This month has been particularly bad for MI MMj... we've had multiple raids involving the Feds, several of which have been of very large operations, to varying City bans, to Court upholding of invasions to private caregivers & patients, where 70 year old women can be the intended target for conviction & jailing.
Right now, the Attorney General is extending his position that MMj is unconstitutional on a State level as it violates Federal law, asserting all MMj patients are acting illegally. And this has recently been upheld by a Midland County judge, leaving it to go next to the Court of Appeals.
http://www.dailytribune.com/article...4e013c427a339133142711.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Furthermore, there is Legislative intent to offer a 'package' of bills to alter the existing MMj laws in a manner to make it much stricter & with much more ease in policing. This is despite generating $9.7million in total revenues with a net profit of $8.2million, thus far.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110611/NEWS06/106110367/Michigan-s-medical-marijuana-profit-8-million
It would appear that overall climate for MMj to be... concerning. I'm not terribly confident about the total impact we can have, but rallying the troops to fight might be in order, and as loudly as can be done.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700147884/Michigan-lawmakers-seek-medical-marijuana-changes.html
"LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans said Tuesday they are introducing legislation aimed at clarifying the state's voter-approved 2008 law related to growing, selling and qualifying to use medical marijuana.
The proposed changes would require stricter doctor-patient relationships before a patient could get authorization to use the drug. Supporters said it would crack down on the practice of doctors certifying patients to use medicinal marijuana without ever seeing them.
Michigan's 2008 law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes is leaving communities, courts, patients and police locked in disputes over what is legal and what isn’t. Leaders of the Republican-controlled state Legislature said Tuesday, Jun3 28, 2011, that they are introducing legislation aimed at clarifying the law and requiring stricter doctor-patient relationships before a patient could get authorization to use the drug.
Other provisions likely would result in fewer medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. Zoning guidelines would be clarified so local governments would have a better idea of how to regulate them under state law.
Law enforcement, local communities, courts and some patients have been locked in disputes about what's legal and what isn't since shortly after the law was approved.
Advocates of medical marijuana say nothing in the law prohibits dispensaries and collective growing facilities, and that communities are ignoring the will of Michigan voters by cracking down on those businesses.
Many Michigan communities have said state law isn't clear or is largely silent on how the drug can be grown and distributed by anyone other than patients or caregivers, or how plants and seeds can be bought in the first place.
"
The point is, confusion reigns," said Rep. John Walsh, a Republican from Livonia and a key sponsor of the legislative package. "The existing law is unclear."
Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette said the current law has "more holes than Swiss cheese." Schuette said he has filed a brief in support of the city of Livonia's policies that critics say effectively ban the use or sale of medical marijuana.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Livonia and a few other Michigan communities over the policies. The new bills likely would run into opposition from medical marijuana supporters worried about legislative interference that could make the drug more difficult to get for some patients.
"It seems as if there's more and more bills coming out trying to prohibit behavior," said Michael Komorn, an attorney and president of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. "The theme has been to view this from a law enforcement standpoint and not from a medical marijuana community standpoint."
Since the law was originally approved by voters, some of the changes would require support from three-fourths majorities in both the House and Senate.
Walsh said the legislation would be worked on over the summer and could be voted on in the fall.
Michigan allows marijuana to be used to alleviate the symptoms of certain illnesses if someone sees a doctor and gets a state-issued card. People can possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana and have up to 12 plants in a secure, locked area. They can arrange for caregivers, who are limited to five patients each, to grow plants for them.
Schuette issued an attorney general's opinion Tuesday that he said is aimed at making clear that each patient's plants must be grown and maintained in a separate, enclosed and locked facility.
The state has issued more than 80,000 patient registrations since the program began."
http://michiganmessenger.com/50369/...al-says-pot-dispensaries-illegal-in-the-state Bill Schuette, the Republican Attorney General and strong opponent of medical marijuana, issued an opinion on Tuesday that, in effect, makes medical marijuana dispensaries illegal in the state.
The opinion says there are only two ways patients can get their medication — they can either grow themselves or they can get it from a registered care giver. The ruling eliminates patient to patient transfers as well as marijuana dispensaries. Under the ruling, Schuette says that care givers are required to have a locked enclosed location for each separate patient they are growing for.
Meanwhile, patients are required to have an enclosed, locked facility where the growing occurs. They can have 12 plants, but as with the care giver, the location can only be accessible by the patient.
An Attorney General opinion has the force of law, until and unless it is overturned by the courts.
Right now, the Attorney General is extending his position that MMj is unconstitutional on a State level as it violates Federal law, asserting all MMj patients are acting illegally. And this has recently been upheld by a Midland County judge, leaving it to go next to the Court of Appeals.
http://www.dailytribune.com/article...4e013c427a339133142711.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Furthermore, there is Legislative intent to offer a 'package' of bills to alter the existing MMj laws in a manner to make it much stricter & with much more ease in policing. This is despite generating $9.7million in total revenues with a net profit of $8.2million, thus far.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110611/NEWS06/106110367/Michigan-s-medical-marijuana-profit-8-million
It would appear that overall climate for MMj to be... concerning. I'm not terribly confident about the total impact we can have, but rallying the troops to fight might be in order, and as loudly as can be done.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700147884/Michigan-lawmakers-seek-medical-marijuana-changes.html
"LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans said Tuesday they are introducing legislation aimed at clarifying the state's voter-approved 2008 law related to growing, selling and qualifying to use medical marijuana.
