Bill Calls For Medical Marijuana Database

[LansingAreaCaregiver]

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110622/NEWS04/106220323/Bill-calls-medical-marijuana-database?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

 

A state bill placing medical marijuana patients and caregivers in a statewide police database would be a setback for the 2-year-old medical marijuana law, advocates say.Despite objections from medical marijuana advocates, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday forwarded that bill - and another bill restricting medical marijuana-related lawsuits against municipalities - to the full Senate for consideration.

 

Medical marijuana patients say they fear police harassment if they are placed in a police database.

 

"We need to make sure the rights to privacy will be protected. If they know their privacy will not be protected, they will go underground (to buy marijuana)," Roger Maufort, 59, a medical marijuana user and president of the Jackson County Compassion Club, said after the hearing. "This will do nothing more than put medical marijuana patients into the line of fire."

 

But bill proponents, including Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican who also is committee chairman, said the bill authorizing patients to be placed into a database operated by Michigan State Police would be a critical tool for police.

 

Currently, the only way that patients can identify themselves to officers as medical marijuana patients is by presenting state correspondence stating they have been approved as medical marijuana patients - or a state-issued medical marijuana card they receive weeks after approval.

 

Jones argued this can lead to confusion when police first interact with a patient, such as during a traffic stop. He said officers could become unduly alarmed and draw their weapon when they notice a stopped motorist has marijuana in his shirt pocket; using the state database, the officer could run a routine check before they approach the car and know the driver is entitled to use marijuana.

 

Even officials of the American Civil Liberties Union, concede the bill would help authorities identify a legitimate medical marijuana user or caregiver before they mistakenly conduct a potentially dangerous drug raid.

 

"This would stop us from kicking that door, doing an unnecessary raid and making a victim of a medical marijuana card holder," said Sgt. Dwayne Gill of the Michigan State Police.Dan Korobkin, staff attorney for the ACLU, said the group opposed an early version of the bill that supplied more confidential medical information to the police database. Under a new version, only the patient or caregiver's name and address is included in the database.

 

However, Korobkin still would like lawmakers to alter the bill to require police to have probable cause before accessing the medical marijuana information.

 

A separate bill, modeled on a recent federal court ruling, would prohibit the ability of a citizen to sue a municipality for any perceived violations of the state medical marijuana act.

 

Jones, the bill's sponsor, said the law is needed to deal with the rising number of "frivolous" lawsuits being filed against municipalities.

 

But medical marijuana patients say it would violate their rights to sue police agencies for harassment.

 

Jones responded that patients can sue for harassment on other civil rights grounds - just not based on the medical marijuana law.

[SparklyBuds]

"Jones argued this can lead to confusion when police first interact with a patient, such as during a traffic stop. He said officers could become unduly alarmed and draw their weapon when they notice a stopped motorist has marijuana in his shirt pocket; using the state database, the officer could run a routine check before they approach the car and know the driver is entitled to use marijuana."

 

Really? This is why they want the database, so it won't alarm them if they see marijuana in someone's car? I don't believe it for a minute!

[purklize]

Jones argued this can lead to confusion when police first interact with a patient, such as during a traffic stop. He said officers could become unduly alarmed and draw their weapon when they notice a stopped motorist has marijuana in his shirt pocket; using the state database, the officer could run a routine check before they approach the car and know the driver is entitled to use marijuana.

 

If his officers are that stupid that they still think marijuana leads to rampaging serial killing... draw their weapon because they suspect possession? Jones sounds like a freakin' Nazi.

[+EdwardGlen]

He who will not reason, is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not, is a slave.

- William Drummond

 

PURE MICHIGAN; THE GREAT LAKES PENITENTIARY STATE

 

Glad I kept my old phone numbers...

 

I can't fuccing stand that over reaching P.O.S. repubelican ares-hole Rick Jones! I will never respect his position in office for he does not represent the people he only represents his beliefs and interests, where's his recall campaign at?

 

Time to flood our reps with e mails, phone calls, and letters. enough of his nazi style tactics of wanting to keep an eye us "other people"

 

Surprised he doesn't want us to sew a five bladed pot leaf onto our clothing to identify us and tattoo our registration number on our forehead!!!

