Shannon Sterner evicted for using medical marijuana as a patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act
By Michael Komorn
Leoni Township resident, Shannon Sterner, is 25-years-old, and living with pain.
She has tried medications to manage the effects of fibromyalgia and reactive arthritis brought on by an infection–none of which have worked. But for the last nine months she has tried a something new to alleviate the discomfort she experiences as a result of her conditions: marijuana. But just when Sterner believed she had found something to help her live in peace and free of pain, she was evicted from her federally subsidized apartment for using a drug permitted under Michigan’s medical marijuana law.
“They said I violated my lease for having an illegal substance,” said Sterner, who was ordered to vacate her home at Ridgewood Vista Apartments. “For me, I was under the assumption it was legal and I didn’t do anything wrong.”
This incident highlights a sea of confusion with the 2008 Michigan law, in particular, as it relates to conflicts with the federal government which considers marijuana an illegal drug.
Sterner and her attorney, Michigan Medical Marijuana Association President Michael Komorn, contend that she was not breaking the law. However, housing complex managers argue they must comply with federal rules to continue to provide federally subsidized housing.
Gary Offenbacher, executive vice president of Bingham Farms-based Continental Management, which owns Ridgewood Vista, said tenants must keep their homes free of illegal drugs after signing a lease.
Offenbacher claimed Sterner’s neighbors had complained about smelling marijuana. The Jackson Narcotics Enforcement Team responded to her apartment at 5340 Ridgewood Vista Drive on July 28 and seized five marijuana plants from the back porch, said Michigan State Police Detective Lt. Dave Cook, who leads JNET. The case is pending review from the county prosecutor, Cook said.
Sterner denies growing the plants on her porch and was not arrested.
Offenbacher said the housing complex was forced to act.
“I can’t dispute her legal use within the state, but there are certain agreements tenants make when they live on federally subsidized property. She was not abiding by that,” Offenbacher said. “The federal government holds us to different standards.”
District Judge Michael Klaeren rules in the housing complex’s favor in December in a legal dispute over the eviction.
“It’s distressing because Shannon is sick,” said Komorn, who is considering an appeal. “She is being singled out for her choice of how she wants to treat her medical condition. She was doing nothing wrong.”
Under state law, a patient can have 2.5 ounces of marijuana. If they do not have a specified caregiver, patients can keep 12 plants in an enclosed, locked facility, according to the law.
Federal law does requires housing complexes that receive subsidies to have lease provisions that enabling the eviction of tenants for using illegal drugs, such as marijuana. However, are able to use discretion, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“While there is a requirement that (public housing agencies) and landlords have lease provisions that give them the right to evict, the decision is theirs and theirs alone,” HUD spokeswoman Laura Feldman said in an e-mail.
Sterner grew up in foster care and has no family to stay with locally. Her best hope was that friends would take her and her two children in, but she did not know where she would go next.
She offered to stop using medical marijuana and return to traditional methods of pain management if she could keep her apartment.
“I’m trying not to lose my normal life,” she said.
If you or someone you know is facing charges as a result of Medical Marijuana prescribed to you as a Medical Marijuana patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, contact Komorn Law and ensure your rights are protected.
Michael Komorn is recognized as a leading expert on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. He is the President of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), a nonprofit patient advocacy group with over 26,000 members, which advocates for medical marijuana patients, and caregiver rights. Michael is also the host of Planet Green Trees Radio, a marijuana reform based show, which is broadcast every Thursday night 8-10 pm EST. Follow Komorn on Twitter.
Medical marijuana has been legalized in 17 states, a recent measure passed in Colorado and Washington will legalize recreational marijuana use.
By Michael Komorn
Recently voters in Colorado and Washington passed measures to legalize recreational marijuana use, moving state law in conflict with federal law.
Seventeen states have already legalized medical marijuana, even federal law has made its position clear that it feels marijuana has no acceptable medical use. But what is the outcome when state and federal laws oppose one another?
