Protest At The Courthouse

[bobandtorey]

DON'T FORGET PROTEST THIS MONDAY AT 1PM AT MACOMB COUNTY COURT TO SAVE BIG DADDY!

[bobandtorey]

As Big Daddy's Hydroponics heads back to court Monday to fend off another attempt from the Michigan Attorney General to close the Chesterfield business, its owner says the business is being unfairly targeted.

 

Rick Ferris, also known as Big Daddy, said that Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette's allegation that the compassion center violated the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act is unfounded.

 

"He’s not slowed down since he got in office; he's not going to stop now," Ferris said. "We are definitely targeted. This is a civil matter. For him to jump in a civil matter, this is ridiculous."

 

Schuette and Chesterfield Township have united in attempt to shut down Big Daddy's, claiming it's a public nuisance. Macomb County Circuit Court Judge John Foster initially ordered the compassion center to close. But, his clarified opinion allowed the dispensary to stay open with limited medical marijuana sales under the law.

 

“He says that, under his order to us, we could do anything as long as it was allowed under the act and what we do is under the act," Ferris said of the judge.

http://newbaltimore.patch.com/articles/big-daddy-s-owner-says-business-is-unfairly-target

The show-cause hearing Monday in circuit court will center on an undercover officer posing as a medical marijuana patient. The officer bought pot at the facility on Jan. 25 from a reported caregiver, although she was not listed on his card, according to a Feb. 6 report in The Macomb Daily.

 

Schuette wants Foster "to order the occupants vacate the property; the business be padlocked for a period of one year; the illegal contraband destroyed pursuant to law; and all contents of the premises be removed and sold," the article states. He also wants Big Daddy's to be penalized a $7,500 fine or serve 93 days in jail.

 

Ferris told Patch this week that the compassion center at the business now just gives caregivers and card-carrying patients a place to go, but that he doesn't employ people to sell medical marijuana.

 

“I don’t hire caregivers; we don’t have caregivers," he said. "If they're not a patient or a caregiver, they’re not allowed in the compassion part of the facility. We sell equipment to the caregiver.”

 

He said Big Daddy's follows the medical marijuana act restrictions.

 

"The only person you can get it from is a caregiver,” he said of medical marijuana. “I’m not a caregiver. The person working behind the desk is not a caregiver."

 

After the latest court ruling that allowed the compassion center to operate in a restricted way, Ferris said Big Daddy's asked for specific guidelines from Schuette.

 

"We asked the attorney general to sit down and explain to us what is allowed under the act," he said, adding the request was unfulfilled. "We’re not drug dealers; we don’t want to be classified as drug dealers.”

 

The township also has pending litigation against the business, citing it violated zoning ordinances by operating in the community. Per policy on pending lawsuits, Chesterfield officials declined to comment on this case.

 

Referring to a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling, Schuette's office has stated that the "MMMA doesn't authorize marijuana dispensaries and the courts can infer that a dispensary's purpose is not to alleviate a debilitating medical condi

 

[bobandtorey]

Please join the Big Daddy's Family and show your support as we go back to court February 13, 2012. This decision will effect all caregivers and patients. Court proceedings begin at 1:00pm. You can meet up at Big Daddy's Chesterfield, 52011 Gratiot Ave, between 23 and 24 Mile around starting 10am that morning to make signs and get ready for the protest. We will have refreshments and sign making!! We will head to the court at around 12:45pm. Big Daddy's Detroit will be closed but our Chesterfield location will offer 10% off.

HUGE UPDATE ON THE BIG DADDY'S CASE THAT EFFECTS ALL CAREGIVER AND PATIENTS!!

There is a new court date scheduled for Monday February 15, 2012. This case will be to actually determine whether a registered, qualified caregiver can be compensated costs from a registered, qualified patient or only one of the 5 patients we are tied to thru the registry system.

THERE WILL BE AN OUTDOOR PROTEST TOO. Please dress appropriately for outdoor protest and/or courtroom attire. We want to pack this court room and protest and show the judge and Attorney General we will not back down and we need safe access for our medicine. We voted for this law, the Attorney General needs to let us follow it!

[Herb Cannabis]

Please join the Big Daddy's Family and show your support as we go back to court February 13, 2012. This decision will effect all caregivers and patients. Court proceedings begin at 1:00pm. You can meet up at Big Daddy's Chesterfield, 52011 Gratiot Ave, between 23 and 24 Mile around starting 10am that morning to make signs and get ready for the protest. We will have refreshments and sign making!! We will head to the court at around 12:45pm. Big Daddy's Detroit will be closed but our Chesterfield location will offer 10% off.

HUGE UPDATE ON THE BIG DADDY'S CASE THAT EFFECTS ALL CAREGIVER AND PATIENTS!!

There is a new court date scheduled for Monday February 15, 2012. This case will be to actually determine whether a registered, qualified caregiver can be compensated costs from a registered, qualified patient or only one of the 5 patients we are tied to thru the registry system.

