Michigan City Ponders Medical Marijuana Business
May 18th, 2009 by Rick
Yet another loophole within the current medical marijuana laws has been addressed, this time in Royal Oaks, Michigan. Mayor Jim Ellison says information is being gathered to draft an ordinance that will allow caregivers to grow medical marijuana for up to five patients.
Apparently zoning has become an issue, none of the dispensaries would be allowed in the central business district, the downtown heart of Royal Oaks, but the caregivers would be permitted to set up their business within the general district business area.
A meeting was held last Tuesday, where various viewpoints were shared. Christe Langdeau, one of the attendees that spoke in favor of the ordinance said:
I’ve had the misfortune to see friends die without medicine, and the only thing that can help them is medical marijuana. [...] Many patients are not able to get out of bed. How can they grow their own?
Only one of the speakers, Richard Kozlowski, was against the ideas of having caregivers be able to run a medical marijuana business:
If the city is going to allow caregivers to grow medical marijuana in the general business district, it should also allow it in the central business district.
Kozlowski was concerned with the fact that the dispensaries would be allowed to be set up near private homes and would become as popular as a drug store and gas station, one on every corner.
Obviously certain aspects of the medical marijuana laws need tweaking but it’s good to see someone taking control. Since it is a state law, the state should have thought about taking care of that when they created the bill that became a law. It’s just another prime example of federal, state and local government always passing the buck.
Michigan Begins Issuing MMJ ID Cards
April 3rd, 2009 by Rick
Ever since Michigan’s Medical Marijuana law went into effect Dec. 4, 2008, there seems to have been confusion among Medical Marijuana patients. Under the law, patients who have a note from their doctor, are allowed to have 12 plants. Unfortunately the police are not on the same page, when it comes to the law.
Police Chief Kevin Sagan said:
The law calls for an ID card. So the letter may not be enough.
The new ID cards, for those patients that have a doctor’s note allowing them to use medical marijuana, are being issued by the Michigan Department of Community Health, beginning Saturday, April 4th. Patients that have the note can then request an application to receive the ID card. Once the application is filed, the MDCH staff has 15 days to issue the ID.
120 people have already contacted the MDCH, asking about the applications and the doctor’s note. Some even thought that the health department would distribute medical marijuana.
Garden State Becomes Slightly Greener
February 25th, 2009 by Perry
The New Jersey Senate approved a medical marijuana bill Monday, making it the 14th state to recognize medical marijuana.
The bill has one more hurdle before the governor would be able to sign it into law — approval in the New Jersey House of Representatives.
The bill’s passage is uncertain in the house because a group of Republican opponents have raised concerns the proposal does not address distribution adequately, and therefore lead to more illegal drug sales. Pro-MMJ advocates declared numbers as high as 86 percent in favor of the bill.
States where medical marijuana is legal are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Only Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Mexico legislatures passed bills to legalize medical marijuana; the other states did so through voter referendum.
Jersey Has a Big Decision to Make
January 28th, 2009 by Perry
The debate is heating up in the Garden State, as to whether New Jersey is ready to become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana. An announcement of the law’s approval by a health committee led to a lengthy editorial condemning the move by a local legislator.
Local health authorities haven’t exactly crystallized the issue either — several health organizations, including the NJSNA, the ANA, and the American College of Physicians, spoke favorably of medical marijuana; while the American Medical Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Cancer Society, are among those that have rejected smoking marijuana as medicine.
Activists however, point to the fact that it took 18 months to get an initiative on the ballot in Michigan, and that they are prepared to entrench themselves for a similar battle for the opportunity in New Jersey.
Michigan Forms Extra-Curricular MMJ Meetings
January 27th, 2009 by Alex
We don’t want to blow up anyone’s spot, but according to CityPulse, M3A (Michigan Medical Marijuana – an umbrella group serving all of MI) cooperatives have begun meeting in libraries and coffee shops around the state.
The groups gather to act as a support mechanism, members exchange ideas and share information about medical marijuana’s cultivation and uses. Here’s a more formal description:
M3A Compassion Clubs are patient support groups. A place for medical marijuana patients, their caregivers and those who care about them to safely meet and offer mutual support — no different than any other condition-based patient support group. Compassion Clubs are sources of information, emotional support and referrals. Things people do as a community.
The M3A makes it clear that anyone looking to score pot from any members will be out of luck — the group acts in accordance with state law, which prohibits publicly smoking marijuana.
Anyone in the Michigan area who is a MMJ user and wants to meet and converse with other patients can go to M3A’s website for times and dates.
The MPP Needs Your Help
January 14th, 2009 by Perry
With plans to expand their agenda after a successful 2008 campaign which brought legal marijuana to three more states, the Marijuana Policy Project is asking for a little help financially.
Recently given a donation-matching offer for up to $2.35 million, the group is asking all of its members to give what it can to get as close to possible to its goal. Last year, the MPP raised $2.49 million, short of its $3 million goal.
Some of the MPP’s goals for 2009:
- Passing medical marijuana bills in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York
- Expanding Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law by allowing for dispensaries
- Building support for medical marijuana legislation in Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, and Massachusetts
- Collecting signatures for a statewide medical marijuana ballot initiative in Arizona
- Building support for medical marijuana in the medical community (MPP has organized more than 8,000 physicians to help persuade more medical organizations to join the dozens that already support medical access to marijuana)
- Passing marijuana decriminalization legislation in Vermont
- Influencing the Obama administration to roll back the federal war on medical marijuana
The group was a big part of campaigns in Michigan and Massachusetts, which had pro-marijuana initiatives pass successfully on each of its ballots.
Click here to donate now and help the MPP’s worthy cause!
Yeah, Next Time Leave That At Home
January 13th, 2009 by Perry
A 19-year-old woman from Berkley was recently arrested after she showed up to 45-A District Court, as a visitor, smelling like (you guessed it,) marijuana. Police officers asked to search the Clinton Township resident shortly after she entered the court.
They found marijuana packaging on her person and then searched her car, where officers found marijuana in her ‘96 Escort. She was arrested without incident and ordered to return to court later in the month. Michigan recently passed a law on the November ballot which legalized medical marijuana in the state. However, it has never been a good idea to show up to court really high with paraphernalia on you.
California Police Dept. Challenging State Laws
December 15th, 2008 by Perry
NORML recently released a letter (.pdf) asking for DEA help in fighting medical marijuana. The letter cites a lengthy presentation by El Cerrito Police Department, which talks at length the dangers posed by selling MMJ in a community.
The letter provides an attitude by the police chiefs association which runs in stark contrast to state law, which has allowed medical marijuana since 1996.
Quoted from the Drug Law Blog:
The purpose of doing this, the letter states, would be to send a strong message to local and county government that ‘medical marijuana’ is not allowed.
Several members of the organization also flew to Michigan, to unsuccessfully campaign for the defeat of Michigan’s medical marijuana initiative.
