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A Good Meeting With Rep. Cindy Denby Today!


Medcnman

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I had 20 minutes to present my opinions to my State Rep. Cindy Denby today. She got out of her previous meeting early and I was able to squeeze 30 minutes in. I shared stories from patients that I have talked to about being prosecuted for manufacturing and distributing while being in full compliance of the law as written. I spoke of how many of our patients that suffer from various forms of disease and pain, cant understand why a law that was enacted to relieve them from the fear of our law enforcement, has put them behind bars. "Presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law". This does not exist, I said. Innocent people shouldnt have to mortgage their homes and clean out their bank accounts to pay court fees and pre-trial drug screening because they have been accused of a crime of a law that was put in place to prevent such things from happening. I told her we are guilty by assumption, and we have to spend our life savings to prove it. WE have to prove it. Its not right and its unacceptable. Her main concerns seem to be dispensaries and testing. (Sound familiar??) I told her that we as a community police ourselves on the quality of meds that we provide to our patients. We freely assemble and "kinda compare notes". We look at the quality of each others meds and if something isnt right, we advise each other on it. As far as the dispensaries go, Since we were in Lansing and Lansing had quite a few dispensaries pop up, we talked about how legislation could have easily limited the number of dispensaries per town or city. Instead, Bill Schutte led the crusade to attempt to close each and every one of them citing they were a nuisance. (I live 300 feet from a Bar. THATS a nuisance!!). I expressed my opinion on dispensaries. I dont have a problem with them i said. But dont make it law that a patient that has had a bad caregiver, no caregiver, a failed crop or just flat out cant or doesnt want to grow, has to get their meds from a dispensary. I advised her of the cost associated with aquiring meds from a dispensary. It is quite often twice the cost as it would be from a caregiver that has overages available. All we want is what we voted for. Implement the law as it was written before you attempt to change the will of the people. You dont add salt to soup till ya taste it! We also spoke of "Bona-fide doctor patient relationship. She asked about "fly by night $50 certs". I told her of my experiences with my family doctor and a time that I had an appointment with my doctor. When I arrived at my doctors office, my doctor wasnt available so I had to see one of her associates. Im sure he didnt look through my entire medical history before prescribing me a narcotic for pain. My MM certification doctor gives me a complete physical at every appointment. Those such as myself without health insurance, cant afford a "doctor patient relationship". All in all, I was quite pleased with the 30 minutes that I was given. I look forward to meeting with Mrs. Denby as the need arises. She is a very pleasant person and she heard my concerns! Next Friday, I have a meeting with State Rep. Bill Rodgers to discuss this issue. He will potentially be my new Rep after this next election due to geographic changes. I still need to set up a re-meet with Rep. Mike Collart to continue our discussion we were having in Hastings last month. If you are a district 47 resident, please feel free to PM me your concerns and I will do my best to get them addressed in my future meetings with our Reps. I have recieved a few hundred so far and it seems that most folks just want what they voted for and for it to be implemented as it was written. Thank-you!! Medcnman.gallery_28322_1043_9368.jpg

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Rogers is a very important one to meet with! He is vice-chair of the house appropriations sub-committee that oversees the MMMP within LARA.

 

I watched him in action in December when the committee had Rae Ramsdell, the head of the MMMP section report on the status of the program. He is a republican and by trade a business owner (residential home construction). He was the one who asked her where do patients get their MMJ now that dispensaries are closed and her answer reported in the press was, "from high school kids".

 

To give you some background on Rogers I had made the following notes right after the meeting on December 7th...

