The War on Medical Marijuana in MI Super Thread, NEWS,BUST,LAWS <<<<Updated Often>>>>

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Keep your paper work straight and stick with your numbers!!

Troy police find multiple violations in medical marijuana grow ops
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Troy police investigated two medical marijuana grow operations in July. (Photo courtesy of Troy Police Department)
POSTED: 07/28/14, 8:59 AM EDT |

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Troy police found multiple violations at two medical marijuana grow operations earlier this month.





Police found a grow operation on the 1000 block of E. Square Lake Rd. following a roof fire. The Troy Fire Department investigated and discovered faulty wiring with indications of a marijuana grow operation including multiple air conditioners and marijuana odor. Troy police found 68 marijuana plants in the basement and 31 grams of dried marijuana. The resident was in violation of state requirements limiting the amount of plants a patient could keep.





A second operation was found at a residence on the 3000 block of John R where Troy police on patrol received a tip of a possible grow operation. Officers found boarded up windows, multiple air conditioners and noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the residence. The resident showed police his medical marijuana caregiver paperwork from the state, which a follow-up from Troy investigators determined to be improper and non-compliant with the Medical Marijuana Act. Investigators then seized 48 large marijuana plants and nearly 800 grams of marijuana along with grow equipment.





—Staff writer Andrew Kidd
 
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Jailed Muskegon medical-marijuana advocates file civil-rights lawsuit against drug officers

MUSKEGON, MI – Muskegon medical-marijuana advocatesDerek Antol and Samantha Conklin have filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit, alleging drug-enforcement officers conducted unlawful searches and seizures July 9 of their homes and businesses and a "false arrest" of Antol's 12-year-old son before one of the searches.
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Derek AntolMuskegon County jail

Antol, 36, and Conklin, 24, were arrested Thursday, July 24, and charged with felonies for allegedly violating Michigan's medical marijuana law. Both remained in the Muskegon County Jail Monday, July 28, with cash or surety bond set at $100,000 for Antol and $50,000 for Conklin. Prosecutors said seven other people associated with Antol and Conklin also were being charged with felonies.

Antol's and Conklin's criminal attorney, Kevin Wistrom, on Friday said Antol and Conklin broke no laws. The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office alleges that they and the other defendants did. According to the arrest warrants, the investigation by the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a multi-agency task force led by the Michigan State Police, dated back to 2010.

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Samantha ConklinMuskegon County Jail
Antol runs Deuces Wild Smoke Shop at 885 E. Apple Ave. in Muskegon and is a medical-marijuana cardholder. Conklin is a licensed caregiver authorized to dispense medical marijuana to patients.

Their civil-rights lawsuit filed Monday, July 28, alleges that eight drug-enforcement officers violated Antol's and Conklin's Fourth Amendment constitutional rights against unreasonable and unlawful searches and seizures, as well as Antol's son's right not to be falsely arrested.

The lawsuit contends that:

  • Drug-enforcement officers, accompanied by a Michigan Treasury agent claiming to be with a tobacco tax team, on July 9 entered Deuces Wild Smoke Smoke Shop. The officers allegedly demanded entry to a locked, separate business entity in the same building in which Conklin dispensed medical marijuana to patients, then unlawfully entered those premises without a search warrant after she refused to consent. There they "observed medical marijuana which was lawfully possessed under state law," according to the lawsuit.
  • After Antol showed up at 885 E. Apple, he told officers his Deuces Wild business was separate from the medical-marijuana entity in the same building. He also told them of two homes he was purchasing on land contract, one of them with Conklin.
  • Based on the marijuana observed at 885 E. Apple, officers prepared an affidavit for a search warrant at all three locations, failing to disclose in the affidavit that there were two separate business entities at 885 E. Apple. A court magistrate authorized a search warrant for all three addresses based on this affidavit.
  • The allegedly unlawful entry into the medical-marijuana business entity was unreasonable, violated Conklin's right to privacy and caused her "significant emotional distress due to being unable to provide her patients with relief from the pain, suffering, and debilitating medical conditions." Antol, the lawsuit says, suffered emotional distress and "interruption to his normal business operations."
  • Police at the Apple Avenue address seized surveillance equipment, cash register receipts, $124 cash, a computer and two cell phones from Antol as well as $1,160 cash, a cell phone and a 9-mm pistol from Conklin.
  • Police then, based on the allegedly invalid search warrants, searched Antol's home on North Green Creek Road in Laketon Township allegedly without probable cause, violating the constitutional privacy rights of Antol and two children present, damaging a closet door and seizing $19,209 cash from Antol and $1,409 from his 12-year-old son.
  • Police also searched the other residence on Farr Road allegedly without a valid cause, seizing scales, W-2 forms, a revolver, a heating pad and miscellaneous containers belonging to Conklin.
  • During the search of the Green Creek Road home, Antol's 12-year-old son was allegedly ordered from his bedroom at gunpoint and detained while officers waited for the search warrant to arrive, all allegedly without probable cause. That, the lawsuit alleges, was a violation of the boy's Fourth Amendment rights and of state law and caused him "humiliation, anxiety and loss of liberty."
The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in damages from each of the eight defendants.

