Activists are screaming mad at the conduct of officials representing Governor Rick Snyder’s administration during a hearing today to determine if autism should be added to the list of illness that qualify a patient to use medical marijuana in Michigan. The petition, submitted in 2014, contains a summary of 75 peer-reviewed articles on autism and 800 pages of reference material. ”When the panel sat down today, what they had was pieces of the document,” said Southfield attorney Michael Komorn. Pieces apparently selected by the Attorney General’s office, according to statements made on the record by Board officials. What was missing? “The Summary, with the 75 peer-reviewed studies, and the 800 pages of clinical research on autism and cannabis,” Komorn said. Advocates sued the government in Ingham County Circuit Court to force the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to consider a petition for that purpose submitted in 2014 by Lisa Smith, whose son Noah has autism and other illnesses. Petitions are debated by the Medial Marihuana Review Panel (the Board) under rules established in 2008 by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). A previous petition to add autism to the MMMA was rejected at a Board hearing back in 2013. “We litigated for a year,” to get the Smith petition accepted, Komorn said. The State was represented by the Office of the Attorney General, Bill Schuette. The language of the MMMA requires that each petition properly submitted must be considered by the Board. Schuette’s and LARA’s response was the opposite: we already ruled on that illness and no subsequent petition will be considered. “The Court decided theirs was a wrong interpretation. We won; they had to give us a new hearing on the petition submitted.” A hearing on the Smith petition was held in May of this year. On July 1 a whole new Board was created, per rule changes made in January 2015 by LARA over the objections of citizens and Senators. Some of the members of the new panel had not heard the testimony on the Smith petition taken by the Board weeks earlier. “When the Board assembled today we were expecting a vote yea or nay on the petition,” Komorn related. “Before we were able to begin the conversation it was brought to the attention of the Board as a whole by (Board member) David Brogren that this very comprehensive document with supporting papers was not given in its entirety to the Board, and that the Board should consider the entire package before voting.”The science was scrubbed from the document given to the Board for consideration, Komorn said.“When the Circuit Court made an order that the petition be considered, they meant the whole petition,” Komorn growled. ”(The Court) didn’t change the material submitted, it required the Board to consider the petition filed with the Court.” Of a greater concern is the reason cited for the edited version of the petition being presented. Along with a new Board comes a new leader, and the newly-appointed Board made selecting a new Chair their first priority. When the confusion regarding the petitions was exposed, her reaction was not one that inspired confidence among the hearing’s attendees. “The statement she made on the record was very distressing, that this information was given to the board by the Attorney General, not the Court,” Komorn said. “The Attorney General’s role was referenced by (the Chair), who said, in response to Brogren, this is what was sent to us by the Court via the Attorney General.” “The representative kept referring to the fact that this document is what the Attorney General’s office gave us,” said Jamie Lowell of Ypsilanti’s 3rd Coast Medical Marijuana Dispensary, who attended the hearing. Brogren mentioned on the record that he had given the Board the petition in its entirety two weeks ago. Even after the issue was exposed, Komorn said the Chair seemed more concerned with spin control than she was with establishing proper process.Komorn explained that “she kept insisting that the Board had all the information they needed to make a decision on autism and medical marijuana,” he said, “without seeing any of the science behind it.” Brogren’s objections to considering the issue without all the facts swayed the result and stayed the Board from voting. They will reconvene at a later date to make a final determination on the Smith petition, after receiving the entire document. In addition to being a criminal defense attorney, Komorn is the host of an Internet-base radio program broadcasting weekly for more than four years. The Planet Green Trees Radio Show (PGT) has followed the progress of the autism petition from the start, prior to 2012’s initial rejection. Shows #255 and #257 covered the topic with interviews and behind-the-scenes looks at the tribulations experienced by those advocates who sought a positive result at the July 20 hearing. One of those interviewed by the PGT staff: Dr. Harry Chugani, chief of pediatric neurology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit “There was a major flaw in the process of how information was being given to the Board members,” Komorn stated. He challenged the notion that the Attorney General, a noted medical marijuana detractor and a major opponent of the MMMA in 2008, should be filtering information approved by the Court for use by a state agency. “Mind you, the AG had to be sued to bring this information to the Board in the first place,” Komorn emphasized. “Why is it OK for the Director of this Board to rely on them for the information used to make the determination of autism’s validity for inclusion on the medical marijuana program?” As a barometer of governmental efficiency, Komorn gave the Board’s actions today two thumbs down. “This Board is not operating in a way that anyone in the public would appreciate… this behavior should do nothing but bring concern from citizens… I don’t think that anyone that walked out of that room has one bit of confidence in the integrity of the process.” “I’d like to believe in the possibility of a fair hearing, but after experiencing the Attorney General in action over the years I can’t help but believe today’s behavior, creating unnecessary confusion and restriction, is intentionally designed to lead to a negative outcome,” Lowell observed. “I really hope I am wrong.”
Source: The Compassion Chronicles by Rick Thompson at 6:15 AM on July 21, 2015
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.
Medical Marijuana groups are demanding more clarity to protect patient rights.
Advocacy groups have testified that the proposed tweaks to Michigan’s medical marijuana law would infringe on patient rights. Various parts of the law have been tested in a number of court cases since the act was approved more by an overwhelming 63% of voters in 2008. Some of these cases have made their way up to the Michigan Supreme Court.
A cry for clarity from both sides has lawmakers considering a package of bills to clear up some of the issues and expedite the medical marijuana patient registration process. Attorney Michael Komorn argued patients’ rights have been eradicated through court cases.
“The legislature needs to act and act powerfully to make certain that these rights are not political ping pong in the courts,” said Komorn, president of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association.
The organization was one of the handful of groups that spoke before the House judiciary committee.
