Michigan’s medical marijuana law is a mess and dispensaries are popping up like, well, weeds and patients, police and politicians say something needs to change.
For the second year in a row, lawmakers are promising action in the meantime, FOX 2 found that their campaign accounts have reached new highs.
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State lawmakers are finally poised to fix problems with Michigan’s medical marijuana law. It’s a worthy goal, one that that has proven very lucrative.
In fact, their efforts to help patients get better pot, has helped the politicians raise quite a lot.
M.L. Elrick: “How nice do you think it would be for the people of Michigan to say, ‘Here’s a guy who’s not going to take money because he thinks it’s might create at least the appearance of a conflict of interest?'”
Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge): “Well … ”
That’s Rick Jones, chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee. Any effort to reform Michigan’s medical marijuana law will need Jones’ blessing.
Jones: “There’s probably a thousand factions out there.”
And many of them have given Jones’ campaign fund or his political action committee a big, fat check.
Jones: “I don’t choose who they donate to.”
That’s because lawmakers are trying to fix problems caused by the 2008 state referendum that made marijuana legal for medicinal purposes only, of course.
Voters approved using cannabis to treat the ill or aching, but questions have cropped up about the legality of matters like dispensaries and marijuana edibles and oils.
The state supreme court has weighed in on some matters, but law enforcement, law makers – and even law breakers – still have plenty of questions.
Key players in the reform efforts are the chairmen of the house and senate judiciary committees.
“What we have right now in Michigan is basically the wild, wild, west,” Jones said.
“We need to have some sort of structure for patient safety,” said Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce) “For consumer safety, if it becomes legal, for a structure so that cities, townships, villages, counties are able to understand where the product is, where it’s going for taxation purposes, in order to provide the services that come after.”
“What this will do is license growers, it’ll license people who transport the product and it will license dispensaries,” Jones said. “People will know what they’re getting. It will be tested for all the bad things like the mold and the bug spray and all that to make sure that people aren’t getting that.
“Treating it more like a medicine I think is important.”
So in one of the ironies that is commonplace in the Capitol, Kesto, who is a former prosecutor, and Jones, a former sheriff, are spending a lot of time hanging out with people who make a living selling weed.
“It’s the American way of politics,” said Rich Robinson.
Still, even the cops say something must be done. Of course, no good deed goes unrewarded in Lansing.
And Kesto and Jones have collected plenty of campaign cash from folks who want to grow grass.
“It’s not surprising at all that the money’s coming out now,” said Robinson: “It’s directed with a purpose. It sure isn’t random.”
Robinson, of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, has tracked the flow of dough in Lansing for years. He says lawmakers are experts at turning controversy into campaign checks.
“In the way this plays out, Sen. Jones will certainly consider the point of view of the interest group,” Robinson said. “But it’s ‘Step into the milking barn first before we have this conversation.'”
Campaign accounts for key Republican lawmakers have been getting fat with checks from all the folks with a stake in medical marijuana reform.
Jones leads the judiciary committee that is weighing potential changes to the rules. He recently raked in more than $16,000.
Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville) led an early house effort to change the law. Since then, he’s collected more than $12,000.
Rep. Kesto has also been a leader on the issue. he’s snagged more than $11,000.
As Senate Majority Floor Leader, Mike Kowall draws a lot of water. And he’s cashed checks worth more than $5,000.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof knows how to count votes, too. And the amount sent to his political fund is at more than $4,000.
Democrats have received a little dough, too. Senate Democratic Floor Leader Jim Ananich has collected nearly $2,000.
Overall, Republicans have raised more than $55,000.
Robinson: “That’s real money, that’s real money.”
Kesto has also collected some criticism. George Brikho owns a hydroponics store and claims Kesto’s real goal is to create a lucrative carve out within the marijuana industry that will benefit the Boji family. Kesto disagrees.
“As we set up a framework, people get a little jittery,” Kesto said. “They get scared about the future, and the model changing. And I don’t know what his issue is. But it sounds like it’s more than just the business. He may need some medicine.”
The Bojis cast a shadow over Lansing, and not just from the landmark tower they own across from the Capitol.
Ron Boji recently held a high-end fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Mike Kowal at his palatial home. Even Gov. Rick Snyder passed through.
Kesto’s political accounts don’t show any recent contributions from Boji. but FOX 2 spied him huddling with Terrance Mansour of the Michigan Cannabis Development Association and a couple other fellows with strong opinions about medical marijuana reform.
Elrick: “Nobody has a leg up with you?” Kesto: “With me? No. I look out for the people of the state of Michigan.”