WEMET officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/07/jailed_muskegon_medical-mariju.html
 
ohthatguy8

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Wow I thought that was so absurd that it couldn't be the case anywhere. gotta love ignorant laws. As I'm typing this I'm reminded of dry counties in the bible belt. Speaking of I saw that there is a "dry" marijuana town in co.
...then you'd be in Utah.

Now that's a state we should emulate. lol
 
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Thursday, July 31, 2014

November 4, 2014 will be a big night in Michigan for Cannabis and Freedom! We will sit and watch the returns come in from so many Michigan cities, big and small, rich and poor, urban and rural, Republican and Democrat. All sorts of voters will show that they are American patriots with both brains and compassion; they understand finally that cannabis prohibition is cruel, ridiculous, and ultimately dangerous. It’s dangerous because pot law enforcement constantly pulls law enforcement resources away from solving or preventing real crimes that have victims.
Petition signatures were due in the offices of city clerk’s July 29. Soon we will know how many of the cities qualified to have marijuana law reform proposals on their ballots November 4. At the least we will have a dozen and at best all nineteen! Credit goes to the heroic local leaders who have done the very hard work of gathering signatures, and to the very generous activists who gave hard earned money to the Safer Michigan Coalition fundraiser on June 5.
The Safer Michigan Coalition has given cash to pay for signatures or have petitions created to local campaigns in E. Lansing, Port Huron, Mount Pleasant, Gross Pointe Park, Frankfort, and Keego Harbor (as well as Marquette in the UP – I have no idea what they are doing there).
“Superactivists” Andrew Cissell and Debra Young worked for long hours every day gathering signatures. They put 5 cities on the ballot by themselves! This level of commitment is astounding and unprecedented, proving that Andrew is a dynamic and effective candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives. They worked so fast that two of their cities, Oak Park and Hazel Park, are qualified to be on the August 5 primary election ballot! Hopefully this will provide two separate “news cycles” of media covering cannabis law reform victories in Michigan.
Oak Park city hall decided to ignore the crystal clear laws governing local initiatives and refuse to allow our issue on its August ballot. We couldn’t allow this to happen because if we let one city play illegal games with us a bunch of other cities might try something. We could not be vulnerable and weak. We hired Mark Brewer, the former head of the Michigan Democratic Party, as our attorney. Mr. Brewer knows election law. Oak Park immediately changed their minds after a visit with a judge. I doubt that other Michigan cities will ignore the law now, but our bill was more than $6000. We will be forever grateful to MMM Report for paying a major portion of this necessary attorney bill!
Nearly all of the 2014 Michigan cities are using the “legalization by exemption” petition that was perfected by Safer Michigan Coalition chairman Tim Beck. Tim defended it all the way through the Michigan Supreme Court (financed out of his own pocket). This little nugget of legal jujitsu leaves all the marijuana laws of a city in place except that an adult possessing less than one ounce of cannabis on private property not frequented by the public (or transporting such an amount of pot) is exempted from the provisions of the city marijuana law. I remember explaining to Tim that he could never get this petition approved, but he did. So, these cities are voting on “legalization” of a sort – and so far cities have all voted yes!
We will win every election that we contest, but overconfidence or boasting is the true kiss of death. We appeal to the head and the heart. We praise the voters, (who are the last line of defense for democracy), for their wisdom, compassion, and patriotism. We never “tell” voters how to vote, or “assume” victory. We are working hard to give some city voters a voice on a policy which directly affects the safety and the “fairness” of every community. We are very humbly asking the voters to consider our position – that cannabis is not really harmful but cannabis prohibition is harmful indeed. An American is arrested for pot every 42 seconds, and their lives may be brutally affected – no education loans, no good job, no public housing, maybe no voting or driver’s license; or you can lose custody of your child; possibly after giving birth in a hospital.
 
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18 Michigan Cities File Marijuana Law Reform Petitions, or Who says pot makes you lazy?




by Rick Thompson/The Compassion Chronicles

August 1, 2014

ANN ARBOR- Marijuana rights advocates in 18 cities have made the deadline to submit petitions to place various pot proposals on this year’s ballot. The vast majority of the proposals: legalization of adult use and possession of cannabis, either one ounce or two and one-half ounces per person.

During the last decade voters in Michigan cities have approved local marijuana law reform every single time it has been offered to them- 14 straight victories. In one single year that number will likely more than double.

A broad cross section of Michigan communities are represented in the 2014 grouping, from urban centers like Saginaw and Portage to tiny towns like Harrison and Onaway. Two of the cities submitted petitions early and will feature the question on their primary ballots in an election taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 5; the other qualifying cities will have their issues decided during the November general election.

