Being A Medical Marijuana Patient Makes Me Feel Like A Criminal

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Story in todays Monroe Evening news our own Bob Redden is mentioned in the article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medical Marijuana User: ‘I Feel Like A Criminal’

 

 

 

 

In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, marijuana is weighed and packaged. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

 

By Ray Kisonas

As of Friday, March 15, 2013, 08:59 a.m.

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Her mother is 92, lives in Monroe and takes medical marijuana legally in the form of candy, hoping to ease her chronic back pain.

It has taken the daughter four months to find the right doctor and the legal outlet that supplies the medicinal drug.

The daughter, who also lives in Monroe, feels that since voters approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, she simply is taking advantage of a law in her pursuit to help her ailing mother.

But it’s not that easy for her. The law, she said, is complicated legally and society still hasn’t totally embraced the idea.

“I feel like a criminal,” said the daughter, who declined to be identified by name. “I don’t think anybody knows the law.

It’s a joke. It’s a farce.”

On Thursday, a legal expert on the medical marihuana laws (the state spells it with an “h”) visited Monroe to discuss changes and what police can and cannot do when confronting people who legally have cards that allow them to ingest the drug.

Kenneth Stecker of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan held his forum at the Monroe County Intermediate School District and discussed changes to the law. He reminded the audience of local police officers, educators and others that the federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule 1 drug, just like heroin and morphine, and that its use among the youth is rising.

That has not changed,” he said.

During his presentation Mr. Stecker noted certain changes in the law that involved how it cannot be transferred legally from one person to another and how it can be transported by vehicle legally. Caregivers, he said, are not allowed to have a criminal conviction involving illegal drugs in the past 10 years and growers must have their plants concealed from sight of neighbors.

Mr. Stecker also discussed whether an employee can get fired for using medical marijuana, even if the person legally is allowed to use it. He offered an example where a Michigan Walmart store fired a worker for using marijuana even though the man suffered from cancer. The law, Mr. Stecker said, does not necessarily cover private companies.

Bob Redden is an Army veteran and one of the first people to take advantage of the law after it was passed in 2008. He came to Monroe from his home in Oakland County to listen in on the forum. Mr. Redden, who walks with a cane because he has two replaced hips, has been in a legal battle in his county for four years after he was arrested for growing plants under the law.

“The law should be used as a shield and not a sword,” Mr. Redden said.

Mr. Redden said that he has taken his case to the court of appeals and no longer ingests marijuana for pain because “I’m too scared.”

“Unfortunately people like Bob are caught up in the strictness of the act,” added Chad Carr, who accompanied Mr. Redden, and is with Birmingham Compassion, an organization that assists anyone interested in the medical cannabis movement.

The battle over marijuana’s role in society is far from settled. There are those who believe it is dangerous, harmful to one’s health and can be a gateway drug, such as April Demers of the Monroe County Substance Abuse Coalition, which sponsored Thursday’s forum.

She told the audience that since the law allows a certain segment to use marijuana legally, it only convinces teenagers and others that marijuana is safe.

“They think it’s not that big of a deal,” she said.

As for the woman who wanted to help her aging mother, she noted that the law allows it on a limited basis and voters approved it. So she will do what she can to help her mother. She said she is a legal, card-carrying provider.

“There is a need for it,” she said. “People ought to have the option.”

 

 

 

 

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