The proposed changes would require stricter doctor-patient relationships before a patient could get authorization to use the drug. Supporters said it would crack down on the practice of doctors certifying patients to use medicinal marijuana without ever seeing them.
Michigan's 2008 law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes is leaving communities, courts, patients and police locked in disputes over what is legal and what isn’t. Leaders of the Republican-controlled state Legislature said Tuesday, Jun3 28, 2011, that they are introducing legislation aimed at clarifying the law and requiring stricter doctor-patient relationships before a patient could get authorization to use the drug.
Other provisions likely would result in fewer medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. Zoning guidelines would be clarified so local governments would have a better idea of how to regulate them under state law.
Law enforcement, local communities, courts and some patients have been locked in disputes about what's legal and what isn't since shortly after the law was approved.
Advocates of medical marijuana say nothing in the law prohibits dispensaries and collective growing facilities, and that communities are ignoring the will of Michigan voters by cracking down on those businesses.
Many Michigan communities have said state law isn't clear or is largely silent on how the drug can be grown and distributed by anyone other than patients or caregivers, or how plants and seeds can be bought in the first place.
"
The point is, confusion reigns," said Rep. John Walsh, a Republican from Livonia and a key sponsor of the legislative package. "The existing law is unclear."
Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette said the current law has "more holes than Swiss cheese." Schuette said he has filed a brief in support of the city of Livonia's policies that critics say effectively ban the use or sale of medical marijuana.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Livonia and a few other Michigan communities over the policies. The new bills likely would run into opposition from medical marijuana supporters worried about legislative interference that could make the drug more difficult to get for some patients.
"It seems as if there's more and more bills coming out trying to prohibit behavior," said Michael Komorn, an attorney and president of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. "The theme has been to view this from a law enforcement standpoint and not from a medical marijuana community standpoint."
Since the law was originally approved by voters, some of the changes would require support from three-fourths majorities in both the House and Senate.
Walsh said the legislation would be worked on over the summer and could be voted on in the fall.
Michigan allows marijuana to be used to alleviate the symptoms of certain illnesses if someone sees a doctor and gets a state-issued card. People can possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana and have up to 12 plants in a secure, locked area. They can arrange for caregivers, who are limited to five patients each, to grow plants for them.
Schuette issued an attorney general's opinion Tuesday that he said is aimed at making clear that each patient's plants must be grown and maintained in a separate, enclosed and locked facility.
The state has issued more than 80,000 patient registrations since the program began."
http://michiganmessenger.com/50369/...al-says-pot-dispensaries-illegal-in-the-state Bill Schuette, the Republican Attorney General and strong opponent of medical marijuana, issued an opinion on Tuesday that, in effect, makes medical marijuana dispensaries illegal in the state.
The opinion says there are only two ways patients can get their medication — they can either grow themselves or they can get it from a registered care giver. The ruling eliminates patient to patient transfers as well as marijuana dispensaries. Under the ruling, Schuette says that care givers are required to have a locked enclosed location for each separate patient they are growing for.
This interpretation is consistent with the plain language of the MMMA, and accords with basic principles of statutory construction that require this office to discern the intent of a statute from its language, and to forgo reading anything into a statute that is not within the intent of its drafters.8 Moreover, this construction ensures that the twelve-plant-per patient maximum is followed. It also protects against unauthorized access to marihuana plants because, at any given time, there is only one person responsible and accountable for a patient’s plants. The plain language of the MMMA thus prohibits the joint cooperative cultivating or sharing of marihuana plants because only the individual authorized to cultivate the marihuana plants, either the registered patient or the patient’s registered primary caregiver, may have access to the enclosed, locked facility housing the marihuana plants intended for the individual patient’s use.
It is my opinion, therefore, that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Initiated Law 1 of 2008, MCL 333.26421 et seq, prohibits the joint cooperative cultivation or sharing of marihuana plants because each patient’s plants must be grown and maintained in a separate enclosed, locked facility that is only accessible to the registered patient or the patient’s registered primary caregiver.
Under the ruling, if a person is providing medical marijuana to four patients, that care giver is required to have four separate growing locations that are locked and enclosed and only accessible by that care giver. Each growing location can contain up to 12 marijuana plants.It is my opinion, therefore, that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Initiated Law 1 of 2008, MCL 333.26421 et seq, prohibits the joint cooperative cultivation or sharing of marihuana plants because each patient’s plants must be grown and maintained in a separate enclosed, locked facility that is only accessible to the registered patient or the patient’s registered primary caregiver.
Meanwhile, patients are required to have an enclosed, locked facility where the growing occurs. They can have 12 plants, but as with the care giver, the location can only be accessible by the patient.
An Attorney General opinion has the force of law, until and unless it is overturned by the courts.