Sen. Jones also says the only influence he will come under, is what’s best for the good people of the great state of Michigan.
“You will never find, not once, somebody who bought me or bought a vote,” Jones said. “I’m the only guy in town that said ‘no’ to Matty Moroun.”
But there’s no denying that medical marijuana reform has been very good for Jones’ political action committee.
“Jones’ leadership PAC has really been moribund for years,” Robinson said. “And it certainly came to life in the last few months.”
The $14,000 that Jones’ PAC raised in the most recent filing period, is by far the most it has collected in a single reporting period since Jones founded it more than nine years ago.
Much, if not all, of that money came from folks with an interest in the medical marijuana reform legislation that just happens to be resting in the hands of Jones’ Senate Judiciary Committee.
Elrick: “How nice do you think it would be for the people of Michigan to say, ‘Here’s a guy who’s not going to take money because he thinks it’s might create at least the appearance of a conflict of interest?'”
“Well, I would have them look at any other legislator in town and they raise a lot more money than I do,” Jones said. “Some of them a great deal of money. And I don’t.”
Jones’ new-found fundraising prowess comes at a curious time. He is serving his last term in the Senate. Term limits mean his State House career ends in 2018.
Elrick: “Why continue to raise money? If there’s one guy in Michigan who could say: ‘I’m not even going to let people think I’m being influenced by you, it’s me, because I’m done.'”
“Every senator, every representative raises for their caucus,” Jones said. “Typically we’re asked to contribute $7,000 a year to the caucus, Republican or Democrat, either one, to assist with the re-election of other people. so that’s one reason to raise.
“The other reason to raise is that I can take care of the charities, whether it be veterans or children’s groups or hospice or Special Olympics. I can take care of those groups in my community.”
While it took in $14,000 this fall, Jones’ political action committee only cut two checks – one for $200 to the Michigan State University College Republicans and one for $100 to the friends of Sean Bertolino.
Elrick: “So the money that you’re raising now isn’t for your next campaign?”
“Never say never, I haven’t decided,” Jones said. “And I could transfer that. Say I were to run for governor, could I transfer that for a governor’s campaign? Yes, I could.”
Elrick: “And some of the money that you might use for higher office you’re getting it from people who might be spending it, so they can get higher themselves.”
“No,” Jones said. “No.”
Campaign accounts open to public inspection are not the only places lawmakers are loading up on loot. Jones and Kesto are like many politicians in Lansing and have non-profit accounts that don’t have to report where they get their money – or how they spend it.
Jones said that his non-profit has collected $5,000 from marijuana reformers and Kesto says he has only collected a couple thousand.
When it comes to contributors, Jones says nobody has influenced his vote. He says he has invited these people to fundraisers and if they chose to come and make a contribution that was their decision.
If marijuana gets legalized by voters, the reform efforts: Two separate movements: The Michigan Cannabis Coalition and MI Legalize who want to legalize recreational use of marijuana. They are now collecting signatures and they have to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures. That would go on the ballot in November, 2016 .
CLIO, MI – The attorney for the owner of a medical marijuana facility faced with the possibility being padlocked for a year questions why prosecutors are trying to have the business declared a nuisance.
Attorney Michael Komorn said he doesn’t understand why prosecutors are trying to close the Clio Caregiver Connection as a nuisance even though the community hasn’t come forward with complaints.
“It appears that the main allegation regarding ‘a nuisance’ comes from the drug task force and not the local police agency or community leaders or citizens,” Komorn said.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton filed a nuisance ordinance violation March 3 against the business after an investigation by the Flint Area Narcotics Group alleged the business at 105. N. Mill St. was acting outside of the state’s medical marijuana act.
FANG began its investigation into the facility Sept. 22, after receiving information that the facility was acting as a dispensary, according to the violation complaint.
“It appears as if FANG and FANG alone are the persons complaining of the behavior and will testify about that behavior justifying any injunctions,” Komorn said. “Instead, FANG warrants an injunction for their behavior, and the complaint of nuisance in this case.”
State law allows officials to padlock a property for up to a year over complaints of drug dealing.
Three separate controlled purchases of marijuana were conducted at the business, according to the complaint. The purchaser was a medical marijuana patient, but no person present at the facility was the registered caregiver for the buyer, the complaint claims.
State law allows individuals to serve as caregivers for medical marijuana patients, allowing them to possess up to 2.5 ounces of useable marijuana or 12 marijuana plants for each of their registered patients. Caregivers are allowed to have up to five registered patients.