[purklize]

Surprised he doesn't want us to sew a five bladed pot leaf onto our clothing to identify us and tattoo our registration number on our forehead!!!

 

He doesn't because he knows a digital database would be more effective and trigger less backlash.

[Frank R]

If his officers are that stupid that they still think marijuana leads to rampaging serial killing... draw their weapon because they suspect possession? Jones sounds like a freakin' Nazi.

I have grown so tired with folks bandying the term "Nazi" around like its a cheap novelty flag.

 

Stop sullying the name of the Nazi's with brash comparisons to Republican's.

 

It is highly evident that the Republican's and their current anti-social policies will do far more damage to the American People than Adolf ever imagined.

[CedarSpringsCG]

Funny, isn't Jones the one that says you have to have MMJ out of reach while driving a car? Meaning it can't be in your shirt pocket? More fear, uncertainty and Doubt... FUD.

[purklize]

Frank R - HA!

 

It's funny - when you have two men, one waving a gun, one holding a piece of a dead plant, which one is truly dangerous to society? I thought pot was bad because it "leads to waving guns in the air."

[+EdwardGlen]

Democrats in office had better get off their duffs and stand up for us or they too can and will be voted out of office and replaced with those who respect and follow the voters wishes and demands.

[purklize]

As of 2011, Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Senate with 26; Democrats hold 12 seats.

As of 2011, Republicans hold a majority of seats in the House of Representatives with 63, and Democrats hold the remaining 47 seats.

 

From wikipedia. ^^^

 

So they need 29 senate votes and we need at least 10 to stop it.

 

They need 83 house votes and we need at least 28 to stop it.

 

This is doable, but we cannot sit on our hands. Our voice has to be heard, otherwise senators and representatives riding the fence will only hear from crazies like Rick Jones and Jessica Cooper, and we will lose. Send letters or emails to your representatives. Watch the online news like a hawk and comment frequently on medical marijuana related articles. A lot of people read that stuff - you get a big audience. Also, most people have a "follow the pack" mentality, and if the comments are almost universally pro-med mj, they'll take our points much more seriously.

 

We need to compile a list of all the evils that could come from this bill. A lot of people probably don't realize how serious the consequences of this bill could be (nearly a repeal). It's a simple concept that they're trying to pass off as innocuous that serves as a legislative trojan horse to destroy our law.

 

-- They could turn over lists of patients and caregivers, particularly those with 5 patients, to the feds.

 

-- They could sit outside patient's driveways, pulling them over constantly, hitting them with drugged driving charges for testing positive for *metabolites*, virtually imprisoning them in their home. Think finding a job is hard enough now, with drug testing and the economy? Try reducing your search radius to however far you can walk! They want to starve us out!

 

-- The bill would require the MDCH to notify the police within 48 hours of a card expiring or being voided. This would certainly lead to raids, if someone were to forget to mail out a renewal on time.

 

-- The police could get warrants and raid people in the database whenever they felt like it. They've lied before to judges, claiming there was no evidence someone was a patient when they actually had been provided with such.

 

-- They'd probably start by raiding young people (18-25) first, and those using "chronic pain" as a qualifying condition, telling the media in each case they had "reason to believe" they were "drug dealers." People fitting this description are easy targets for the zealots, and provided they have one iota of brains (a stretch, I know), they would use these raids to say "The law is being abused, repeal, repeal, repeal!!!" This is what they did in Montana, and now their "chronic pain" criteria requires that "physical evidence" of the condition be provided. The takeaway message to migraine and fibromyalgia sufferers is "f@ you, go back to your heroin analogs! (oxycodone, morphine, vicodin, codeine)"

[WalledLakePatient]

"-- The bill would require the MDCH to notify the police within 48 hours of a card expiring or being voided. This would certainly lead to raids, if someone were to forget to mail out a renewal on time."

 

this is the big one, they can also claim problems with the computer system, that's why we raided their house and pointed guns at their children as we killed their pets.

[Kingdiamond]

If this gets passed the first thing that will start happening is a flood of patient DUI cases if your a patient the Leos mindset will be of course your currently medicated and impaired so no license for you pothead .