How many of these ‘Sweet Sixteen’ will make it to the ballot is not clear. Many have already had their signatures verified and have their place secure, but cities have up to 45 days to complete their petition verification process. Two cities who seem to be dragging their feet: Saginaw and East Lansing, according to Tim Beck of the Safer Michigan Coalition.

Beck spoke about the local ballot efforts during a broadcast of the Planet Green Trees Radio Show on July 31 as he and Chuck Ream, co-founder of Safer Michigan, appeared with Debra Young as phone-in guests.



“We’ve been getting threatening noises out of Saginaw,” Beck said, indicating that the Safer Michigan group “may have to litigate.”

Ream discussed difficulties with East Lansing. “They are not very cuddly, either,” he revealed. “They are going to be going back to the little forms that you file when you register to vote to see if the signatures are the same.”

Safer Michigan has sponsored or supported nearly all of the efforts in 2014- and those successful efforts from the past decade, too.

Young is an organizer who led several successful petition drives in Oakland County, including swanky Pleasant Ridge and both of the August primary cities, Oak Park and Hazel Park. All told, six different cities in that single county could elect to legalize the possession and use of marijuana by adults. Oakland County community Ferndale did the same thing in 2013.

Although six legalization drives in one county is a remarkable thing in itself, Oakland County is well known as the toughest county in the state for marijuana patients, caregivers and businesses. They prosecuted Bob Redden and Tori Clark for four years, starting in 2009, over suspected violations of the then-new Michigan Medical Mariihuana Act, eventually ending the charade by offering up a misdemeanor charge. Redden is 73 years old. They prosecuted Barb Agro, a grandmother, because of her affiliation with a medical marijuana distribution center. Her raid came in 2010 and the case is still ongoing. Her beloved husband, Sal, died of a heart attack just a short time after the stressful and excessive raids on his home and the homes of his children.

It’s not just Oakland County government that has been obstructive to businesses- including raids on Clinical Relief, Big Daddy’s and Everybody’s Cafe- but individual cities in the county are trying to resist change, too. One of those cities, Oak Park, refused to place the legalization issue on the August primary ballot, claiming they could wait until November’s election to put the issue before the voters.

“It was an invitation to a lawsuit,” Beck recalled. Oak Park was sued, they lost, and the issue will be voted on during the primary election.

That pattern of obstruction is being practiced in other cities, too. Onaway, with a population of only 880, may try to resist their requirement to place the issue before the voters and have convened a special meeting on August 4, according to Brad Forrester of the Safer Onaway Coalition. They too may try to cite the obscure and already-defeated notion that approval from the state’s A.G. is needed to proceed with the ballot question. Other cities may try this, too, as they have no other legal recourse to prevent the people from deciding for themselves about marijuana.

Not all communities have been combative. “The clerk worked right along with them in Mount Pleasant,” Ream praised. “It was great in Mount Pleasant.” The clerk in Clare informed the petitioning crew that they were 1.1 signatures short- an odd number, but one that was easily overcome. France Bunche had a similar story of cheer and cooperation in Montrose, and Young described positive interactions she’d had with cities on the radio broadcast.

Michigan cities that have already confirmed the marijuana issues will appear on their November ballot: Lapeer, Clare, Harrison, Mt. Pleasant, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Montrose, Keego Harbor, Pleasant Ridge.

Cities whose petition crews have submitted signatures to, but have not yet confirmed the petitions: Port Huron (anticipated approval), Utica (anticipated approval), Frankfort, Onaway, Portage, Saginaw and East Lansing.
 
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Large police presence on West River Drive in Kent County
POSTED 12:15 PM, AUGUST 4, 2014, BY AGILLFILLAN
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PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Numerous Michigan State Police cruisers surrounded a Kent County home Monday.

We are told troopers with the Metropolitan Enforcement Team are executing a search warrant around at the home in the 5000 block of West River Drive.

Investigators are not releasing any other details at this time.

We’ll bring you more information as soon as it becomes available.
 
oscar169

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14,000+ marijuana plants found in armed West Michigan camp

AN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. – Michigan State Police are searching for the suspects tied to a large grow operation in an armed camp in Covert Township.

The following is a news release sent by Michigan State Police:
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On 07/29/2014 Southwest Enforcement Team received a tip on a marijuana grow in Covert Twp, Van Buren County. The ensuing investigations lead officers to an armed camp in a secluded area of the Township. Officers observed two, armed, Hispanic males, tending to a very large outdoor marijuana grow on public lands. When officers made contact two suspects fled into the heavy underbrush. Police K-9 units tracked the individuals through dense underbrush and woods for several miles to a location off of County Rd 376 where they believe they may have been transported out of the area by accomplices. Officers secured the marijuana grow and found 14,860 well-tended marijuana plants, a long term encampment and long guns dropped by the fleeing suspects.

