S. ROWAN WILSON, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General; BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES; B. TODD JONES, as Acting Director of U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; ARTHUR HERBERT, as Assistant Director of U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,Defendants-Appellees
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Gloria M. Navarro, Chief District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted July 21, 2016
San Francisco, California
Summary
The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a
complaint challenging the federal statutes, regulations, and
guidance that prevented plaintiff from buying a gun because
she possesses a Nevada medical marijuana registry card…
A person who smokes marihuana in his or her own car while parked in the parking lot of a private business that is open to the general public is not entitled to assert the immunity or defense provisions of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act
In People v. Carlton, security personnel monitoring live feed cameras of a casino parking lot observed Carlton smoking what appeared to be marihuana inside his car. Police officers responded to the parking lot to investigate. Carlton, a qualifying patient under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), MCL 333.26421 through MCL 333.26430, admitted to the officers that he had been smoking marihuana. The officers observed a marihuana roach on the dashboard and found four bags of marihuana during a subsequent search of Carlton’s car. Carlton was the only person in the car at the time.
In People v. Rea, officers were dispatched to Rea’s house to investigate a noise complaint. Upon arrival, an officer observed the door to Rea’s detached garage open and watched as Rea backed his vehicle “about 25 feet” before stopping at a point in his private driveway in line with his house. Rea then pulled the vehicle back into the garage. At all times Rea’s vehicle was either in his side yard or backyard. (See pictures in the Court’s opinion.) Rea was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated pursuant to MCL 257.625(1).
MCL 257.625(1) provides in relevant part:
A person . . . shall not operate a vehicle upon a highway or other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles, including an area designated for the parking of vehicles . . . if the person is operating while intoxicated.
Before trial, the circuit court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the case, ruling that “the upper portion of [Rea’s] private residential driveway” does not constitute an area “generally accessible to motor vehicles” as required by MCL 257.625(1) and the prosecution appealed.
Read much more on the Michigan State Police Legal Update link below
One of the most popular arguments against the legalization of marijuana is that pot is a “gateway” drug with the potential to turn the great American populous into a nation of dope fiends. But today the country’s leading law enforcement official denounced this common misconception by admitting that the consumption of marijuana does not lead to the use of harder drugs.
As part of what President Obama has declared National Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week, U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch appeared at town hall meeting this morning in Richmond, Kentucky to discuss the dangers of opioid abuse with a group of teens.
In her opening statement, Lynch was adamant that the leading culprit behind Kentucky’s heroin epidemic was the use of prescription drugs.
“When you look at someone that, for example, has a heroin problem, it very often started with a prescription drug problem. Something totally legal. Something in every medicine cabinet. Something you can have prescribed to you in good faith by a doctor,” Lynch said before taking questions from the audience.
It did not take long before the discussion turned to the issue of marijuana.
Tyler Crafton, a student at Madison Central High School, took the opportunity to ask Lynch whether she thought the recreational use of marijuana among high school kids would lead to opioid abuse.
Shockingly, Lynch, the top dog at the U.S. Department of Justice, did provide the young man with a response straight out of the federal government’s propaganda handbook.
“There a lot of discussion about marijuana these days. Some states are making it legal, people are looking into medical uses for it, and I understand that it still is as common as almost anything,” Lynch replied. “When we talk about heroin addiction, we unusually, as we have mentioned, are talking about individuals that started out with a prescription drug problem, and then because they need more and more, they turn to heroin. It isn’t so much that marijuana is the step right before using prescription drugs or opioids.”
For a moment, it sounded as though the Attorney General was preparing to backtrack on her statement to some degree, adding that, “if you tend to experiment with a lot of things if life you may be more inclined to experiment with drugs.”
But then Lynch followed up with what should be considered one of the most important statements a federal official has made in 2016.
“It’s not as though we are seeing that marijuana is a specific gateway,” she said.
The attorney general’s admission that marijuana is not a gateway drug is fairly consistent with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which finds “the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, “harder” substances. Yet many of marijuana’s opposing forces are going up against ballot measure in several states this election season by trying to convince the general public that legal weed will cause the opioid epidemic to spin further out of control.
