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Former Marijuana Dispensary Owner Guilty Again Of Drug Charge, Hopes For Change In Law


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GRAND RAPIDS, MI - After a trial Friday that consisted of the testimony two undercover narcotics officers, Samer Hamed was found guilty of keeping more than a pound of marijuana under the bathroom sink in his Northeast Side home.

But despite the fact that the 44-year-old could be looking at more time in jail when he is sentenced on March 17 in Kent County Circuit Court, Hamed and his attorney Frank Stanley are hopeful that the Michigan Supreme Court will overturn recent state appeals court decisions that made Hamed's actions illegal.

"It's impossible to follow as it is right now," Stanley said of the current judicial 
interpretation of the voter-approved Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Hamed was a co-owner of the now-defunct Purple Med marijuana dispensary at 1365 Plainfield Ave. NE. He was arrested in February 2013 when the state courts decided that the businesses did not conform to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Hamed, 43, pleaded guilty one year ago to manufacturing and delivery of marijuana and the Kent County Prosecutor's Office dropped additional marijuana charges and a count of maintaining a drug house.

Judge Donald Johnston sentenced Hamed to five months in jail after the defendant was arrested again on May 7 when police searched Hamed's home near Four Mile Road NE and the East Beltline. 

According to court testimony, police found 20 ounces of marijuana under the bathroom sink, another 33 grams in a Volkswagen in the garage, $2,702 in cash, a rifle and a shotgun.

Hamed was charged with manufacture and delivery of marijuana as a repeat offender and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Related: Former marijuana dispensary owner plans to fight new drug and gun charges

But Hamed had not been sentenced at the time of the second arrest and the Kent County Prosecutor's Office had to drop the charges that labeled Hamed as a felon at the time of the May arrest.

During the trial Friday, Stanley said his client still maintains that he was doing his level best to follow the law, but he said the law as currently interpreted made it impossible to make that legal defense.

Grand Rapids Police Officer Todd Butler testified that the amount held by Hamed was far beyond any reasonable expectation for personal use and said the marijuana found at the house had a retail value of more than $6,000.

"This is the top of the line stuff right now," Butler said while examining the pillow-sized bag of smelly, bright-green weed presented to him by Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Gerard Faber.

Stanley offered no defense for his client other that to preserve his objections to the law on the record for appeal.

Hamed remains free on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing.

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i sure wouldn't keep 24 ozs under the bathroom sink,,,no way to keep an eye on it when guests wanted to pee.. lol...the dawgs at my house would have that stinky stuff sniffed out and in their pockets so quick i wouldn't be sure i ever even grew it..lol..and he put it back in the same place LEO found it the first time...this guy has issues that maybe only some jail time can fix...bp

Edited by budpuffer
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right, I was mistaken, sorry.

 

There are rules within the Act, some not covered by any section if violated?

 

And when violated, are the remainder of protections voided.? (close to not allowing a defendant to mention medical necessity

or program participation ?

 

for a hypothetical instance,

 

Defendant has a card

was selling to 100 different people in town

made much cash doing so

sold to an undercover officer several times

caught with pounds in the garage

 

Is this person still offered (any?)protections by the Act, for registering with the state.

Are charges going to be dropped because of the card?

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Assuming that you are outside of section 4 immunity (for whatever reason) then you are likely guilty of some criminal offense involving marijuana. You as the defendant have

 

the burden to ask the court to excuse your criminal activity via the affirmative defense hearing (section . Keep in mind, section 8 is not for the "innocent", its to persuade the

 

court to excuse the factually guilty marijuana defendant from being held responsible for her crimes. If the court is one that believes the rules of evidence apply at a sec 8

 

 

hearing (which had not been ruled on by the COA or MSC), then the court will almost certainly require you to produce the physician in court in order to comply with 8(a)(1)

 

because the physician statement is hearsay and the court will believe that the prosecutor gets to cross examine the witness. There are some exceptions to the hearsay rule but

 

you can bank on that if your physician witness died after she communicated her opinion to you, then its likely you would NOT be able to present evidence persuasive to the

 

court such that the court dismisses your case. Get ready to plead guilty to something or go to jury trial without the legal right to explain why you were growing/possessing

 

marijuana.

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Lots of marijuana, in fact, three-quarters of a million dollars worth was seized at medical marijuana facilities in Ferndale and Waterford, along with several private homes. It was during a raid by Oakland County Sheriff's deputies.

The sheriff and county prosecutor say the state ballot proposal that legalized medical marijuana is out of control because state laws regulating the substance are inadequate and vague, and drugs are being sold illegally.

15 people were arrested on various drug charges.

"In one of the places, there were loose alligators running around protecting the product. I mean, this is Michigan. This isn't a Cheech and Chong movie, and those are the kinds of things that are going to only magnify if the legislature doesn't step up and do its job," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

The prosecutor says she's going to enforce the law as she sees it written.

"When it's delineated in the statue you can have no more than twelve plants, a caregiver can have no more than five patients, everybody has to be registered, that's what's allowed," said Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper.

Ryan Richmond, the co-owner of Clinical Relief in Ferndale says his business and clients are legitimate and legal. He it was unfair that his facility was raided.