Authorities are requesting that anyone who may have seen someone being picked up from County Rd 376 at 196 area of Van Buren County on 08-02-2014 to contact SWET at 269-982-8664 and leave a message.

The Southwest Enforcement Team (SWET) is a Michigan State Police supervised multi-jurisdictional criminal investigation team comprised of detectives from local agencies and the Michigan State Police. The agencies contributing detectives to SWET are the South Haven Police Department, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department, the Kalamazoo Township Police Department, the Marshall Police Department, the Barry County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police. SWET was assisted by Michigan State Police Fifth District Headquarters, MSP Aviation Section, MSP Special Operations, WEMET and South Haven Police Department.

http://fox17online.com/2014/08/05/14000-marijuana-plants-found-in-armed-west-michigan-camp/
 
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Voters in Oak Park, Hazel Park legalize recreational use of marijuana
by Marijuana In The Mitten on August 6, 2014 in News
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    Voters in Oak Park and Hazel Park approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use Tuesday, joining eight other Michigan communities that have already decriminalized small amounts of pot.

    The measure passed easily in Hazel Park with about 62% of the vote. In Oak Park, the vote was approved with 53% of the vote.

    The measure allows for people 21 years and older to use or possess up to 1 ounce of pot on private property.

    Other Michigan communities that have decriminalized marijuana are Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Lansing, Ferndale, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti.

    Advocates hope to trigger ballot proposals in 12 Michigan communities this year.

    While decriminalization is a step forward, it’s far from a perfect safeguard for pot users. For one, it doesn’t prevent law enforcement from enforcing state and federal laws that still ban pot. And police in some communities just ignore the new ordinances, saying state law trumps local law.
 
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Detroit police continue probe into possible wrongdoing within Narcotics Division

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Detroit's new Public Safety Headquarters opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Mayor Bing Friday morning, June 27. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)
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By Gus Burns | [email protected]
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on June 07, 2014 at 7:30 AM, updated June 07, 2014 at 7:31 AM

DETROIT, MI -- Detroit Police Internal Affairs officers are scrutinizing the department's Narcotics Division for potential wrongdoing, the details of which officials are not yet disclosing.

"There is an ongoing investigation going on as of right now," Detroit Police Officer Adam Madera of the Public Information Office confirmed Friday.

He wouldn't provide details but said the Department is "trying to come to a speedy conclusion."

The unit has undergone a heavy dose of restructuring since Detroit Police Chief James Craig took the helm last summer, but according to Madera, the changes are not a result of the investigation.

George Hunter of the Detroit News reports, based on information from a reliable but unnamed police source, that "large quantities of drugs that hadn’t been logged were found inside desk drawers and lying out in the open, rather than being tagged and stored properly."

Detroit police keep their seized drugs at a station on Dexter on Detroit's west side.
 
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http://demo.piadvance.com/2014/08/proposed-marijuana-amendment-likely-headed-to-ballot/

Proposed marijuana amendment likely headed to ballot
Editor | August 7, 2014
by Peter Jakey-Managing Editor

Members of the Onaway City Commission received a copy of a proposed marijuana charter amendment initiated by a citizen petition drive.

Ron Langworthy was the circulator of the petitions and there were sufficient valid signatures to have the measure move forward.

The amendment proposed would add Section 2.14, entitled “Marijuana” to read “nothing in the code of ordinances shall apply to the use, possession or transfer of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property, or transportation of less than one ounce of marijuana, by a person who has attained the age of 21 years.”

City attorney Mike Vogler told the commission the ballot language would be sent to the governor’s office and then forwarded to the state attorney general’s office where the language will be opposed because the state prohibits recreational marijuana; however, it still will end up on the November ballot.

In Hefele’s manager’s report, he stated, “My position is not for, or against marijuana. I simply do not support language that is this specific in the charter on any topic, as things change over time and things like this can present problems to future commissions.”

There was no vote on the language, but it was sent on to Lansing.

If the ballot question passes in November, commissioner Bernie Schmeltzer believes it would still be illegal to use recreational marijuana. “It’s against federal and state law,” he said. “How can you vote on something that is illegal? That would be my question. The law still can be enforced and people could still could be ticketed or fined. You can’t trump state law.”

The group organizing the amendment plans a future public meeting to present more information about the measure.

In another somewhat related matter, Hefele reported on the possibility of a medical marijuana provisioning center opening in town.

Hefele said he and Vogler have been in conversations with people/groups about this for a few months,

The state is in the process of considering House Bill 4271, which would allow the facilities in Michigan, but has not been passed by the senate or signed by the governor.

Hefele told the commission that he heard late last week that a facility may open within “a week or so, with or without zoning clearance,” which could be in violation of state law or a zoning violation.

The city manager said he has received calls from people in the community upset that one could possibly open in Onaway. Hefele would like to conduct a public hearing to hear all sides of the issue.
 