Interestingly, an investigational report published earlier this week by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity found that lobbyists for the drug makers responsible for the same prescription drugs that Attorney General Lynch says is responsible for the opioid epidemic have spent $880 million legally bribing state representatives and senators to vote against legislation concerning the restricting of opioid use. It stands to reason that these lobbyists are also responsible for getting federal lawmakers to turn a blind eye to marijuana.
Attorney General Lynch will be speaking at more than 250 events this week in support of Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week. It will be interesting to see if she offers additional comments about the safety of marijuana.
AN ACT to amend 2008 IL 1, entitled “An initiation of Legislation to allow under state law the medical use of marihuana; to provide protections for the medical use of marihuana; to provide for a system of registry identification cards for qualifying patients and primary caregivers; to impose a fee for registry application and renewal; to provide for the promulgation of rules; to provide for the administration of this act; to provide for enforcement of this act; to provide for affirmative defenses; and to provide for penalties for violations of this act,” by amending the title and sections 3, 4, 6, and 7 (MCL 333.26423, 333.26424, 333.26426, and 333.26427), sections 3 and 4 as amended by 2012 PA 512 and section 6 as amended by 2012 PA 514, and by adding sections 4a and 4b.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
TITLE
An initiation of Legislation to allow under state law the medical use of marihuana; to provide protections for the medical use of marihuana; to provide for a system of registry identification cards for qualifying patients and primary caregivers; to impose a fee for registry application and renewal; to make an appropriation; to provide for the promulgation of rules; to provide for the administration of this act; to provide for enforcement of this act; to provide for affirmative defenses; and to provide for penalties for violations of this act.
Definitions.
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) “Bona fide physician-patient relationship” means a treatment or counseling relationship between a physician and patient in which all of the following are present:
(1) The physician has reviewed the patient’s relevant medical records and completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a relevant, in-person, medical evaluation of the patient.
(2) The physician has created and maintained records of the patient’s condition in accord with medically accepted standards.
(3) The physician has a reasonable expectation that he or she will provide follow-up care to the patient to monitor the efficacy of the use of medical marihuana as a treatment of the patient’s debilitating medical condition.
(4) If the patient has given permission, the physician has notified the patient’s primary care physician of the patient’s debilitating medical condition and certification for the medical use of marihuana to treat that condition.
(b) “Debilitating medical condition” means 1 or more of the following:
(1) Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, nail patella, or the treatment of these conditions.EHB 4210
(2) A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces 1 or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including but not limited to those characteristic of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
(3) Any other medical condition or its treatment approved by the department, as provided for in section 6(k).
(c) “Department” means the department of licensing and regulatory affairs.
(d) “Enclosed, locked facility” means a closet, room, or other comparable, stationary, and fully enclosed area equipped with secured locks or other functioning security devices that permit access only by a registered primary caregiver or registered qualifying patient. Marihuana plants grown outdoors are considered to be in an enclosed, locked facility if they are not visible to the unaided eye from an adjacent property when viewed by an individual at ground level or from a permanent structure and are grown within a stationary structure that is enclosed on all sides, except for the base, by chain-link fencing, wooden slats, or a similar material that prevents access by the general public and that is anchored, attached, or affixed to the ground; located on land that is owned, leased, or rented by either the registered qualifying patient or a person designated through the departmental registration process as the primary caregiver for the registered qualifying patient or patients for whom the marihuana plants are grown; and equipped with functioning locks or other security devices that restrict access to only the registered qualifying patient or the registered primary caregiver who owns, leases, or rents the property on which the structure is located. Enclosed, locked facility includes a motor vehicle if both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The vehicle is being used temporarily to transport living marihuana plants from 1 location to another with the intent to permanently retain those plants at the second location.
(2) An individual is not inside the vehicle unless he or she is either the registered qualifying patient to whom the living marihuana plants belong or the individual designated through the departmental registration process as the primary caregiver for the registered qualifying patient.
