming MM cases the court will hear soon. This was in the news. This should be illegal to influence them. This monster needs to be recalled. Next, he will be running for governor…this is why I hesitate to sign the recall for Snyder. Stop giving THEM more money. They (the government, local, state and federal) needs to be broke! Stop approving mileages. Fight all government spending. The less money they have the more they will be hesitant to spend it wastefully on us or any other ridiculous crap. THEY HAVE FAR TOO MUCH MONEY….THEY NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO THEIR KNEES. SAY “NO” TO SPENDING. LET THIS COUNTRY GO BROKE!! This is why 1 out of 143 people in this country is in jail and in other countries of the modern world such as Britain, Italy, Germany, etc. it is 1 in 1000. For years they have taken our money and squandered it and used it to destroy our freedoms and fight us…the people.

 

To those who say write our congressmen…here is my letter to Mike Rodgers, my congressman and here is the reply:

Here is the ridiculous letter I received back from our congressman Mike Rodgers when I asked him to support Barney Frank's legislation he will introduce to stop the feds from interfering and prosecuting MM patients in states allowing MM. I answered him with the letter far below.

 

________________________________________

From: congressmanmikerogers@mail.house.gov

Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:35:02 PM

Subject: A Reply from Congressman Mike Rogers

 

June 22, 2011

 

Ms. XXXX XXXX

XXXX XXXXXXXXXX XX

Brighton, MI 48116

 

Dear Ms. XXXX:

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the medical use of marijuana, and specifically efforts to stop the enforcement of federal drug laws. I appreciate you sharing your support for this legislation with me.

 

Although I can appreciate your arguments, this is an issue on which we disagree. First, federal drug laws prohibit the use of marijuana. A state cannot overturn federal laws. Therefore, state laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana have no bearing upon federal drug laws. Second, as a former FBI Special Agent, I believe that setting up parameters for individuals to have access to an illegal product would not work and would create a slippery slope toward the legalization of narcotics.

 

In addition, there are numerous alternative methods to using an illegal substance to treat pain. In fact, the chemical component of marijuana that produces the "high", and relieves pain, THC, is available in a capsule form by prescription. The trade name of the drug is Marinol and it is generally prescribed for cancer, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and AIDS. I believe this is a much better alternative to making marijuana legal to smoke as it can be closely regulated by a physician and controlled for specific purposes.

 

Again, thank you for your correspondence. Although we may not agree on this issue, I am sure there are many more that we do agree upon. If you have further questions or concerns about this or any other issue, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

 

 

P.S. Please visit Mike J. Rogers on Facebook, RepMikeRogers on YouTube, and www.mikerogers.house.gov

 

 

 

________________________________________

To: congressmanmikerogers@mail.house.gov

Sent: Sunday, July 3, 2011 9:30:23 PM

Subject: Re: A Reply from Congressman Mike Rogers

 

Mr. Rogers,

 

I am a nurse with a second occurrence of breast cancer and the last occurrence is terminal stage 3 breast cancer. I have had 2 courses of chemotherapy, 2 courses of radiation that burned my skin and caused rib weakness and bone pain, 2 mastectomies with total lymph node removal. I am fighting for my life. Marijuana has anti tumor benefits and could help me with pain. I am very familiar with Marinol as I am a nurse and it does not relieve pain. It is used basically for nausea and vomiting and can increase the appetite and the cannabinoids in marijuana is what gives pain relief, not found in Marinol. By the way it is very expensive also. On that note, why is that a schedule 3 and marijuana a schedule 1...saying there is not medical benefit to marijuana/THC, yet there is medical benefits with Marinol THC? If you really looked into the true benefits of medical marijuana you would be more informed. Even the National Cancer Institute has studied marijuana use, after seeing the benefits of brain tumor shrinkage of patients that used marijuana. I do not agree that you have the medical knowledge to advise how a patient controls pain, nor have you honestly looked at the many cases where medical marijuana had extreme medical benefits. To deny these facts under "reefer madness" influence is ignorance and is hindering the ability of people getting relief from medical marijuana and for future studies that will prove the benefits which cannot be denied.

In my field of nursing, I help people that have been totally physically, emotionally and financially destroyed from the use of pharmaceutical pain medications such as oxycontin, and those young people who resort to heroin when they can't get/afford their pills and have found they are now addicted and use cheaper and more available heroin to prevent pain and suffering from opiate withdrawal. This country does not know the truth about all of this. I refuse to ever take opiate drugs unless I am dying and need hospice to provide morphine in my last stages of life.