 

Following the formal presentation, there were a number of obviously politically motivated questions from the representatives. Pscholla was fairly even handed, but MacMaster, Rogers and MacGregor could be best described as flippant regarding mmj. MacMaster asked "who is qualified to grow". Her answer, anyone over 18 that does not have a drug felony conviction. Rogers asked about small groups of docs writing large numbers of certifications. She indicated that they are referred to as "Frequent Flyers" by her staff. He followed with questions regarding what her office is doing to investigate. She said they are, but there are no hard and fast rules in the law as to what to do if they find a doc who is not creating a bonafide relationship. Following up on her indicating that the closing of the dispensaries resulted in a drop in apps, Rogers asked where are patients now getting their mmj? It was at this point that she said she did not know, but guessed patients were getting it from high school kids. At this point, Dillon jumped in and asked that the committee should only be concerned with facts and not anecdotal stories and assumptions. At this point, Pscholla recognized that the meeting was drifting off its stated goal and he adjourned it.

 

I be looking forward to your report on Rogers.

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Medcman,

 

Thank you for all of your efforts.

 

 

When you meet with Mr. Rodgers please inquire as to why mmj patients are being discriminated against by LARA relating to the issuing of our license cards. I suspect no other group requiring a state license is applying 60 days before the expiration date and waiting 3-5 months after the expiration date to receive the license. This is simple discrimination against the sick and suffering and as vice-chair does he approve of it?

 

Sorry getting upset.

 

Regards and peace,

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Medcman,

 

Thank you for all of your efforts.

 

 

When you meet with Mr. Rodgers please inquire as to why mmj patients are being discriminated against by LARA relating to the issuing of our license cards. I suspect no other group requiring a state license is applying 60 days before the expiration date and waiting 3-5 months after the expiration date to receive the license. This is simple discrimination against the sick and suffering and as vice-chair does he approve of it?

 

Sorry getting upset.

 

Regards and peace,

I agree! It took 10 days for me to get my drivers license the last time i renewed. I think it cost $12. I was able to do it online too. As a patient, its costs either $25 or $100 dollars and we have to carry a stack of papers AND our expired card around till they decide to send us our new cards 3-5 months later. Ridiculous! Thank you! This will be brought up. The law needs to be implememted. Medcnman.

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Some background on the presentation that Rogers sat thru in December.

 

Ramsdell told him that the problem was they could not laminate cards fast enough. The machine they had could do only an average of 600 cards a day and they were getting more apps than that a day. She claimed they were taking delivery on a machine that could do 4,000 per day and that would solve the backlog. It was to be operational in Feb. You may want to ask him how that is coming.

 

Since he is involved with appropriations, you might remind him that the MMMP has taken in over 10 million from patients and spent only 2 million. What is he doing to reduce the cost to patients?

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"Since he is involved with appropriations, you might remind him that the MMMP has taken in over 10 million from patients and spent only 2 million. What is he doing to reduce the cost to patients?"

 

I would like to know what he has to say about this one, too.

Many of us would like to know. We pay an awful lot and get no defense for it! It will be one to ask. I will try to get expense reports prior to the meeting. If i have to FoIA them, it may take a while. Thanks! Medcnman.

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Ask What part of "Totally and Permenant Disabled" Don't they get? So that i have to get Certifited every year. 62 yrs old Fixed income no health insurance, my shoes. Just what exactally do we get for our $100? i live in fear, because i don't have my hard card, and just paper work, for who knows how long, sigh.

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Ask What part of "Totally and Permenant Disabled" Don't they get? So that i have to get Certifited every year. 62 yrs old Fixed income no health insurance, my shoes. Just what exactally do we get for our $100? i live in fear, because i don't have my hard card, and just paper work, for who knows how long, sigh.

 

I feel your pain, pain (just had to do it), and I think that you asked some damned good questions, glad I thought of them! Seriously folks, I'd like to know the answer to them myself.

 

I hope that you are helping out by calling and writing our reps, and if you don't mind, I'll also include these questions when I write.

 

Have a good day my brother.

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I feel your pain, pain (just had to do it), and I think that you asked some damned good questions, glad I thought of them! Seriously folks, I'd like to know the answer to them myself.

 

I hope that you are helping out by calling and writing our reps, and if you don't mind, I'll also include these questions when I write.

:notfair:

Have a good day my brother.