(e) “Marihuana” means that term as defined in section 7106 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7106.
(f) “Marihuana-infused product” means a topical formulation, tincture, beverage, edible substance, or similar product containing any usable marihuana that is intended for human consumption in a manner other than smoke inhalation. Marihuana-infused product shall not be considered a food for purposes of the food law, 2000 PA 92, MCL 289.1101 to 289.8111.
(g) “Marihuana plant” means any plant of the species Cannabis sativa L.
(h) “Medical use of marihuana” means the acquisition, possession, cultivation, manufacture, extraction, use, internal possession, delivery, transfer, or transportation of marihuana, marihuana-infused products, or paraphernalia relating to the administration of marihuana to treat or alleviate a registered qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition.
(i) “Physician” means an individual licensed as a physician under part 170 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17001 to 333.17084, or an osteopathic physician under part 175 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17501 to 333.17556.
(j) “Plant” means any living organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis and has observable root formation or is in growth material.
(k) “Primary caregiver” or “caregiver” means a person who is at least 21 years old and who has agreed to assist with a patient’s medical use of marihuana and who has not been convicted of any felony within the past 10 years and has never been convicted of a felony involving illegal drugs or a felony that is an assaultive crime as defined in section 9a of chapter X of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 770.9a.
(l) “Qualifying patient” or “patient” means a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition.
(m) “Registry identification card” means a document issued by the department that identifies a person as a registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver.
(n) “Usable marihuana” means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, but does not include the seeds, stalks, and roots of the plant.
(o) “Usable marihuana equivalent” means the amount of usable marihuana in a marihuana-infused product that is calculated as provided in section 4(c).
(p) “Visiting qualifying patient” means a patient who is not a resident of this state or who has been a resident of this state for less than 30 days.
(q) “Written certification” means a document signed by a physician, stating all of the following:
(1) The patient’s debilitating medical condition.EHB 4210
(2) The physician has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a relevant, in-person, medical evaluation.
(3) In the physician’s professional opinion, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marihuana to treat or alleviate the patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition.
4. Protections for the Medical Use of Marihuana.
Sec. 4. (a) A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act, provided that the qualifying patient possesses an amount of marihuana that does not exceed a combined total of 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana and usable marihuana equivalents, and, if the qualifying patient has not specified that a primary caregiver will be allowed under state law to cultivate marihuana for the qualifying patient, 12 marihuana plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility. Any incidental amount of seeds, stalks, and unusable roots shall also be allowed under state law and shall not be included in this amount. The privilege from arrest under this subsection applies only if the qualifying patient presents both his or her registry identification card and a valid driver license or government-issued identification card that bears a photographic image of the qualifying patient.
(b) A primary caregiver who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for assisting a qualifying patient to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process with the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act. The privilege from arrest under this subsection applies only if the primary caregiver presents both his or her registry identification card and a valid driver license or government-issued identification card that bears a photographic image of the primary caregiver. This subsection applies only if the primary caregiver possesses marihuana in forms and amounts that do not exceed any of the following:
(1) For each qualifying patient to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process, a combined total of 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana and usable marihuana equivalents.
(2) For each registered qualifying patient who has specified that the primary caregiver will be allowed under state law to cultivate marihuana for the qualifying patient, 12 marihuana plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility.
(3) Any incidental amount of seeds, stalks, and unusable roots.
(c) For purposes of determining usable marihuana equivalency, the following shall be considered equivalent to 1 ounce of usable marihuana:
(1) 16 ounces of marihuana-infused product if in a solid form.
(2) 7 grams of marihuana-infused product if in a gaseous form.
(3) 36 fluid ounces of marihuana-infused product if in a liquid form.
(d) A person shall not be denied custody or visitation of a minor for acting in accordance with this act, unless the person’s behavior is such that it creates an unreasonable danger to the minor that can be clearly articulated and substantiated.
(e) There is a presumption that a qualifying patient or primary caregiver is engaged in the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act if the qualifying patient or primary caregiver complies with both of the following:
(1) Is in possession of a registry identification card.
