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.
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
What started as a benefit concert for John Sinclair evolved into one of the most enduring marijuana protests in America.
Freedom Leaf Magazine / By Adam L. Brook
Any history of the Ann Arbor Hash Bash has to start with John Sinclair’s 10-year prison sentence in 1969 under Michigan’s felony marijuana laws, a punishment so outrageous that Abbie Hoffman interrupted the Who’s set at Woodstock to express his disapproval.
The December 10, 1971 “John Sinclair Freedom Rally” at Crisler Arena brought John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder, Phil Ochs, Bob Seger, Archie Shepp, Allen Ginsberg, Bobby Seale ,and original Yippies Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, among others, to join Sinclair’s wife Leni, and advocate for his release. Lennon even wrote a new song for the occasion, “John Sinclair.”
Three days after the concert/rally, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered Sinclair released on an appeal bond from prison after serving almost two and a half years, while it considered the constitutionality of the law. The Court completed its review when it overturned Sinclair’s conviction on March 9, 1972, declaring that the statute violated the state Constitution’s equal protection clause for erroneously classifying marijuana as a narcotic.
On the heels of this decision, the Michigan legislature reclassified pot possession as a misdemeanor. But the new law didn’t take effect until April 3, 1972, creating a brief window of time where there was no state marijuana law on the books. To celebrate, anonymous founders jokingly suggested Ann Arbor’s first “Hash Festival” on April 1, 1972, putting up flyers promoting Pharaoh Sanders, Van Morrison and their own fictitious band. None of the three were actually going to appear, but the Michigan Daily picked up the story and people showed up on the Diag. According to the Daily, there were 500; police estimated 150 and made no arrests at what the Ann Arbor News called an “orderly festival.”
A few months later, Ann Arbor’s City Council passed an ordinance making marijuana possession a mere $5 civil fine, putting the city on the map as a beacon for proponents of cannabis reform.
The following year, Hash Bash boasted 5,000 participants, and featured unabashedly liberal and pro-marijuana legalization State Rep. Perry Bullard, who was photographed toking on a joint. Bullard went on to enjoy a successful 20-year career as Ann Arbor’s state representative.
Under a different mayor, the City Council repealed the new law after the ’73 Hash Bash, but a year later, a successful citywide referendum to entrench the $5 civil marijuana fine in the city charter was passed, making it impossible for the law to be overturned by a vote of the Council. More than 1,500 people showed up in 1974.
As early as 1977, the Michigan Daily lamented the event wasn’t the same as during the “good old days.” Two years later, the paper called for the end the of Hash Bash, which they termed a “disgusting farce” taken over by “belligerent and hostile” high school students.
Interest continued to wane, and the Michigan Daily and Ann Arbor News each eulogized the event as dead. After all, it was the Reagan “Say No to Drugs” era.
In 1986, the Daily reported, “At noon, about 130 people lit up, forming a ragged group that began at the brass M.”
But a change occurred in 1988, when 2,000 people showed up, thanks in a large part to a contingent of “Freedom Fighters” from High Times who entered the Diag dressed as colonial Minutemen, playing instruments and carrying a banner proclaiming “Pot Is Legal.”
In 1989, the Hash Bash crowd swelled to 5,000 again. That night, Michigan’s men’s basketball team edged Illinois to earn a trip to the national championship game (which it would win two days later).
The ensuring celebration on South University turned into a riot – which was cunningly blamed by UM President James Duderstadt not only on the Hash Bash, but on Deadheads arriving early for the April 5 and 6 Grateful Dead concerts. This prompted UM officials to publicly state they would deny the campus NORML chapter a permit to hold the Bash next year.
UM relented under strong pressure, but shockingly reversed course just weeks before the 1990 event, denying a permit. U of M NORML sued and won. Moreover, the University’s newly formed police force vowed to enforce state marijuana law, with its harsh criminal penalties. At the same time, the City Council placed a question on the ballot to increase the civil penalties for marijuana possession from $5 to $25, with increased sanctions for subsequent offenses.