Users and supports of medical marijuana say if there is any vagueness in state laws or regulations, they ought to be cleared up.

"There's still people in need today, and this is uncalled for. If it's not right, somebody needs to tell the public how to do it right," said medical marijuana user Gary Miller.

 

The sheriff and prosecutor say photo identifications and other restrictions for the purchase of medical marijuana are needed or the problem will get worse.

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Depends on the charges, and also on the outcome of Tuttle. There may be valid charges even after Hartwick and Tuttle are decided, but he may still be immune for his conduct within the act.

 

It depends on the answer to this question, asked by the Supreme Court in Tuttle:

 

 

Section 10 of the act says it continues to protect medical marijuana conduct by the registered patient or caregiver, even if one part of the act is "held invalid as to any person or circumstances:"

 

This is reflected in the rules, in the process for revoking cards:

 

No doubt there are numerous due process violations occurring daily in the counties that have acted out to obstruct the act.

You can say that again 

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i sure wouldn't keep 24 ozs under the bathroom sink,,,no way to keep an eye on it when guests wanted to pee.. lol...the dawgs at my house would have that stinky stuff sniffed out and in their pockets so quick i wouldn't be sure i ever even grew it..lol..and he put it back in the same place LEO found it the first time...this guy has issues that maybe only some jail time can fix...bp

Some people just cant get that big "S" off of their forehead, Stupid is as stupid does!

 

I wouldnt grow in the same county 2 times if I had problems the 1st time,,,,some just keep doing it and doing it and doing it, pickin their nose and chewin it chewin it chewin it!

 

Lots of people like to go to jail in mi during the winter months, its their vacation,,they only like to be out and breaking laws when its warm out side, once it cost money to live and stay warm they go to the county hilton!  I used to do that, but now I get a whopping pay check from my uncle so I can do 2 squares at home, I can skip the 3rd to control the remote lol!

 

Peace

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And not a judge, prosecutor, cop, nor politician should be making a medical decision for a patient in lieu of a doctor.

...or for that matter, a patient, who titrates to effect, using as much as they need.

 

Bob. Will you please cite the sources of your cut and copied texts? Sometimes I like to respond to them.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI - After a trial Friday that consisted of the testimony two undercover narcotics officers, Samer Hamed was found guilty of keeping more than a pound of marijuana under the bathroom sink in his Northeast Side home.

But despite the fact that the 44-year-old could be looking at more time in jail when he is sentenced on March 17 in Kent County Circuit Court, Hamed and his attorney Frank Stanley are hopeful that the Michigan Supreme Court will overturn recent state appeals court decisions that made Hamed's actions illegal.

"It's impossible to follow as it is right now," Stanley said of the current judicial 

interpretation of the voter-approved Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Hamed was a co-owner of the now-defunct Purple Med marijuana dispensary at 1365 Plainfield Ave. NE. He was arrested in February 2013 when the state courts decided that the businesses did not conform to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Hamed, 43, pleaded guilty one year ago to manufacturing and delivery of marijuana and the Kent County Prosecutor's Office dropped additional marijuana charges and a count of maintaining a drug house.

Judge Donald Johnston sentenced Hamed to five months in jail after the defendant was arrested again on May 7 when police searched Hamed's home near Four Mile Road NE and the East Beltline. 

According to court testimony, police found 20 ounces of marijuana under the bathroom sink, another 33 grams in a Volkswagen in the garage, $2,702 in cash, a rifle and a shotgun.

Hamed was charged with manufacture and delivery of marijuana as a repeat offender and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Related: Former marijuana dispensary owner plans to fight new drug and gun charges

But Hamed had not been sentenced at the time of the second arrest and the Kent County Prosecutor's Office had to drop the charges that labeled Hamed as a felon at the time of the May arrest.

During the trial Friday, Stanley said his client still maintains that he was doing his level best to follow the law, but he said the law as currently interpreted made it impossible to make that legal defense.

Grand Rapids Police Officer Todd Butler testified that the amount held by Hamed was far beyond any reasonable expectation for personal use and said the marijuana found at the house had a retail value of more than $6,000.

"This is the top of the line stuff right now," Butler said while examining the pillow-sized bag of smelly, bright-green weed presented to him by Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Gerard Faber.

Stanley offered no defense for his client other that to preserve his objections to the law on the record for appeal.

Hamed remains free on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing.

 

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/01/former_marijuana_dispensary_ow_1.html#incart_story_package

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...or for that matter, a patient, who titrates to effect, using as much as they need.

 

Bob. Will you please cite the sources of your cut and copied texts? Sometimes I like to respond to them.

I would love to discover a doc that takes the matter seriously enough to actually be able to work on dosage & effects, be familiar w the varying forms of ingestion & the comparative digferences. One that would have the experience & willingness to make recommendations unique to the patients needs, regardless of the state's intrusion... or better yet, a state system that allows for such medical experience to exist & flourish.

 

As of right now, the only available option is for the patient to work the entire matter on their own through trial & error. And I would venture to say that no one best knows the effects of mmj than the patient themselves, as each of us is unique.

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