(2) Is in possession of an amount of marihuana that does not exceed the amount allowed under this act. The presumption may be rebutted by evidence that conduct related to marihuana was not for the purpose of alleviating the qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition, in accordance with this act.
(f) A registered primary caregiver may receive compensation for costs associated with assisting a registered qualifying patient in the medical use of marihuana. Any such compensation does not constitute the sale of controlled substances.
(g) A physician shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by the Michigan board of medicine, the Michigan board of osteopathic medicine and surgery, or any other business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, solely for providing written certifications, in the course of a bona fide physician-patient relationship and after the physician has completed a full assessment of the qualifying patient’s medical history, or for otherwise stating that, in the physician’s professional opinion, a patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marihuana to treat or alleviate the patient’s serious or debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the serious or debilitating medical condition, provided that nothing shall prevent a professional licensing board from sanctioning a physician for failing to properly evaluate a patient’s medical condition or otherwise violating the standard of care for evaluating medical conditions.
(h) A person shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for providing a registered qualifying patient or a registered primary caregiver with marihuana paraphernalia for purposes of a qualifying patient’s medical use of marihuana.
(i) Any marihuana, marihuana paraphernalia, or licit property that is possessed, owned, or used in connection with the medical use of marihuana, as allowed under this act, or acts incidental to such use, shall not be seized or forfeited.
(j) A person shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, solely for being in the presence or vicinity of the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act, or for assisting a registered qualifying patient with using or administering marihuana.
(k) A registry identification card, or its equivalent, that is issued under the laws of another state, district, territory, commonwealth, or insular possession of the United States that allows the medical use of marihuana by a visiting qualifying patient, or to allow a person to assist with a visiting qualifying patient’s medical use of marihuana, shall have the same force and effect as a registry identification card issued by the department.
(l) Any registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver who sells marihuana to someone who is not allowed the medical use of marihuana under this act shall have his or her registry identification card revoked and is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both, in addition to any other penalties for the distribution of marihuana.
(m) A person shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner or denied any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for manufacturing a marihuana-infused product if the person is any of the following:
(1) A registered qualifying patient, manufacturing for his or her own personal use.
(2) A registered primary caregiver, manufacturing for the use of a patient to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process.
(n) A qualifying patient shall not transfer a marihuana-infused product or marihuana to any individual.
(o) A primary caregiver shall not transfer a marihuana-infused product to any individual who is not a qualifying patient to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process.
Sec. 4a. (1) This section does not apply unless the medical marihuana facilities licensing act is enacted.
(2) A registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for any of the following:
(a) Transferring or purchasing marihuana in an amount authorized by this act from a provisioning center licensed under the medical marihuana facilities licensing act.
(b) Transferring or selling marihuana seeds or seedlings to a grower licensed under the medical marihuana facilities licensing act.
(c) Transferring marihuana for testing to and from a safety compliance facility licensed under the medical marihuana facilities licensing act.
Sec. 4b. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) to (4), a qualifying patient or primary caregiver shall not transport or possess a marihuana-infused product in or upon a motor vehicle.
(2) This section does not prohibit a qualifying patient from transporting or possessing a marihuana-infused product in or upon a motor vehicle if the marihuana-infused product is in a sealed and labeled package that is carried in the trunk of the vehicle or, if the vehicle does not have a trunk, is carried so as not to be readily accessible from the interior of the vehicle. The label must state the weight of the marihuana-infused product in ounces, name of the manufacturer, date of manufacture, name of the person from whom the marihuana-infused product was received, and date of receipt.
(3) This section does not prohibit a primary caregiver from transporting or possessing a marihuana-infused product in or upon a motor vehicle if the marihuana-infused product is accompanied by an accurate marihuana transportation manifest and enclosed in a case carried in the trunk of the vehicle or, if the vehicle does not have a trunk, is enclosed in a case and carried so as not to be readily accessible from the interior of the vehicle. The manifest form must state the weight of each marihuana-infused product in ounces, name and address of the manufacturer, date of manufacture, destination name and address, date and time of departure, estimated date and time of arrival, and, if applicable, name and address of the person from whom the product was received and date of receipt.