THERE WILL BE AN OUTDOOR PROTEST TOO. Please dress appropriately for outdoor protest and/or courtroom attire. We want to pack this court room and protest and show the judge and Attorney General we will not back down and we need safe access for our medicine. We voted for this law, the Attorney General needs to let us follow it!

 

I'm confused folks, when is the court date? Today, Monday February 13 or Wednesday February 15th?

[Timmahh]

some of BD court was today. I just posted a few back on the results of todays hearing.

[bobandtorey]

http://www.detroitne...ana-clinic-openMount Clemens— A medical marijuana dispensary in Chesterfield Township can stay in business after a judge delayed the trial that would decide if it has violated zoning laws.

Macomb Circuit Judge John Foster also delayed a show-cause hearing to determine if the owners of Big Daddy's Management Group violated his order that lets the business stay open but limits medical marijuana sales.

The zoning violation trial was set to begin today, but Foster rescheduled it for Feb. 28 to give attorneys more time to prepare.Township and state officials say the business is a public nuisance and located in an area that is zoned for manufacturing.Big Daddy's owners say they are being unfairly targeted by the township and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Big Daddy's owns two other stores: one on Mack between Alter Road and Outer Drive in Detroit and another on Dort Highway near Bristol Road in Burton.On Monday,

a hearing on contempt claims also was to be held, but Foster reset it to March 28.Schuette's office requested the hearing because authorities allege an undercover police officer went into the business on Jan. 25 and was able to purchase the drug from someone there not listed on his medical marijuana card as required by state law.Corbett O'Meara, a Detroit attorney who represents Big Daddy's owners Rick and Sue Ferris, said his clients weren't present at the time of the alleged incident.

[bobandtorey]

Despite the Michigan Attorney General's attempt Monday to shut down Big Daddy's Hydroponics, the medical marijuana compassion center remains open.

 

Big Daddy's lawyer Corbett O'Meara convinced Macomb County Circuit Court Judge John Foster Monday to change the civil matter into a criminal contempt complaint against the Chesterfield Township business.

 

O'Meara argued that converting the type of case means owners Rick and Sue Ferris will receive due process—something Attorney General Bill Schuette would have deprived them under the civil complaint, he said.

 

"The law is very clear and the attorney general was very confused," O'Meara said. "He wanted it to become civil because there would have been a hearing and it would have been shut down today."

 

Instead, the show-cause civil hearing Monday was rescheduled for a 1:30 p.m. March 28 criminal contempt court date. That means the owners could face a misdemeanor conviction, or fine, if they violated terms of the medical marijuana act. They stood mute before the judge and packed courtroom of their supporters.

 

The show-cause hearing Monday in circuit court was to center on an undercover officer posing as a medical marijuana patient. The officer bought pot at the facility on Jan. 25 from a reported caregiver, although she was not listed on his card.

 

However, Big Daddy's claims that it does not employ caregivers; rather, its compassion center offers licensed caregivers and patients a place to go. The owners also contend they were not on the premises at the time of the alleged purchase. Instead, they appeared in court in Oakland County for a separate case in Oak Park on that date, O'Meara said.

 

Schuette wanted Foster to order the occupants vacate the property, have the doors padlocked for one year, any illegal contraband destroyed, among other things. He also wanted Big Daddy's to be penalized a $7,500 fine or serve 93 days in jail.

 

Assistant Attorney General John R. Wright declined to comment in court.

 

Rick Ferris, also known as Big Daddy, said Monday he prefers the case to be criminal.

 

"I'd like a jury to decide, not the court," Ferris said. "That's all we want is a chance to defend what we do."

 

Last week, Ferris said he believes his business has been targeted while O'Meara referred to Schuette's attempt to padlock the business a "witch hunt." By Monday, 87 percent of 138 voters believe that the business is being unfairly targeted, according to an unscientific Patch poll.

 

Chesterfield Township initially tried to shut down Big Daddy's last July in a lawsuit that accused the business on Gratiot between 23 and 24 Mile roads of violating zoning ordinances. The state joined in the lawsuit soon after, arguing the compassion center is a public nuisance.

 

Foster initially ordered the compassion center to close. But, his clarified opinion allowed the dispensary to stay open with limited medical marijuana sales under the law.

 

After the latest court ruling that allowed the compassion center to operate in a restricted way, Ferris said Big Daddy's asked for specific guidelines from Schuette.

 

"We asked the attorney general to sit down and explain to us what is allowed under the act," he said, adding the request was unfulfilled. "We’re not drug dealers; we don’t want to be classified as drug dealers.”

 

After the court appearance, Chesterfield Township Police Chief Bruce Smith said the decision to proceed with a criminal contempt case shouldn't hinder the township and state's efforts to close the business.

 

"I don't think it's going to hurt it," Smith said. "It's just delaying the outcome of the trial."