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and then forwarded to the state attorney general’s office where the language will be opposed because the state prohibits recreational marijuana; however, it still will end up on the November ballot.:D
Fuck Bill...:finger:
MMMA rally1
 
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Detroit cops busted stealing evidence from marijuana dispensary
by Marijuana In The Mitten on August 8, 2014 in News
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    Six Detroit police officers are accused of stealing evidence from a medical marijuana dispensary, prompting an internal investigation of the city’s troubled narcotics section.

    One sergeant and five officers have been removed from the narcotics unit after surveillance video at a west-side dispensary captured the cops seizing a box and never logging it as evidence.

    It’s a common complaint from Detroit dispensaries, which have been under attack since the arrival of Chief James Craig last year. At least seven dispensaries have been raided and the evidence and cash taken by police, but none of the cases resulted in charges.

    It’s unclear why Chief Craig is using limited police resources to bust dispensaries, especially since cops are unable to respond timely to violent crimes.

    His office declined to discuss the case.

    RELATED: Detroit police shoot three dogs during pot raid

    Internal Affairs is investigating the narcotics section, which was disbanded last month and replaced with another unit. Earlier this year, Detroit police were accused of stealing drug evidence and TVs from the narcotics section.

    Remember when a Dearborn cop ate too much pot evidence and thought he was going to die in 2007?
It never gets old! ^^^^^^
 
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Michigan Marijuana Community Fights For Their Rights
Posted by Rick Thompson at 7:27 AM on August 12, 2014Medical Marijuana Policy


The days when police and government agencies could take advantage of medical marijuana patients or advocates for adult use of cannabis without fear of retribution are almost over. The Great Lakes State is full of stories featuring an organized community or empowered individuals who understand the law and insist on it’s fair application.

From Lake to Lake to Lake, Michigan sees advances in marijuana liberation almost every day. Not all of these stories will have a happy ending but each time we stand up, prohibition takes a seat. Point by point, we will win.

POINT: You can’t stop the unstoppable

When marijuana law reform comes to your town, embrace it or be trod under. The city of Oak Park tried to confound legalization advocates earlier this year when they tried to slow down the rate of change. Petitioners had submitted enough petition signatures to qualify to put the effort before the voters, and they did it early enough to make it on the August primary ballot.

Oak Park didn’t like that and tried to bump the vote to the November general election. A lawsuit ensued and the city lost; marijuana law reform advocates were victorious. The issue was offered in August and it passed with a 53% YES vote. Neighboring city Hazel park did the same thing, without all the drama, and their vote was over 60%.

If everyone learned their lesson and stopped trying to interfere with an activist community that knows how to bring out the big guns, the story would end there. Not so, unfortunately. Officials in Saginaw announced they were trying to halt the process in their city by waiting on an approval letter from the Attorney General, a letter that they knew would never come. Armed with the ruling in Oak Park, and the Michigan Supreme Court ruling from a 2010 marijuana legalization case in Detroit, petitioners stood ready to mount another legal defense.

Saginaw relented, the threat subsided and the issue will appear on their ballot in November. Other misunderstandings have presented themselves: the swanky city of Grosse Pointe Park used a typographical error to disqualify this year’s petition drive for legalization, and Oak Park officials still believe their election results cannot be certified by the Governor because of the marijuana question appearing on their ballot. The Oak Park issue is especially confusing since there are eight cities that have already performed similar votes and approvals in Michigan.

POINT: Toss the whole lot of ‘em out

In Lapeer County they’ve had an up-and-down battle with medical marijuana. One of the first dispensaries in the state opened in 2010 in a small town called Dryden; the Village Council created an ordinance allowing the business to set up and welcomed them to the community. That facility was eventually raided later in 2010, and was eventually shuttered, by the actions of an outside entity, the Lapeer County Sheriff Department, under shady pretense and using small-town methods of law enforcement.

Questions arose regarding the search warrant used, the methods involved during the raid and the investigation afterwards. During a subsequent raid on the same facility one of the investigators, while scanning the private and personal medical date from dozens of patients, famously said to a camera that “patient records make good intel.” Lawyers for the defense challenged the integrity of the officers involved and the honesty of the warrant involved. Some of the people associated with that business were harasses for a long time after the dispensary case was resolved, including Jamie Fricke.

Fast-forward a few years. One of those defense attorneys has become the County Prosecutor and he had to decide to either drop or pursue a marijuana case involving Fricke and one of the original officers involved in the Dryden event, an individual who the now-Prosecutor has accused of deception, prejudice and improper conduct. Instead of tossing out the case with the defective cop he chose to push the prosecution, which brought the wrath of the justice system down upon his head.

Defense attorneys filed to have the prosecutor recused from the case for bias; a local judge agreed and tossed not only the prosecutor but his entire department, then instructed the state to assign a new team of lawyers to re-evaluate the merits of the case against Fricke. One woman and her attorney defeat an entire county.