(4) This section does not prohibit a primary caregiver from transporting or possessing a marihuana-infused product in or upon a motor vehicle for the use of his or her child, spouse, or parent who is a qualifying patient if the marihuana-infused product is in a sealed and labeled package that is carried in the trunk of the vehicle or, if the vehicle does not have a trunk, is carried so as not to be readily accessible from the interior of the vehicle. The label must state the weight of the marihuana-infused product in ounces, name of the manufacturer, date of manufacture, name of the qualifying patient, and, if applicable, name of the person from whom the marihuana-infused product was received and date of receipt.
(5) For purposes of determining compliance with quantity limitations under section 4, there is a rebuttable presumption that the weight of a marihuana-infused product listed on its package label or on a marihuana transportation manifest is accurate.
(6) A qualifying patient or primary caregiver who violates this section is responsible for a civil fine of not more than $250.00.
6. Administering the Department’s Rules.
Sec. 6. (a) The department shall issue registry identification cards to qualifying patients who submit the following, in accordance with the department’s rules:
(1) A written certification;
(2) Application or renewal fee;
(3) Name, address, and date of birth of the qualifying patient, except that if the applicant is homeless, no address is required;
(4) Name, address, and telephone number of the qualifying patient’s physician;
(5) Name, address, and date of birth of the qualifying patient’s primary caregiver, if any;
(6) Proof of Michigan residency. For the purposes of this subdivision, a person shall be considered to have proved legal residency in this state if any of the following apply:
(i) The person provides a copy of a valid, lawfully obtained Michigan driver license issued under the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923, or an official state personal identification card issued under 1972 PA 222, MCL 28.291 to 28.300.
(ii) The person provides a copy of a valid Michigan voter registration.
(7) If the qualifying patient designates a primary caregiver, a designation as to whether the qualifying patient or primary caregiver will be allowed under state law to possess marihuana plants for the qualifying patient’s medical use.
(b) The department shall not issue a registry identification card to a qualifying patient who is under the age of 18 unless:
(1) The qualifying patient’s physician has explained the potential risks and benefits of the medical use of marihuana to the qualifying patient and to his or her parent or legal guardian;
(2) The qualifying patient’s parent or legal guardian submits a written certification from 2 physicians; and
(3) The qualifying patient’s parent or legal guardian consents in writing to:
(A) Allow the qualifying patient’s medical use of marihuana;
(B) Serve as the qualifying patient’s primary caregiver; and
(C) Control the acquisition of the marihuana, the dosage, and the frequency of the medical use of marihuana by the qualifying patient.
(c) The department shall verify the information contained in an application or renewal submitted pursuant to this section, and shall approve or deny an application or renewal within 15 business days of receiving it. The department may deny an application or renewal only if the applicant did not provide the information required pursuant to this section, or if the department determines that the information provided was falsified. Rejection of an application or renewal is considered a final department action, subject to judicial review. Jurisdiction and venue for judicial review are vested in the circuit court for the county of Ingham.
(d) The department shall issue a registry identification card to the primary caregiver, if any, who is named in a qualifying patient’s approved application; provided that each qualifying patient can have no more than 1 primary caregiver, and a primary caregiver may assist no more than 5 qualifying patients with their medical use of marihuana.EHB 4210
(e) The department shall issue registry identification cards within 5 business days of approving an application or renewal, which shall expire 2 years after the date of issuance. Registry identification cards shall contain all of the following:
(1) Name, address, and date of birth of the qualifying patient.
(2) Name, address, and date of birth of the primary caregiver, if any, of the qualifying patient.
(3) The date of issuance and expiration date of the registry identification card.
(4) A random identification number.
(5) A photograph, if the department requires one by rule.
(6) A clear designation showing whether the primary caregiver or the qualifying patient will be allowed under state law to possess the marihuana plants for the qualifying patient’s medical use, which shall be determined based solely on the qualifying patient’s preference.