No other precription drug, requires the patient to get certified in the State of MI, why mmj? i do call and write the reps. i beleive one man/woman can make a difference. thats why i ask the question. if one of the mods reads this maybe they can start a new tread. i'm sure other ppl have the same question

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No other precription drug, requires the patient to get certified in the State of MI, why mmj? i do call and write the reps. i beleive one man/woman can make a difference. thats why i ask the question. if one of the mods reads this maybe they can start a new tread. i'm sure other ppl have the same question

Thats is definantly a question worth asking Pain. It is on my legal pad! Keep em comin folks! I will be glad to ask any question posed. As long as its not completely ridiculous. If you live in Livingston County feel free to PM me with any adverse interactions you have encountered with law enforcement. If you are in compliance with the law, thes interactions should have never happened! We want answers! We want what we voted for! Medcnman

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Thats is definantly a question worth asking Pain. It is on my legal pad! Keep em comin folks! I will be glad to ask any question posed. As long as its not completely ridiculous. If you live in Livingston County feel free to PM me with any adverse interactions you have encountered with law enforcement. If you are in compliance with the law, thes interactions should have never happened! We want answers! We want what we voted for! Medcnman

 

Medcnman,

 

Not worth asking.

 

The entire concept of "certification" is a mechanism to skirt the prescription drug laws administered by the DEA. In order to get a prescription drug you need to have a doc with a DEA license write a script. Doc's all have Federal DEA licenses to write scripts, but they are not allowed to write a script for a sch 1 substance. The result you have are the various medical marijuana state laws where a doc can write what amounts to a statement (officially called a "certification") stating that in their opinion mmj could provide relief for what ever qualifying medical condition you have. Really it is the same as a prescription, but by calling it a "certification" they avoid violating their federal license.

 

All a lot of bs, but until things are changed on the Fed level we are stuck with calling a prescription for mmj a "certification".

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Medcnman,

 

Not worth asking.

 

The entire concept of "certification" is a mechanism to skirt the prescription drug laws administered by the DEA. In order to get a prescription drug you need to have a doc with a DEA license write a script. Doc's all have Federal DEA licenses to write scripts, but they are not allowed to write a script for a sch 1 substance. The result you have are the various medical marijuana state laws where a doc can write what amounts to a statement (officially called a "certification") stating that in their opinion mmj could provide relief for what ever qualifying medical condition you have. Really it is the same as a prescription, but by calling it a "certification" they avoid violating their federal license.

 

All a lot of bs, but until things are changed on the Fed level we are stuck with calling a prescription for mmj a "certification".

How about if it were reworded to why a renewal yearly? If you have a permanant disability, you shouldnt have to re-cert every year. I drive like crap and only have to re-new my drivers license every 4 years. LOL!! Thanks for the insight on this one! Maybe we could ask for a lower renewal fee. $100 for your first cert. $50 or $75 to renew. I would first like to see where the money is being distributed. If there is a large surplus of funds, it needs to come back to us. They already tax our checks and gas for road repairs! Medcnman.

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How about if it were reworded to why a renewal yearly? If you have a permanant disability, you shouldnt have to re-cert every year. I drive like crap and only have to re-new my drivers license every 4 years. LOL!! Thanks for the insight on this one! Maybe we could ask for a lower renewal fee. $100 for your first cert. $50 or $75 to renew. I would first like to see where the money is being distributed. If there is a large surplus of funds, it needs to come back to us. They already tax our checks and gas for road repairs! Medcnman.

Medcnman,

 

You are correct about the cost. A worthwhile concept to discuss with Rogers is the idea of a three year cert, just like a D/L. No reason for a permanently disabled person to go back every year. This also saves admin cost on the State side.

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Medcnman,

 

You are correct about the cost. A worthwhile concept to discuss with Rogers is the idea of a three year cert, just like a D/L. No reason for a permanently disabled person to go back every year. This also saves admin cost on the State side.

3 yrs is good :goodjob:

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