The groups that testified were concerned with two focal points: the ability of law enforcement officers to obtain information on medical marijuana patients, and the proposed clarification of a “bona fide physician-patient relationship.” HB 4851 seeks to establish the definition of “bona fide physician-patient relationship,” an issue that arises from the belief of some authorities that it’s too easy for non-qualified patients to obtain medical marijuana cards.
To prove a bona fide relationship the legislation proposes that a doctor must review relevant medical records, complete an assessment of the patient’s current condition with an in-person exam, create and maintain records and have reasonable expectation of providing follow-up care.
Cannabis Patients United (CPU) opposes the legislation because it’s not applied uniformly to all patient-doctor relationships in the state. Timy Knowlton, of CPU said it’s an effort to discriminate against medical marijuana patients.
“All of the amount of time and effort that’s placed on making sure that doctors who make medical marijuana recommendations aren’t abusing it, I appreciate, but quite honestly, marijuana compared to a lot of illegal (use of) prescription drugs, is a very benign substance,” he said. “Unless there is going to be effort made to root out physicians who are engaged in other practices, pill pushers, for instance, it just seems totally unfair.”
CPU, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan each raised their doubts about HB 4834, which would permit law enforcement officers or officials to access medical marijuana patient information.
Currently, law officers can verify if a registration card is valid if they have the registration number. Staff attorney for ACLU of Michigan, Dan Korobkin, said there some cases when it would make sense for officers to be able to verify if a person is registered based on their name and date of birth or address. However, Korobkin said the bill provides too great of access by allowing officers to view patients’ medical conditions and doctor information.
“Medical marijuana patients need to know that their private information, particularly their medical information, is not going to be disclosed without a compelling justification,” he said. “The reasonable suspicion standard just doesn’t offer that protection. Plus … there’s simply no need for law enforcement to have access to the medical marijuana registry unless they already have probable cause to believe somebody’s violating the law.”
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.
The best resource for everything related to Michigan medical marijuana with your host Attorney Michael Komorn. Live every Thursday evening from 8 -10 pm eastern time.
By Michael Komorn
The Michigan Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion making a finding that Michigan Medical Marihuana Patients are protected against the charges of “any presence of a controlled substance” and requires evidence.
Tonight Steve Elliott, who owns and edits the independent cannabis blog TokeSignals.com, is marijuana reviewer for the Seattle Weekly, is editor of Hemp News, is National News columnist for Northwest Leaf Magazine, and is author of The Little Black Book of Marijuana.
Also spot light on organization Michigan Compassion which is the state’s only federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated solely to Medical Cannabis Education and Advocacy. The organization is one of only four in the country to be granted this nonprofit status.
Discussion on the Supreme Court decision on People v Koon, The Redden case and how it was resolved, today’s House Judiciary hearing on medical marijuana distribution in Michigan.
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.
DEA: “Prescription Drug Abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem”
By Michael Komorn
According to figures released by the DEA during their House Appropriations Meeting on April 12, 2013 (during which they asked for roughly $3,000,000,000 in Federal Funding for FY 2014), an estimated 38,329 individuals died of an unintentional overdose of prescription drugs in 2010. ”The equivalent of one death every 14 minutes.” The DEA did not mention that in 2010, according to an article in the New York Times, ”1.64 million people were arrested for drug violations. Four out of five arrests were for possession. Nearly half were for possession of often-tiny amounts of marijuana.” In fact, the DEA failed to mention many figures that seem quite important when delivering a thorough, honest report:
1) The price of cocaine has dropped nearly 74% in the past 30 years. If supply has been going down due to major busts, wouldn’t prices go up? In fact, Marijuana was the only drug whose price went up over the same period.
2) One person is arrested for Marijuana every 42 seconds. In the time it has taken me to link the articles in this post, 4 people were arrested somewhere in the U.S. for Marijuana.
3) “Processing each of the roughly 85,000 arrests for drug misdemeanors in New York City (in 2011) cost the city $1,500 to $2,000. And that is just the cost to the budget. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, mostly black and poor, are unable to get a job, a credit card or even an apartment to rent because of the lasting stigma of a criminal record for carrying an ounce of marijuana.”-Harry Levine, Sociologist at Queens College of the City University of New York
4) Studies at the RAND Corporation estimate that if Marijuana were legal, Mexican Cartels would lose about a fifth of their annual income.
5) Almost one in five inmates in state prisons and half of those in federal prisons are serving time for drug offenses.
6) TOTAL DOCUMENTED UNINTENTIONAL DEATHS BY OVERDOSE OF MARIJUANA (ALL TIME)= ZERO
The statistics about prescription drug overdoses really stuck with me. Medical Marijuana Patients enter the court room for marijuana charges and are treated like violent criminals. Marijuana, a substance that 25 million people in the US smoke illegally. a substance that 63% of the citizens of Michigan voted in favor of making available to sick people, giving them an option to the dangers of prescription drugs when considering treatments for the pain associated with their debilitating disease.
A substance that Doctors around the world are finding has more and more health benefits than we ever imagined. But we still see Judges sit on the bench playing doctor by telling people what kind of medications they can use. Police continue to arrest people for small amounts every minute. Prosecutors threaten Doctors with criminal charges before they give testimony as to why they recommended a specific patient try medical marijuana. It is absolute madness, an insult to the citizens of Michigan, and to the members of the program who are simply looking for a way to better their quality of life.
Call Michigan Medical Marijuana Expert Michael Komorn at (800) 656-3557 for a free consultation today.
You may or may not already know some of these, but it really is astounding what kinds of things we could accomplish if our government would change its policy on drugs. From reducing racial discrimination, cutting down on the national deficit, and treating drug addiction as a public health concern rather than a criminal offense, the road to a drug free world requires an end to the war on drugs. Click here for some interesting findings.