(f) If a registered qualifying patient’s certifying physician notifies the department in writing that the patient has ceased to suffer from a debilitating medical condition, the card shall become null and void upon notification by the department to the patient.
(g) Possession of, or application for, a registry identification card shall not constitute probable cause or reasonable suspicion, nor shall it be used to support the search of the person or property of the person possessing or applying for the registry identification card, or otherwise subject the person or property of the person to inspection by any local, county or state governmental agency.
(h) The following confidentiality rules shall apply:
(1) Subject to subdivisions (3) and (4), applications and supporting information submitted by qualifying patients, including information regarding their primary caregivers and physicians, are confidential.
(2) The department shall maintain a confidential list of the persons to whom the department has issued registry identification cards. Except as provided in subdivisions (3) and (4), individual names and other identifying information on the list are confidential and are exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(3) The department shall verify to law enforcement personnel and to the necessary database created in the marihuana tracking act as established by the medical marihuana facilities licensing act whether a registry identification card is valid, without disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary to verify the authenticity of the registry identification card.
(4) A person, including an employee, contractor, or official of the department or another state agency or local unit of government, who discloses confidential information in violation of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both. Notwithstanding this provision, department employees may notify law enforcement about falsified or fraudulent information submitted to the department.
(i) The department shall submit to the legislature an annual report that does not disclose any identifying information about qualifying patients, primary caregivers, or physicians, but does contain, at a minimum, all of the following information:
(1) The number of applications filed for registry identification cards.
(2) The number of qualifying patients and primary caregivers approved in each county.
(3) The nature of the debilitating medical conditions of the qualifying patients.
(4) The number of registry identification cards revoked.
(5) The number of physicians providing written certifications for qualifying patients.
(j) The department may enter into a contract with a private contractor to assist the department in performing its duties under this section. The contract may provide for assistance in processing and issuing registry identification cards, but the department shall retain the authority to make the final determination as to issuing the registry identification card. Any contract shall include a provision requiring the contractor to preserve the confidentiality of information in conformity with subsection (h).
(k) Not later than 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, the department shall appoint a panel to review petitions to approve medical conditions or treatments for addition to the list of debilitating medical conditions under the administrative rules. The panel shall meet at least twice each year and shall review and make a recommendation to the department concerning any petitions that have been submitted that are completed and include any documentation required by administrative rule.
(1) A majority of the panel members shall be licensed physicians, and the panel shall provide recommendations to the department regarding whether the petitions should be approved or denied.
(2) All meetings of the panel are subject to the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.7 EHB 4210
(l) The marihuana registry fund is created within the state treasury. All fees collected under this act shall be deposited into the fund. The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments. Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund. The department of licensing and regulatory affairs shall be the administrator of the fund for auditing purposes. The department shall expend money from the fund, upon appropriation, for the operation and oversight of the Michigan medical marihuana program. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, $8,500,000.00 is appropriated from the marihuana registry fund to the department for its initial costs of implementing the medical marihuana facilities licensing act and the marihuana tracking act.
7. Scope of Act.
Sec. 7. (a) The medical use of marihuana is allowed under state law to the extent that it is carried out in accordance with the provisions of this act.
(b) This act does not permit any person to do any of the following:
(1) Undertake any task under the influence of marihuana, when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice.
(2) Possess marihuana, or otherwise engage in the medical use of marihuana at any of the following locations:
(A) In a school bus.
(B) On the grounds of any preschool or primary or secondary school.
(C) In any correctional facility.
(3) Smoke marihuana at any of the following locations:
(A) On any form of public transportation.
(B) In any public place.
(4) Operate, navigate, or be in actual physical control of any motor vehicle, aircraft, snowmobile, off-road recreational vehicle, or motorboat while under the influence of marihuana.
(5) Use marihuana if that person does not have a serious or debilitating medical condition.
(6) Separate plant resin from a marihuana plant by butane extraction in any public place or motor vehicle, or inside or within the curtilage of any residential structure.