 

The civil zoning matter is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 28 before Foster in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

 

[Hempcheff]

Is this still going on today? is anyone attending?

"The civil zoning matter is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 28 before Foster in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens."

[Hempcheff]

bump

[DrWoz]

http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2012/02/28/news/doc4f4bdcf7f3b84458876966.txt

 

A Macomb County judge upheld his own previous ruling Monday, leaving the owners of a Chesterfield Township medical marijuana dispensary to face a misdemeanor criminal rather than civil contempt of court charge.

 

Circuit Judge John Foster denied a motion by the office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to reconsider the judge’s decision earlier this month to convert a civil complaint to a criminal charge against Rick and Sue Ferris.

 

Foster’s original ruling meant the Ferrises could continue to operate, for now, Big Daddy’s Hydroponics and Compassion Center in Chesterfield, from which they dispense medical marijuana. Schuette had hoped to close the facility on a civil complaint.

 

The owners face charges they violated the Michigan Marijuana Act when an employee sold marijuana outside the scope of the law. A trial is scheduled for next month.

[DrWoz]

http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2012/02/29/news/doc4f4ea9fa6090f761860063.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

 

 

By Jameson Cook

For The Voice

A Chesterfield Township medical marijuana dispensary has agreed to shut down and move to another Macomb County municipality after its operator realized it violates the township zoning ordinance.

 

Rick Ferris, owner of Big Daddy’s Hydroponics and Compassion Center on Gratiot Avenue, agreed to close by March 10 after realizing he would lose his civil trial this week with the township in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

 

“I agree we weren’t in compliance with the zoning,” Ferris said Wednesday after the case was settled. “We’re not into breaking laws. We don’t want to beat a dead horse.”

 

He said he plans to relocate in northeast Macomb County but not in Chesterfield Township, and was scouting a potential spot Wednesday afternoon.

 

Ferris emphasized the outcome “has nothing to do with” whether his business was operating legally as a medical marijuana facility. Instead, both sides agreed Big Daddy’s retail sale of hydroponic equipment and social club activities violated the heavy industrial zoning, which mainly allows manufacturing facilities including outdoor activities.

 

Ferris said Big Daddy’s operates within the confines of the state Medical Marijuana Act by providing a place for medical marijuana care givers and patients to interact and transfer the substance.

 

But Ferris and state Attorney General Bill Schuette differ on a key issue – whether caregivers must supply patients through a registry or can supply any patient. Schuette believes caregivers are limited to supplying marijuana to five specifically listed patients.

 

“We see it one way, and the attorney general sees it another way,” Ferris said. “I was hoping to get in front of a jury and get a ruling on the caregiver issue. I think the attorney general was, too.”

 

A trial pitting the township, Police Chief Bruce Smith and Schuette against Big Daddy’s and its owners, Rick and Sue Ferris, and landlord Pasquale Acciavatti was entering its second day Wednesday when the defendants settled on the advice of attorney Corbett O’Meara and after listening to evidence.

 

Still, O’Meara believe the township was “selectively enforcing” its ordinance against his client. “I do think they were selectively enforcing the ordinance against these people, but it was very clear when the trial started they were not in compliance,” O’Meara said.

 

Township planning consultant Patrick Meagher testified Tuesday that while Big Daddy’s should not be in heavy industrial zoning, 10 nearby businesses with the same zoning violate the ordinance by performing banned activities. Violators including a pie company, the Chesterfield Township Lions Club and a law office. But Meagher and township attorney Colleen O’Connor also noted “some” of those businesses are legal because they obtained a special land use permit, were grandfathered or gained a court order.

 

O’Meara criticized Ferris’ prior attorney, James Rasor, whom he said gave Ferris “bad legal advice.”

 

Rasor should have told Ferris to apply to the township for a special land-use permit before he opened in late 2010, O’Meara said.

 

“I believe if he had applied he wouldn’t be in this position where he’s in a trial,” O’Meara said. “It is likely they would have gotten the land-use permit. If it was denied, he could’ve sued in circuit court.”

 

But Ferris in the trial couldn’t defend failing to exhaust efforts through the township.

 

Ferris only on Monday submitted an application on O’Meara’s advice. But O’Meara said he didn’t expect Judge John Foster to delay the trial for another days 90 days. The lawsuit was filed last July.

 

Rasor could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

 

Big Daddy’s operates facilities in Wayne, Genesee and Sanilac counties. It previously operated a facility in Oak Park but Ferris closed it, he said, due to Oakland County law enforcement’s stance toward the facility.

 

“We like Macomb County,” he said. “We have a lot of patients out here.”

 

He said he expects a state lawmaker to introduce a “public option” proposal in which municipalities could say yes or no to dispensaries.

 

The MMA passed in 2008 with 63 percent of the vote.

 

Many law enforcement officials believe activities under the law have far exceeded what was intended as a medicinal option.