 

Our justice system, our politicians and society in general has no clue what trouble this country is in with opiate drugs. They are nothing more than pharmaceutical heroin. Pain management doctors are the legal drug dealers that need to be stopped. They are killing people. It is a sin and criminal. We must wake up to this fact. About 85% of prescription opiates in the world are consumed by Americans. I would love to speak with congress about this.

 

People are sick and destroyed by these drugs. After 8 years in my field, with 60-80 calls a day, every day, I have knowledge about this that not even physicians, politicians or our judicial system have. If only the truth could be told. I think it is destroying our country. I am truly convinced of that. Marijuana could be such a more safe form of pain relief for these people. There are many documented cases where marijuana has caused tumor regression and helped people with pain and has other benefits. Medical marijuana patients are not "pot heads" wanting to "get high" but people that want an alternative means to be as healthy and pain free as we can by using a natural "God given" herb.

 

Hopefully, some day we will wake up to putting our energy and resources to stopping the easily available and truly dangerous drugs that are killing Americans. It should be a law that people lock up their oxycontin, xanax, etc. Yet a patient can leave those out on their kitchen counter for their children to get and as long as they have a prescription, they can drive on it also. One oxycontin 80 mg. pill will cause death to an opiate naive person. Ever heard of pharm parties? That is where kids bring all the pills they can find in their family medicine cabinet and put them in a bowl and play "spin the bottle" and when it is their turn, they reach into the bowl and take a pill. Do you have knowledge of how many people die from opiate overdoses?

 

Put your energy into this type of drug use and let the states decide if they will allow their citizens to benefit medicinally from marijuana. Pick your battles wisely and stop prosecuting medical marijuana patients.

 

How can you possibly compare marijuana with narcotics such as heroin or oxycontin? Please do your job as an elected official and be more informed about this before you assert your influence on this matter. I am not sure, but you may have heard that at least 20 people in Livingston County, Michigan have died from opiate overdoses since January 1st, 2011. I talk to people every day, from all walks of life that have lost friends and family members to opiate drug use. I have yet to hear of 1 death from the use of marijuana, ever, and I won't. Marijuana does not kill.

 

Sincerely,

Xxxxxx xxxx

[+EdwardGlen]

We all know that Shuette, our Attorney General is helping the Michigan Supreme Court with decisions on the upcoming MM cases the court will hear soon. This was in the news. This should be illegal to influence them. This monster needs to be recalled. Next, he will be running for governor…this is why I hesitate to sign the recall for Snyder. Stop giving THEM more money. They (the government, local, state and federal) needs to be broke! Stop approving mileages. Fight all government spending. The less money they have the more they will be hesitant to spend it wastefully on us or any other ridiculous crap. THEY HAVE FAR TOO MUCH MONEY….THEY NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO THEIR KNEES. SAY “NO” TO SPENDING. LET THIS COUNTRY GO BROKE!! This is why 1 out of 143 people in this country is in jail and in other countries of the modern world such as Britain, Italy, Germany, etc. it is 1 in 1000. For years they have taken our money and squandered it and used it to destroy our freedoms and fight us…the people.

 

To those who say write our congressmen…here is my letter to Mike Rodgers, my congressman and here is the reply:

Here is the ridiculous letter I received back from our congressman Mike Rodgers when I asked him to support Barney Frank's legislation he will introduce to stop the feds from interfering and prosecuting MM patients in states allowing MM. I answered him with the letter far below.

 

________________________________________

From: congressmanmikerogers@mail.house.gov

Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:35:02 PM

Subject: A Reply from Congressman Mike Rogers

 

June 22, 2011

 

Ms. XXXX XXXX

XXXX XXXXXXXXXX XX

Brighton, MI 48116

 

Dear Ms. XXXX:

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the medical use of marijuana, and specifically efforts to stop the enforcement of federal drug laws. I appreciate you sharing your support for this legislation with me.

 

Although I can appreciate your arguments, this is an issue on which we disagree. First, federal drug laws prohibit the use of marijuana. A state cannot overturn federal laws. Therefore, state laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana have no bearing upon federal drug laws. Second, as a former FBI Special Agent, I believe that setting up parameters for individuals to have access to an illegal product would not work and would create a slippery slope toward the legalization of narcotics.

 

In addition, there are numerous alternative methods to using an illegal substance to treat pain. In fact, the chemical component of marijuana that produces the "high", and relieves pain, THC, is available in a capsule form by prescription. The trade name of the drug is Marinol and it is generally prescribed for cancer, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and AIDS. I believe this is a much better alternative to making marijuana legal to smoke as it can be closely regulated by a physician and controlled for specific purposes.