POINT: Conduct raids appropriately

When police conduct raids they have rules. When they fail to follow those rules,there are consequences, up to an including dismissal of the case. That’s the point being made by Southfield attorney Neil Rockind and others as they defend a trio of men accused of growing marijuana.

The raid was conducted by local agents acting under federal authority as part of a DEA taskforce, per court testimony. Those agents felt no need to take into evidence any evidence confirming the men’s status as registered participants in the state medical marijuana program. A smart move, federally, because federal courts don’t have to recognize state-legal marijuana use as anything other than illegal drug activity.

Unfortunately for the agents, this case bounced back into the state court system so the absence of those medical marijuana documents is a crushing omission in evidence. Rockind has filed documents to force the dismissal of the case. Only when the cloak of federal blindness is removed and the full facts are known can patients be given a fair shot at justice.

POINT: Bad Laws can be ignored by the courts

When the highly controversial package of legislation known as the Walsh Bills was passed in Michigan it was during a lame duck session of the legislature at the end of 2012, at the eleventh hour, in the wee hours of the morning and over the opposition of most medical marijuana patients. Those bills made numerous changes to the laws directly governing or also affecting those patients, the way they are certified and their behavior.

One of the most radical changes came in the way medical marijuana- in fact, all marijuana- can be legally transported. The new ruling requires marijuana to be carries in a container in the trunk of the vehicle, or in a place inaccessible to the passenger compartment of the car if no trunk is available. Because the bill’s sponsors wanted to cast a wide net- making new offenses for patients and non-patients both- the change was made to the laws regarding driving and safety instead of amending the MMA itself.

Patient behavior is controlled by the language of the MMA, and there is a supremacy clause that protects patients from having their protections stripped away by end-around efforts like the Walsh Bills proposed. The changes took place in the first half of 2013, and one year later some jurisdictions in Michigan are refusing to honor the ‘transportation law’. Attorneys Michael Komorn, John Targowski and Daniel Grow have all discussed venues in the state where tickets are not issued and charges are not filed for violations.

Why the non-participation by the courts in a state-wide law? Because judges and prosecutors feel the law “was derived in an unconstitutional manner,” said Komorn during a recent broadcast of the Planet Green Trees Radio Show, a Michigan-based news and talk show that recently celebrated their four-year anniversary.

POINT: Activists suing from their jail cells

Derek Antol was one of nine people arrested in July in Muskegon for activities in the building shared by the Deuce’s Wild Smoke Shop. He and Samantha Conklin were charged with manufacture and delivery of marijuana in an investigation that dates back to 2010; the other six face lesser but serious charges.

They are fighting back, specifically with a federal civil rights lawsuit that argues “eight drug-enforcement officers violated Antol’s and Conklin’s Fourth Amendment constitutional rights against unreasonable and unlawful searches and seizures, as well as Antol’s son’s right not to be falsely arrested,” per John S. Hausman, writing on the MLive network. Antol’s 12-year old son was held ordered out of bed and away at gunpoint and was detained by officers in the raid, per the suit.

I’s not the first time that Antol and Conklin, activists in the medical marijuana community on the west side of Michigan, have been targeted by law enforcement for action; in 2011 they were targeted by police because their vehicle had “tinted windows,” and their medical marijuana was seized. That action sparked a pro-marijuana rally at Muskegon City Hall.

The two were arrested on July 24th, a Thursday; by Monday, July 28 the lawsuit was in place, filed while the two were behind bars. Antol’s bail was set of $100,000; Conklin, $50,000. Both are free now and the lawsuit moves forward.
 
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Michigan: marijuana legalization’s new battleground
13 Aug, 2014



More than a dozen Michigan cities qualify to place full legalization of marijuana before their voters in November- a record


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Debra Young (L) of Safer Oak Park in Ferndale after marijuana legalization votes, August 2014

by Rick Thompson, The Compassion Chronicles/August 13, 2014

FLINT- America will see 17 votes for marijuana legalization during the 2014 general election in November: the states of Oregon and Alaska, the District of Columbia, and 14 individual cities in Michigan.

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August 12 was the deadline date for those Michigan cities to confirm the ballot proposal language for the November ballot. All 14 cities agreed to put the issue before the voters, but one city- Montrose- will refrain from forwarding their ballot proposal to the County Clerk until after a meeting of the Council on Thursday evening, August 14.

Although that delay could force petitioners to engage in legal action to secure the issue on the Montrose election ballot, observers believe the process will be complete without court appearances.

“We are very excited,” said Chuck Ream, co-founder of the Safer Michigan Coalition (SMC) and this year’s recipient of the High Times Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award. SMC has sponsored or been involved in each of 2014′s successful ballot proposals.

Two votes have already been taken in Michigan this year and in both cases, marijuana legalization won. Voters in the the twin Oakland County cities of Oak Park (53% approval) and Hazel Park (63% approval) cast their votes during the August primary election.