Under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the US Constitution, the federal courts are able to throw you in jail for possessing a small bag of marijuana, even if the state law permits it. However, first you have to be prosecuted. And in most instances, the feds haven’t pursued prosecution of people who are prescribed marijuana by a doctor.
If you or someone you know is facing charges as a result of Medical Marijuana prescribed to you as a Medical Marijuana patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, contact Komorn Law and ensure your rights are protected.
Michael Komorn is recognized as a leading expert on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. He is the President of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), a nonprofit patient advocacy group with over 26,000 members, which advocates for medical marijuana patients, and caregiver rights. Michael is also the host of Planet Green Trees Radio, a marijuana reform based show, which is broadcast every Thursday night 8-10 pm EST. Follow Komorn on Twitter.
Silicon Valley is filled with tech workers that are regulars at more than 106 medical marijuana clinics.
f you’re experiencing pain and find yourself in the Silicon Valley, be sure to drop by the Palliative Health Center for some Sour Diesel, or Purple Haze. Palliative Health is one of many medical marijuana dispensaries in San Jose, Calif. Inside, you will discover iPads mounted on pedestals so patients can navigate prices and availability of a dozen strains or so. Additionally, the shop offers marijuana-infused sodas, muffins, and chocolates, and monthly classes on cooking with cannabis.
Assistant manager Ernie Arreola, 38, says about 40 percent of Palliative Health’s clients are tech workers. “We’re seeing people from some semiconductors, lots of engineers, lots of programmers,” he says. And why wouldn’t they be, with the area’s biggest employers—Cisco Systems ,Google, Adobe Systems, Apple, EBay —just down the road.
San Jose is the medical marijuana capital of the Bay Area. With more than 106 pot clinics (for are delivery-only)—more than four times the number in Frisco, and twice as many per square mile as Los Angeles, San Jose Major Chuck Reed says there are many more than necessary to meet the medical needs of their population.
Mark Johnson, chief executive officer of Zite, based in Frisco, says marijuana use is “extremely common” among tech workers. Owned by Time Warner, the company produces an application that offers a personalized news stream on smartphones and tablets. “People just don’t care,” says Johnson, who adds that he smokes pot daily. “If you do, you don’t need to hide it; and if you don’t, you accept that there are people around you that do.”
Located a half-mile from Adobe headquarters, MedMar Healing Center offers a marijuana-infused chocolate toffee called Veda Chews that is a fav-favorite to the approximate 15 percent of customers who are tech workers, according to Doug Chloupek, 35, its CEO and co-founder. “It does not give the high or intoxicated feeling that you would typically get from a lot of medical cannabis,” he says. “Those who are coding for 15 hours a day with cramping hands, that is the product that allows them to have mental clarity and still get pain relief.” Veda Chews go for $13 each. MedMar also offers $10 joints with names like Sour Grapes, Skunk, and Super Silver Haze, along with cannabis-infused breath sprays, brownies, and chocolates.
Despite the widespread prevalence and favor with workers, companies still don’t want employees getting high at work. Cisco, for example, forbids use or possession of “illegal drugs while on Cisco-owned or leased property, during working hours, while on company business, or while using company property,” says Robyn Jenkins-Blum, a company spokeswoman. According a company statement, Adobe has a similar policy. With that said, neither company screens potential hires for drug use. “The Silicon Valley data support recent news reports citing some employers who say they are having a hard time finding candidates that can pass the preemployment drug test,” says Barry Sample, director of science and technology for Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions.
The tech industry employs a mass of intelligent people, and a lot of intelligent people smoked marijuana in college and never lost the habit. “Pot is an extremely functional drug. Coders can code on it, writers can write on it,” he says. “I see good days ahead for pot.”
If you or someone you know is facing charges as a result of Medical Marijuana prescribed to you as a Medical Marijuana patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, contact Komorn Law and ensure your rights are protected.