 

Again, thank you for your correspondence. Although we may not agree on this issue, I am sure there are many more that we do agree upon. If you have further questions or concerns about this or any other issue, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

 

 

P.S. Please visit Mike J. Rogers on Facebook, RepMikeRogers on YouTube, and www.mikerogers.house.gov

 

 

 

________________________________________

To: congressmanmikerogers@mail.house.gov

Sent: Sunday, July 3, 2011 9:30:23 PM

Subject: Re: A Reply from Congressman Mike Rogers

 

Mr. Rogers,

 

I am a nurse with a second occurrence of breast cancer and the last occurrence is terminal stage 3 breast cancer. I have had 2 courses of chemotherapy, 2 courses of radiation that burned my skin and caused rib weakness and bone pain, 2 mastectomies with total lymph node removal. I am fighting for my life. Marijuana has anti tumor benefits and could help me with pain. I am very familiar with Marinol as I am a nurse and it does not relieve pain. It is used basically for nausea and vomiting and can increase the appetite and the cannabinoids in marijuana is what gives pain relief, not found in Marinol. By the way it is very expensive also. On that note, why is that a schedule 3 and marijuana a schedule 1...saying there is not medical benefit to marijuana/THC, yet there is medical benefits with Marinol THC? If you really looked into the true benefits of medical marijuana you would be more informed. Even the National Cancer Institute has studied marijuana use, after seeing the benefits of brain tumor shrinkage of patients that used marijuana. I do not agree that you have the medical knowledge to advise how a patient controls pain, nor have you honestly looked at the many cases where medical marijuana had extreme medical benefits. To deny these facts under "reefer madness" influence is ignorance and is hindering the ability of people getting relief from medical marijuana and for future studies that will prove the benefits which cannot be denied.

In my field of nursing, I help people that have been totally physically, emotionally and financially destroyed from the use of pharmaceutical pain medications such as oxycontin, and those young people who resort to heroin when they can't get/afford their pills and have found they are now addicted and use cheaper and more available heroin to prevent pain and suffering from opiate withdrawal. This country does not know the truth about all of this. I refuse to ever take opiate drugs unless I am dying and need hospice to provide morphine in my last stages of life.

 

Our justice system, our politicians and society in general has no clue what trouble this country is in with opiate drugs. They are nothing more than pharmaceutical heroin. Pain management doctors are the legal drug dealers that need to be stopped. They are killing people. It is a sin and criminal. We must wake up to this fact. About 85% of prescription opiates in the world are consumed by Americans. I would love to speak with congress about this.

 

People are sick and destroyed by these drugs. After 8 years in my field, with 60-80 calls a day, every day, I have knowledge about this that not even physicians, politicians or our judicial system have. If only the truth could be told. I think it is destroying our country. I am truly convinced of that. Marijuana could be such a more safe form of pain relief for these people. There are many documented cases where marijuana has caused tumor regression and helped people with pain and has other benefits. Medical marijuana patients are not "pot heads" wanting to "get high" but people that want an alternative means to be as healthy and pain free as we can by using a natural "God given" herb.

 

Hopefully, some day we will wake up to putting our energy and resources to stopping the easily available and truly dangerous drugs that are killing Americans. It should be a law that people lock up their oxycontin, xanax, etc. Yet a patient can leave those out on their kitchen counter for their children to get and as long as they have a prescription, they can drive on it also. One oxycontin 80 mg. pill will cause death to an opiate naive person. Ever heard of pharm parties? That is where kids bring all the pills they can find in their family medicine cabinet and put them in a bowl and play "spin the bottle" and when it is their turn, they reach into the bowl and take a pill. Do you have knowledge of how many people die from opiate overdoses?

 

Put your energy into this type of drug use and let the states decide if they will allow their citizens to benefit medicinally from marijuana. Pick your battles wisely and stop prosecuting medical marijuana patients.

 

How can you possibly compare marijuana with narcotics such as heroin or oxycontin? Please do your job as an elected official and be more informed about this before you assert your influence on this matter. I am not sure, but you may have heard that at least 20 people in Livingston County, Michigan have died from opiate overdoses since January 1st, 2011. I talk to people every day, from all walks of life that have lost friends and family members to opiate drug use. I have yet to hear of 1 death from the use of marijuana, ever, and I won't. Marijuana does not kill.

Sincerely,

Xxxxxx xxxx