Those dual victories raise the total of Michigan’s successful local marijuana law reform measures to a perfect 16 – 0 in the last decade. The state could nearly double that number in November; along with the 14 legalization issues, one city- tiny Utica- will vote on a Lowest Law Enforcement Priority measure to support marijuana users, too.

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Tim Beck (r) and former Ferndale mayor Craig Covey celebrate victories in Hazel and Oak Parks, August 2014

Currently, 1.3 million Michigan citizens live in cities with legalized or decriminalized marijuana laws. Should the 14 proposals all be approved this year, which is expected, that number will grow by 200,000.

In each of the 14 local elections the proposals would allow use, possession and transfer of marijuana by all adults 21 and over on private property. Most cities allow a one ounce possession limit; in Harrison and Clare activists made the quantity match the legal limit for the state’s medical marijuana patient population, which is 2.5 ounces.

Cities that did qualify to appear on the November ballot: Saginaw, East Lansing, Port Huron, Mt. Pleasant, Berkley, Lapeer, Huntington Woods, Clare, Keego Harbor, Pleasant Ridge, Harrison, Montrose, Frankfort and Onaway.

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Earlier this year petitioners from the Safer Michigan Coalition had to sue Oak Park to place the issue on the August ballot. Michigan citizens derive the ability for the petition process from the Michigan Home Cities Rule Act, part of which reads that the Governor and Attorney General have to approve ballot proposals. That language stands in conflict with specific election law that states if petitions are collected and signatures are verified, the issue MUST be placed before the voters. East Lansing officials are dragging their feet in the delivery of an official approval, but they too will have to comply with election law or face attorneys and the media.

Cities that try to use the Act to refuse ballot proposals have lost those battles in the past. The state capital, Lansing, legalized marijuana last year over the objections of both the AG and Governor. Each submitted a letter reiterating their objections while admitting their impotence to halt the flow of the balloting process. Similar letters were sent this year to cities that requested guidance. “Cities are getting the message- you can’t interrupt the process,” Ream explained.

Although inconvenient and expensive, the 2014 Oak Park lawsuit probably deterred other cities from using similar stalling tactics. Others have tried, too. Saginaw, East Lansing and Clare have all made noise about needing a letter from state officials approving the ballot question before they can allow votes to be cast.

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Greg Pawlowski (R) of Michigan ASA and Marvin Surowitz after legalization passes in two Michigan cities, August 2014

None of those cities were successful in stopping their ballot proposals but other cities were. Ritzy Grosse Pointe Park rejected hundreds of signatures because of a typo on the petition, and an attempt to legalize an entire county- a state first- was unsuccessful due to legal challenges mounted by the Benzie County authorities. Portage collected thousands of signatures, but many were rejected and the effort fell short by a few hundred. Both Portage and Grosse Pointe Park will use their collected signatures to launch legalization campaigns in 2015.

“Michigan is the new battleground for marijuana legalization in America,” said Jamie Lowell, Chair of the Michigan chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “It’s becoming increasingly obvious that in Michigan, the only way to fully protect medical marijuana patients is to make cannabis use legal for all adults.”
 
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The front lines of the medical marijuana fight

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SIDNEY TWP, Mich. – “The governor is gonna get this bill – I’m pretty sure.”

Those are the words of David Overholt.

He’s in charge of Mid-Michigan Compassion Club, a network of medical marijuana caregivers.

He’s also become somewhat of a lobbyist as state lawmakers consider changes to Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Act.

While the measures fall far short of legalization, the bills would remove some red tape caregivers say is hurting their business and their patients.

In addition to his work as a caregiver, Overholt is a military veteran and a soybean and corn farmer for 20 years on his land in rural Montcalm County.

He also grows medical marijuana, which he was turned on to after becoming addicted to pain pills.
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Overholt suffers from chronic back pain, so he is both a caregiver and a patient.

It’s not just those suffering chronic pain, minors – even children – are seeing the benefits.

“We have a handful, about 10 minor patients; four of them are under 5 years old,” said Paul Farage, operations director with the Society of Healing Arts Institute. “These are kids who have suffered from either epilepsy or a condition in which the drugs they are taking are so harmful they are causing more harm to the child than the condition itself.”

On Thursday, Overholt invited FOX 17 to see his indoor and outdoor grow operations in Sidney Township where he can grow up to 72 plants: 12 for each of his five patients and 12 for himself.

Overholt has been the primary face of the dispensary movement in Michigan.

In March of 2013, Overholt’s Mid-Michigan Compassion Club in Grand Rapids was raided by police and later shutdown.

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He is still fighting the issue in court.

“I’ve had to take and appeal that to the Supreme Court and ask the Supreme Court to kick it back to the Appeals Court and make them hear it,” said Overholt. “What I would prefer is just send it back to Grand Rapids.”

“At any time you’re licensed for 72 plants, you can have them on possession at any time, as long as you’re with cards and legal patients by the state of Michigan,” Overholt said. “Any numbers above, you break the law.”