Search warrants were obtained for the facility and executed Feb. 18. Officials claim they discovered multiple jars of marijuana in cases listed for sale, edible marijuana items, THC wax, suspected psychedelic mushroom cultivation, suspected LSD tabs in the business owner’s vehicle, 12 marijuana plants and $860, according to the complaint.
Komorn also took issue with Leyton filing the complaint, claiming it contradicts prior statements from the prosecutor.
“The restraining order action seems absurd in light of David Leyton’s declaration that he will only review cases where the ‘community’ brings it to him or his office,” Komorn said.
Leyton said Komorn took his statements out of context, and said he would review any case brought to him by law enforcement.
A temporary restraining order was issued this month against the business by Genesee Circuit Judge Archie Hayman after authorities alleged the business continued operating even after the warrants were executed.
On Monday, March 28, Hayman agreed to continue the restraining order until a hearing is held on the padlocking of the business.
The business’s owner did not appear in court for Monday’s hearing. His name is not being released because he has not yet been arraigned on the suspected crimes.
The case will return to court April 25 when Hayman will be asked to decide if the business can be padlocked for up to a year.
SPRING LAKE, Mich. — After 18 months, a Spring Lake family’s son is out of foster care and reunited with his parents. Yet the fight to be together, through court battles and serious drug charges despite being card-carrying medical marijuana patients, still haunts them.
Thursday, Max Lorincz’s son Dante, 6, picked out his favorite toys from a basket in the family’s living room, handing one to FOX 17 saying, “this is my dad’s favorite.”
Piece by piece, Max and his family are putting their lives back together.
“It’s like 100 pounds being lifted off my chest,” Lorincz said. “It’s like our entire life was put on hold the entire time he was gone.”
Dante was ripped away from the couple after Max was charged with a felony for possession of “synthetic THC.” Between family and criminal court cases, it’s an experience they call hellish.
“It’s not something I’d wish on my worst enemy, the experience we went through,” Lorincz said.
“[Dante] is 6 now, almost 7, you know he’s his own little person at this point. But before, he was just coming into his own, and we missed that entire portion of his life.”
September 2014 it all started when police found a thumbprint of hash oil at Lorincz’s home during an unrelated medical emergency. That lead to a felony charge for a charge the judge later ruled unfounded: possession of “synthetic THC.”
Fast-forward 16 months, a judge drops Lorincz’s felony. But the court battles continued in family court for Lorincz and his wife to regain custody of Dante for another two months against Bethany Christian Services.
Only FOX 17 cameras were in court for several permanency planning review hearings including last November during this exchange between Lorincz’s Attorney Michael Komorn and the Bethany Christian Services caseworker:
“What is it, other than [Lorincz’s] use of marijuana, that creates bad parenting?” asked Komorn of the caseworker.
She testified, “Marijuana is a psychoactive substance, and being under the influence doesn’t allow you to be in the most clear mind for your child.”
This woman was the third of five total caseworkers now in the 18-month family court case representing Bethany Christian Services. The agency threatened to petition for permanent removal of Dante from his parents.
In this November hearing, the judge already allowed Lorincz, a legal card holder, to continue use of medical marijuana. The caseworker here on the stand testified that marijuana, even legally used for medical conditions, may make an unfit parent. This was a sticking point in many of these permanency planning review hearings, but ultimately she testified BCS had no evidence to prove drug abuse.
Komorn continued to ask her, “One of the reasons for you to recommend the permanent removal is because of drug substance issues, am I right?”
To which the caseworker said, “Yes.” Komorn continued with, “Ok, and we’ve already clarified that there are no drug substance issues at all regarding my client [Lorincz], am I right?”
She testified, “Yes, yes.”
Now, weeks later, another slap in the face for the Lorincz family: a billboard popping up several blocks from their home on 144th Avenue, with the face of Attorney Chris Wirth, who advocated for their son, working against them in their custody fight.
Lorincz and his family are moving on, but he continues to call for clarified medical marijuana patient rights in Michigan, for the medicine he says saved his life.
“2009 when he [Dante] was being born, he was born in Butterworth Hospital, I was dying of liver failure in Blodgett Hospital across town. It was due to my doctor prescribing too much medication,” Lorincz said.
And the 18 months Lorincz spent legally removed from his son, he reminded, they will never get back.
“We’ll try and make as many positive memories as we can to make up the gap,” Lorincz said. “But there’s definitely nothing that’ll replace the time that we lost, that’s for sure.”
The Lorincz’s have started this GoFundMe page, asking for any help to cover their expenses at this time.
