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 theMichigan 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.
It’s becoming more and more evident that Obama’s policy of marijuana prohibition is growing increasingly unpopular.
By Michael Komorn
Every year when April 20th rolls around, people across the nation celebrate the enigmatic 4/20 holiday by smoking, toking and eating marijuana. But according to federal law, they are all at risk of being arrested for using a Schedule I substance, a classification that puts marijuana in the same room as LSD, PCP and heroin.
Meanwhile, medical marijuana continues to be voted for and approved by State law, yet President Barack Obama hasn’t lifted a finger to reschedule marijuana out of Schedule I. Despite his past as a renowned ringleader of the pot-smoking “Choom Gang” while growing up in Hawaii, his administration’s current position offers little to no sympathy for marijuana, regardless of the drug’s legal status in a number of states.
The White House’s official position against legalization says, “marijuana use is harmful and should be discouraged.” Obama has dismissed legalization even after the recent pot legalization efforts in Washington and Colorado, giving no indication that he intends to scale back his aggressive enforcement policy.
In a nation evolving on the issue of outright legalization, Obama’s anti-pot policy is becoming more of an outlier by the day. A recent poll found that a majority of Americans support legalizing, taxing and regulating pot, while earlier surveys have strongly suggest even more support exists for decriminalization and legal medical marijuana. To browse the sea of people who disagree with Obama on the issue, click over to Marijuana Majority.
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 theMichigan 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.
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 theMichigan 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 onTwitter.
patients & caregivers should not be arrested for following the law
Medical marijuana remains a controversial issue in Michigan, despite nearly two-thirds of voters approving the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. Since 2008, when the act was approved, municipalities statewide have varied in their approach to medical marijuana, unsure of their powers to govern patients, growing operations, dispensaries and medicinal marijuana transfers.
While most prosecutors and law enforcement agencies have come to accept medical marijuana and its benefits, some have remained steadfast that all marijuana is illegal. This is an unfortunate effect of decades of anti-marijuana campaigns and legislation, which medical marijuana supporters are now fighting to counteract. That sentiment and feeling may still exist, but so does one simple fact — it is legal for Michigan residents to possess medical marijuana, and those patients and caregivers should not be arrested for following the law. Registered patients are protected from arrest, prosecution or penalty, according to Section 333.26424 of the Act.
More recently, in 2013, McKone shied away from comments about Linden’s arrest first, ask questions later policy when questioned by the Tri-County Times, instructing those calls simply be forwarded to him or the interim city manager.
This bit of harassment from local law enforcement must stop. Law-abiding patients possessing well below the state-approved amount of medical marijuana are forced to defend themselves in court for following the law. The Linden arrest policy is seemingly bent on circumventing Michigan’s medical marijuana law.
Recent cases in the Michigan Supreme Court, including an opinion on dispensaries recently, solidify medical marijuana in this state. With the highest court offering its opinion on specifics within the law, it defined, defended and protected medical marijuana in Michigan.
The Michigan Court of Appeals has already ruled policies like those in Linden do not trump the state’s medical marijuana laws. Last August, the court ruled on behalf of attorney and patient John Ter Beek, striking down the city of Wyoming’s ban on medical marijuana, calling it “void and unenforceable.”
Ironically, policies of intention and instruction of arresting anyone possessing medical marijuana, which exist in many communities statewide, opens up municipalities to potential litigation should a patient feel compelled to seek remedies. Repeated and public policies of wrongful arrest is not only bad for the innocently arrested, but a community at large, with local officials attempting to overrule state law and ignore the will of the people.
As we move forward, medical marijuana is, and will be for the foreseeable future, legal in Michigan. What supporters and advocates can do is tell our stories and educate detractors. I welcome the opportunity to sit down with Mr. McKone, or any other official in the state, to discuss the benefits of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and the harmful effects to Michigan residents of policies such as those enacted in Linden.
Michigan Medical Marijuana Users At Risk of Losing Welfare Benefits
Earlier this month, the Michigan House approved legislation requiring welfare recipients to pass a random drug screening test to remain eligible for family independence programs if there is a “reasonable suspicion” of drug activity. While the legislation is intended to prevent Michigan residents from abusing the public welfare system, failure to protect medical marihuana patients is suspect and poised to undermine the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) and those who voted for it.
In late April, amendments to the bill were suggested, including exempting medical marihuana patients from testing because they have been given permission by the state of Michigan to use marihuana. The addendums, however, failed to gain traction.
With a goal to remove drug users and abusers from public assistance, lawmakers have potentially jeopardized the more than 120,000 medical marihuana patients in the state, some of whom rely on public assistance, disability and social security to survive. If state-approved patients test positive, they are at risk of losing needed assistance, even though they are following the letter of Michigan law.
The real question is why was the medical marihuana exemption denied? While the existence of federal funds in the state’s welfare program may have played a part, states, Michigan included, have not shied away from taking the federal government to task in such disagreements.
Just last year, Michigan’s Attorney General joined several states in suing over President Obama’s health care plan. In this instance, as well as Arizona’s enacting of an immigration law, Michigan acted in the interest of all of its residents, protecting the 10th Amendment and preserving states’ rights.
The lack of a medical marihuana exemption is an unfortunate example of the state failing to protect patients despite the existence of a law that was approved by its residents. With medical marihuana’s legality at the state level, this legislation feels like yet another discounting of patients — their health, lives and families — just months after legislators in Lansing passed several amendments to the MMMA in an attempt to clarify the law for patients and lawmakers.
