Coalition Calls For New Rules On Medical Marijuana

[+ProPlayer420]

Comparing the explosion of medical marijuana use in Michigan to the "wild, wild West," a coalition of police, prosecutors and Republican legislators called Tuesday for broad new rules on how the drug can be obtained and sold or even banned.

 

Attorney General Bill Schuette said the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2008 has been exploited by drug abusers who feign serious illness and criminals operating pot farms and drug houses disguised as dispensaries.

 

"Everybody knows what's going on," he said. "We've got a serious problem here."

 

Nearly 81,000 Michiganders have registered as medical marijuana patients, and an industry of doctors, growers and equipment retailers has blossomed to fill their needs.

 

Schuette also issued a formal interpretation of the law Tuesday that would require licensed caregivers -- authorized to grow up to 12 plants for each of five patients -- to build a separate locked and enclosed facility for each set of plants.

 

Advocates for medical marijuana countered that the most serious problems with the law stem from overzealous and hyper-technical enforcement.

 

"This law was intended to get medical marijuana patients off the battlefield in the drug war," said Southfield attorney Michael Komorn.

GOP lawmakers promise to work through summer on pot regulation

 

LANSING -- A group of Republican state lawmakers announced plans Tuesday to work through the summer on sweeping new regulation of medical marijuana to crack down on what they said was widespread abuse and to remedy rampant confusion about what conduct the law permits.

 

State Rep. John Walsh, R-Livonia, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and chief sponsor of the proposed legislation, said the new rules are not aimed at nullifying the 2008 medical marijuana referendum approved by voters, but to provide clear guidelines for law enforcement and legitimate medical marijuana patients.

 

Included in an eight-bill package are proposals to:

 

• More closely monitor and regulate the relationship between doctors and the patients to whom they issue medical marijuana certificates. The Free Press reported in April that only 55 doctors had authorized marijuana use for 71% of all patients.

 

• Prohibit patient-to-patient marijuana transactions, effectively shutting down the marijuana collectives and dispensaries that have proliferated in some areas of the state.

 

• Give law enforcement instant access to the patient registry maintained by the state-run Michigan Medical Marihuana Program.

 

• Clarify the zoning authority of communities seeking to restrict use and sale of medical marijuana.

 

Because the medical marijuana law was approved by voters, many of the changes would require approval by three-fourths of both the state House and Senate.

 

Backers of the law, which passed with nearly 63% of the vote in 2008, expressed serious reservations about the initiatives, announced in conjunction with the issuance of a formal opinion from Attorney General Bill Schuette that narrowly construes the manner in which marijuana can be legally grown.

 

Steven Greene, an Oakland County resident and host of a weekly radio show on medical marijuana on WDTW-AM (1310), said he was deeply suspicious of Schuette and local law enforcement officials who he said are using what they claim are vagaries in the law to quash legal activity.

 

"This is not about public safety ... or drug interdiction," Greene said. "The police don't have a huge problem with the use of pot. This is about money."

 

Schuette, who headed the campaign to oppose the referendum in 2008, said communities and law enforcement authorities need more power and clarity in the law to deal with marijuana patients who are not truly sick and criminals who are using the current law to avoid prosecution.

 

But Karen O'Keefe of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which drafted the Michigan initiative, said the opinion Schuette issued Tuesday shows that the claims about vagaries in the law are often used as a smoke screen for a crackdown on legitimate medical use of the drug.

 

Schuette's opinion declares that a caregiver authorized under the law to maintain up to 12 marijuana plants for each of up to five registered patients is required to keep each set of plants in a separate enclosed and locked facility.

 

O'Keefe said that argument is "absurd ... given the plain language" of the 2008 initiative, and wouldn't provide greater public safety while making marijuana much more expensive for patients and caregivers.

 

In any event, she said, the issue will ultimately be resolved in court, where conflicting rulings are under state Court of Appeals review.

 

O'Keefe said some additional regulation could be helpful, especially in the operation of dispensaries.

 

Various issues addressed by the proposed legislation -- and other medical marijuana bills under review in both chambers -- are also before the courts, including two cases approved for argument before the Michigan Supreme Court last week.

[+Dizledot]

So essentially this assjack is saying I need a house large enough to provide 5 locked rooms for each patient.....I'm sorry but the mood I'm in he can kiss my donkey! It's time to un elect them all! Yep, I signed the recall Snyder petition and am ready to sign the others.

[+ProPlayer420]

So essentially this assjack is saying I need a house large enough to provide 5 locked rooms for each patient.....I'm sorry but the mood I'm in he can kiss my donkey! It's time to un elect them all! Yep, I signed the recall Snyder petition and am ready to sign the others.

 

Its insane what these fools are saying about medical marijuana. If you notice, most who are writing these bills and spewing this crap is coming from people who are ex law enforcement.

 

Good ole boys club at it again!

 

We must stay united to fight back!

[SparklyBuds]

Yup, ex- and current law enforcement. Real easy to go after us sick people & caregivers, instead of going after the Real Criminals!!!

[mayorshaggy37]

Where was all this anger towards Schuette during the election. I saw this coming back then so I voted against him. I hope we all learn our lesson and start paying attention to the elections in the off years not just for President. If you voted please disregard this comment. Thank you

[Guest knucklehead bob]

Yup, ex- and current law enforcement. Real easy to go after us sick people & caregivers, instead of going after the Real Criminals!!!

 

Real criminals shoot back and that's dangerous .

[CedarSpringsCG]

Nearly 81,000 Michiganders have registered as medical marijuana patients, and an industry of doctors, growers and equipment retailers has blossomed to fill their needs.

 

O'Keefe said that argument is "absurd ... given the plain language" of the 2008 initiative, and wouldn't provide greater public safety while making marijuana much more expensive for patients and caregivers.

Those 2 points I think are paramount. First, it is creating jobs and adding to the economy. Hell even home depot and Lowes I am sure are seeing surges in building materials.

 

And, Schuettes opinion about the separate rooms for each PT, when he also says that EITHER the pt or cg has access to the room, not both, is infantile.

[ccpulsipher]

its real easy for the police to break down some poor sick persons door than go out and do real police work also they get to take anything they want its a great money making plan most of their budgets are based on how much they smash and grab and the good ole boys backing this law know that as well get rid of them all is what i say and only back the people that are willing to come out and say they are behind our law with no changes.

[CedarSpringsCG]

yeah, and now they want a shopping list to do it by...

[johndeeremuskies]

GET IT SERVED

[wingnut]

Bb, hope to see you on Saturday in Jackson, I will have $20 to donate.

[MORE COWBELL]

i do not trust them as far as i could throw them

[Timmahh]

then it sounds like a bunch of democrats need to be put in office to counter these idiots. gawd as if that would be any better, but in this issue, its the lesser of 2 evils. they ll only be state democrates, and not able to f up our economy (federal) any more than the rest of them have.