As law stands today, Overholt can only provide pot pills and smokeable marijuana to his patients. That’s among the reasons why he says it’s so important to legalize edibles.

“For one thing, it will put prospective oils and baked good into play,” said Overholt. “You will now be allowed to have and possess brownies and candy and the basic oil itself.”

“It will give municipalities and townships and cities the privilege of allowing, or not allowing, a dispensary,” Overholt said.

Overholt’s personal grow operation is a massive and expensive undertaking.

Just to get a grow room up and running costs about $15,000 for the lighting, watering and ventilation systems.

“Basically, the people I’m dealing with are all sick people,” Overholt explained. “So, if the insurance companies aren’t allowing payment in a normal manner, like in pharmacies, this burden falls on the patient. I have to get as efficient as I can to bring down my costs in order to make this work for everybody.”
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It’s not uncommon for Overholt to get an electric bill for $2,000, or more. He also spends about $900 for three months-worth of fertilizers and organic growing aids, and another $2,000 for new soil each year. You can also add another $3,000 per month in labor costs.

Here’s what state lawmakers are now considering:

One bill would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to set up shop in municipalities that allow them, but it does put restrictions in place:

  1. Dispensaries could not be within 1,000 feet of a school
  2. They can’t sell marijuana that hasn’t been tested for mold and other impurities
  3. Dispensaries wouldn’t be allowed to hire anyone 21-years of age or younger
  4. They also could not hire someone who has a felony conviction for illegal drugs within the past 10 years.
  5. The dispensaries cannot share a space with a physician or allow doctors to advertise in the shop.
A second measure would allow medical pot patients to use edibles, meaning they would not have to smoke marijuana to feel its effects.

It also requires pot products be specifically labeled.

These measures have already passed the state House and are now heading to the Senate floor where they could be amended.

Back in Montcalm County, that has caregivers and pot activists like Overholt and others lobbying lawmakers about pot’s potential benefits.
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“We had one woman crying, saying she wishes her daughter would die, just so she doesn’t have to suffer anymore,” said Farage. “In every single case of these kids, they have gone through the system, seen their doctors and come with a book of medical records – literally – and this is their last option.”

Overholt is getting ready to welcome lawmakers and their aides from across Michigan on Sept. 6to his farm to get a firsthand look at his operation and to explain to them the benefits of legal dispensaries and edible medical marijuana.
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The community of Sheridan is already seeing some benefits to the medical marijuana industry. Overholt brought together members of the community, raising more than $20,000 to purchase a truck for the local fire department.


http://fox17online.com/2014/08/28/the-front-lines-of-the-medical-marijuana-fight/
 
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Muskegon City Commission: Medical marijuana ordinance back on the agenda
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MUSKEGON, MI -- A medical marijuana ordinance that will be taken up again by the Muskegon City Commission this week would ban dispensaries contemplated in proposed state legislation.

The city commission will be asked to take the first of two votes on the ordinance amendment when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23. A second vote may be taken on Oct. 14 if the first vote isn't unanimous or if the commission simply wants a second vote.

The ordinance retains most of the regulations, including licensing of all medical marijuana growers, that were in a proposed amendment the commission discussed in mid-August. City staff pulled that ordinance amendment after learning about House Bill 4271, which proposes rules for "provisioning centers" -- known more widely as dispensaries -- and "safety compliance facilities" that would be required to test provisioning center marijuana.

Such provisioning centers, where medical marijuana could be bought and sold, and compliance facilities are banned under the city's proposed ordinance. City Manager Frank Peterson said if the bill, which passed the House last December, is adopted, the city could later discuss whether and how to license and regulate -- including through zoning -- provisioning centers and compliance facilities.

"We want to make sure we're prepared if that bill passes," Peterson said. "We want protection in place so there isn't a free-for-all."

The proposed amendment would require caregivers -- who can grow up to 72 marijuana plants for patients -- and patients who grow their own marijuana to be licensed by the city. The city is proposing that caregivers would pay a $1,500 licensing fee, and $1,100 annually to renew, while patients would pay $100. Fees will be established by a different resolution separate from the ordinance.

There also would be added fees for required inspections of electrical, plumbing and ventilation systems. The inspections are particularly necessary because of the city's aging housing stock and concern that any added stress on electrical systems placed by a grow operation could cause fires, Peterson said.

City officials have no idea how many approved medical marijuana users and caregivers live in the city. The licensing requirement would at least give the city staff information on where grow operations are being conducted.

Under the city's proposal, the locations where caregivers can cultivate medical marijuana would grow considerably. It allows medical marijuana operations in areas zoned B-2, -3 and -4 business districts; B-5 governmental services; I-1 and -2 industrial; and medical care. The current ordinance restricts them to heavy industrial areas.

While patients would be allowed to grow medical marijuana in residential areas, caregivers would not. The ordinance also requires plants be grown indoors in a locked area.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/09/muskegon_city_commission_medic.html
 
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