03/31/2016 – Approaching the eighth anniversary of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA), overwhelmingly approved by Michigan voters, the current political battle over cannabis centers not so much on whether or not the state should legalize recreational marijuana, but rather, it poses the question of when legalization will take effect, and who will control and profit from the million dollar industry. Fighting to appear on Michigan’s November 2016 ballot are three initiatives, each outlining a distinctly different approach to legalized recreational marijuana. At press time, only MILegalize and Abrogate Prohibition Michigan, two of the three groups that come from opposing schools of thought, were reaching out for support from the public and actively circulating petitions. The capital of the U.S., and four states – Oregon, Alaska, Washington, and Colorado – have already legalized marijuana for recreational use. Additionally, multiple cities around the country have passed ordinances decriminalizing the substance, effectively diluting the penalty of possession from a misdemeanor or felony, to a civil infraction. Ann Arbor was the first city in Michigan to decriminalize it in 1972. More than 30 years later, following the 2008 passage of the MMMA, an additional 17 municipalities followed suit, each crafting their own ordinance that defines the amount of marijuana to be in the bracket of civil infraction. Seven cities within Oakland County did so, namely, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, Berkley, Ferndale, Keego Harbor, Hazel Park, and Oak Park. Other areas in Michigan with decriminalization ordinances on the books include Detroit, Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Flint.
Despite growing acceptance of studies illustrating the effects of marijuana as a medical treatment, and increasing social approval of recreational use, the federal government maintains its classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, a category defined by the drug enforcement agency as “the most dangerous class of drugs with a high potential for abuse and potentially severe psychological and/or physical dependence.” Heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote are listed next to cannabis. Comparatively, the second most dangerous category, Schedule II, includes cocaine, methamphetamine, Adderall, Ritalin, and Vicodin. “I certainly think it (marijuana) ought to be rescheduled,” said former Attorney General Eric Holder in an interview with P.B.S., recorded last September and released in February. “You know, we treat marijuana in the same way that we treat heroin now, and that clearly is not appropriate. So at a minimum, I think congress needs to do that. Then, I think we need to look at what happens in Colorado and what happens in Washington,” referring to two states that have profited immensely from legalized marijuana.
“In June, recreational marijuana sales hit $50 million for the first time, then in July sales rose over $55 million. If you add in medical marijuana sales, the total comes to $96 million for July, also higher than June’s total of $85 million. The portion of these sales in July that is earmarked for school construction projects is $3 million,” wrote Debra Borchardt in Forbes Magazine last fall of Colorado sales. Colorado voters approved recreational marijuana in 2012, the same year as Washington. “According to the Colorado Department of Revenue,” Borchardt’s article read, “the state has received nearly $70 million in tax revenue from marijuana from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015, easily beating the nearly $42 million in taxes on alcohol.” Read the rest here
The nation’s longest-running marijuana legalization rally runs from noon to 2 p.m. on the University of Michigan Diag, followed by the Monroe Street Fair.
Watch the video
Below is the full lineup for the rally:
Matthew Abel, Detroit attorney and executive director of Michigan NORML
Laith Al-Saadi, Ann Arbor musician
Virg Bernero, Lansing mayor
Statement by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer read by Mark Passerini
Sabra Briere, Ann Arbor City Council member
Adam Brook, former Hash Bash organizer
State Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville
Tommy Chong, comedian and activist
Scott Cecil, Students for Sensible Drug Policy outreach coordinator
Stacia Cosner, Students for Sensible Drug Policy deputy director
Alyssa Erwin, brain cancer survivor and medical marijuana patient
Dori Edwards, Women Grow
William Federspiel, Saginaw County sheriff
Charmie Gholson, Michigan Moms United
Jeffrey Hank, Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Initiative Committee
State Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor
Brian Kardell, Students for Sensible Drug Policy at U-M
Michael Komorn, Southfield attorney
Jamie Lowell, co-founder of the 3rd Coast Compassion Center in Ypsilanti
Reid Murdoch, Law Students for Sensible Drug Policy at U-M
Mark Passerini, Ann Arbor Medical Cannabis Guild
Dave Peters, Wayne State School of Medicine doctor
Jim and Erin Powers, parents of pediatric medical cannabis patient Ryan Powers
Chuck Ream, Safer Michigan director
Robin Schneider, National Patients Rights Association legislative liaison
Steve Sharpe, MI HEMP
Dakota Serna, advocate for veterans equality
DJ Short, known as the Willy Wonka of cannabis
John Sinclair, poet and activist
Marvin Surowitz- former professor and founder of the Partie Party