(7) Separate plant resin from a marihuana plant by butane extraction in a manner that demonstrates a failure to exercise reasonable care or reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(c) Nothing in this act shall be construed to require any of the following:
(1) A government medical assistance program or commercial or non-profit health insurer to reimburse a person for costs associated with the medical use of marihuana.
(2) An employer to accommodate the ingestion of marihuana in any workplace or any employee working while under the influence of marihuana.
(d) Fraudulent representation to a law enforcement official of any fact or circumstance relating to the medical use of marihuana to avoid arrest or prosecution is punishable by a fine of $500.00, which is in addition to any other penalties that may apply for making a false statement or for the use of marihuana other than use undertaken pursuant to this act.
(e) All other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act do not apply to the medical use of marihuana as provided for by this act.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act clarifies ambiguities in the law in accordance with the original intent of the people, as expressed in section 2(b) of the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL 333.26422:
“(b) Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports and the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics show that approximately 99 out of every 100 marihuana arrests in the United States are made under state law, rather than under federal law. Consequently, changing state law will have the practical effect of protecting from arrest the vast majority of seriously ill people who have a medical need to use marihuana.”. [Emphasis added.]
This amendatory act is curative and applies retroactively as to the following: clarifying the quantities and forms of marihuana for which a person is protected from arrest, precluding an interpretation of “weight” as aggregate weight, and excluding an added inactive substrate component of a preparation in determining the amount of marihuana, medical marihuana, or usable marihuana that constitutes an offense. Retroactive application of this amendatory act does not create a cause of action against a law enforcement officer or any other state or local governmental officer, employee, department, or agency that enforced this act under a good-faith interpretation of its provisions at the time of enforcement.
STATE OF MICHIGAN
98TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2016
Introduced by Reps. Lyons, Goike, Bumstead, Yonker, Kelly, Pettalia, Callton, Pscholka, Potvin, Dillon, Irwin, Hoadley, Maturen, Singh, Sarah Roberts and Kosowski
Gary Johnson believes the tensions between police and minorities that led to two high-profile police shootings and the deaths of five Dallas police officers has a root cause: The long-running war on drugs.
The libertarian nominee for president did not directly tie the drug war to the shooting deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana by police or the sniper killings of five officers in Texas this week. But poor relations between police and African-Americans stems from the criminalization of drug use, he said.
“The root is the war on drugs, I believe. Police knocking down doors, shooting first,” Johnson said in an interview Friday in Washington. “If you are (black and) arrested in a drug-related crime, there is four times more likelihood of going to prison than if you are white. And shooting is part of the same phenomenon.”
“That’s the common thread. Shootings are occurring with black people, black people are dying,” he added. “This is an escalation.”
The former Republican governor of New Mexico is pitching a complete rewrite of the nation’s drug policy as part of his underdog run for the presidency alongside his running mate, former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Bill Weld.
Johnson wants to legalize marijuana and find other ways to deal with harder drugs than long periods of incarceration.
He said that will soon happen, predicting that California will vote this fall to legalize marijuana and President Barack Obama will remove cannabis from its listing as a Class 1 drug. “I think Obama’s going to do that going out the door,” Johnson said.
“The focus on drugs needs to be as a health issue, not a criminal justice issue. It can be illegal but does it need to be criminal? Do you need to go to jail for drugs?” Johnson said. “I do believe that the root of the militarization, knocking on doors, is a drug war phenomenon.”
The laid-back libertarian, dressed in jeans and an open-collared button-down in a hotel dining room, declined to join Republicans in criticizing Obama for pointing to “powerful weapons” this week as a cause of violence between police officers and minorities. But Johnson said the focus on assault rifles is misguided.
“That is a category of rifle that contains 30 million rifles. If you ban those rifles tomorrow and said hand ‘em in,” only half of the weapons would actually be turned over, Johnson said. “And we’re going to have a whole new criminal class of people.”
Johnson said that as president he’d be open to proposals designed to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists and the mentally ill. But he said he’d seen no such workable proposals in Congress, despite unsuccessful attempts by both Democrats and Republicans.