Michael Komorn is recognized as a leading expert on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. He is the President of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), a nonprofit patient advocacy group with over 26,000 members, which advocates for medical marijuana patients, and caregiver rights. Michael is also the host of Planet Green Trees Radio, a marijuana reform based show, which is broadcast every Thursday night 8-10 pm EST. Follow Komorn on Twitter.
A 33-year-old woman who lives in in Mexico and commutes to San Diego daily for work called the cops on herself when she unknowingly transported 30 pounds of marijuana across the border.
By Michael Komorn
As reported by NBC New York, the unnamed woman drove her car to work Friday morning, arrived early and was sitting in her car in a parking lot around 4 a.m. when two unidentified men approached her car and began removing packages from underneath it.
She surprised the men who then got in their car and drove away. She called the police, who then discovered 30 pounds of pot divided into six packages attached by heavy-duty magnets to undercarriage of the vehicle.
How the drugs got there– the woman claims it wasn’t her– remains a mystery. Police tell NBC New York that no arrests have been made.
Officials offered a reminder to those who regularly cross the border to check their car– as people are becoming targets by drug cartels as unknowing mules for drug trafficking.
Last year, CNN broke a similar story of a regular commuter from his home in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to the University of Texas at El Paso.
In this instance, even though the man claims he was targeted and ferried drugs without his knowledge, he was sentenced to six months in prison.
If you or someone you know is facing charges as a result of Medical Marijuana prescribed to you as a Medical Marijuana patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, contact Komorn Law and ensure your rights are protected.
Michael Komorn is recognized as a leading expert on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. He is the President of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), a nonprofit patient advocacy group with over 26,000 members, which advocates for medical marijuana patients, and caregiver rights. Michael is also the host of Planet Green Trees Radio, a marijuana reform based show, which is broadcast every Thursday night 8-10 pm EST. Follow Komorn on Twitter.
Happy 420! Enjoy weedblog.com’s infographic on the legalization of marijuana.
By Michael Komorn
With another 4/20 recent past, we’ve shared weedblog.com’s infographic on the legalization of marijuana — feel free to stare at it for hours, but get a glass of water. Pass the White Castle, Mary Jane.
As it stands, the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, a real pain in the ass for advocates of legalization.
With 4/20 approaching, we’ve published weedblog.com’s infographic on the legalization of pot, and you can stare at it for hours. Pass the Doritos, Mary Jane. (Substances on Schedule 1 are considered to have high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.)
However, opinions vary, with 18 states and D.C. having legalized marijuana for medical use (interesting since Schedule 1 drugs have no accepted medical use? hmmmm). In Maryland, a bill awaits Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature, and in Illinois, the proposal will head to the state Senate and then to Gov. Pat Quinn for approval.
When asked the question, ““Should the federal government legalize marijuana?” in a Lawyers.com poll: 92% answered “yes, for recreational purposes” (Where is my vacation package to Colorado?) Another 46.3% answered “yes, for medical purposes.” Only 2.5% responded “no.”
Perhaps you didn’t know that around the weed smoking rotation April 20 (4/20) is referred to as “Marijuana Appreciation Day.” In the early 1970s a small group of hippie stoners at San Rafael High School in northern California used to meet at a designated location every day to smoke weed at 4:20 p.m. They did this so regularly that among members of the group (known as “the Waldos”) the expression “420” became a general euphemism for “time to light up.”
If you or someone you know is facing charges as a result of Medical Marijuana prescribed to you as a Medical Marijuana patient under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, contact Komorn Lawand ensure your rights are protected.
Michael Komorn is recognized as a leading expert on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. He is the President of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), a nonprofit patient advocacy group with over 26,000 members, which advocates for medical marijuana patients, and caregiver rights. Michael is also the host of Planet Green Trees Radio, a marijuana reform based show, which is broadcast every Thursday night 8-10 pm EST. Follow Komorn on Twitter.
![Happy 420 Day [Infographic]](https://komornlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/420_3001.jpg)