In 1991, Hash Bash was moved from April 1 to the first Saturday in April. UM once again lost its court battle, and up to 10,000 people converged on the Diag.
During the ’90s, the event went from 2,000 to 10-12,000 attendees. Speakers like Tommy Chong, Chef Ra, Steve Hager, Jack Herer, Ed Rosenthal, Dana Beal, Ben Masel, Elvy Musikka, Gatewood Galbraith, Eric E. Sterling, The Lone Reefer, John Sinclair (who returned in ’96) and Stephen Gaskin were the main attractions.
“This is one of those cases in an attorney’s career that is not easily forgotten, and is a reminder to me of the reason I became an attorney.”
– Michael Komorn, attorney from Komorn Law and recipient of the Michigan Bar Association Right to Counsel Award for 2015.
SPRING LAKE- Max Lorincz and his wife will have custody of their six-year old son returned to them by court order in a Michigan case that made national headlines over a dispute with the State Police Crime Lab over marijuana testing.
Dante, the Lorincz’s son, was removed from his Spring Lake home after investigators charged Max with possession of synthetic marijuana- a felony in Michigan. Lorincz is a registered medical marijuana patient and has always claimed that the substance found by police during a search of his home- a “smear” of substance, so small it’s weight could not be quantified- was medicinal and derived from a natural plant source.
The case began not from an investigation into Lorincz, but with a 911 call from Max to get medical help for a family emergency not related to marijuana. While assisting with the emergency, police accidentally discovered the smear of suspicious substance and began criminal proceedings.
SUPPORT THE LORINCZ FAMILY: VISIT THEIR GOFUNDME PAGE AT https://www.gofundme.com/SVQ5W5W
In building a case, attorney Michael Komorn and investigators from his office probed the Crime Lab on the policies and procedures that lead to the determination of synthetic marijuana in this case. They discovered a hotbed of controversy, including prosecutors coaching scientists to produce results that favored the prosecution in court cases. Emails from representatives of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan to heads of the Lab were revealed, as were protests from scientists forced to change how they report their science for political advantage- changes that brought dire criminal consequences for the citizens whose samples were being evaluated.
“The lab technician in Lorincz’s case testified that he has been testing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, for 25 years. THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, also present in synthetics. However, a recent policy change means the technicians have to write “origin unknown” when testing this type of THC on lab reports,” reported Fox News in 2015.
The change in reporting was directly derived from the prosecutor-initiated procedures- and that was enough information to put doubt in the mind of the judge. The lab was not proving the substance was synthetic, they were inferring it, and that does not meet the standard of evidence for courtroom procedures.
Based in a large part on these revelations about evidence handling, Komorn Law secured a dismissal of felony charges in the Lorincz case on January 22. “The judge got it right: the law is very clear on this, and any prosecutor that proceeds under a theory (of synthetic THC), as this office did here, is flat-out wrong,” Komorn told Fox News at the time. “(Prosecutors) should be stopped from doing that… all defense lawyers should know that it’s an inappropriate charge.”
“The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine,” said Jeff Frazier of Komorn Law, one of the people directly responsible for exposing the inappropriate influence used by prosecutors in the Crime Lab scientific method.
After the charge was dismissed Komorn Law fought to reunite the family. “Getting Max’s son back was the last and most difficult piece of the puzzle,” Komorn told The Compassion Chronicles. “To me the CPS case reflects an equally broken and corrupt agency within our government.”
Bethany Christian Services (BCS), who has been paid by the state’s Child Protective Services (CPS) to take over the foster care of the young Lorincx child, contested the boy’s return, saying the case had been going on for so long the familial bond had been broken and it was in Dante’s best interest to remain under their guidance.
“Even after we eradicated the allegations of the removal, and dispelled the myth that Max’s status as a medical marijuana patient was not evidence of harm to the child, the agency, prosecutor and guardian ad litem seemingly dug in deeper.”
Once the criminal charges were no longer justification for the continued removal of Dante from the Lorincz home, BCS made other ridiculous claims to explain why the child could not be returned to his parents: he plays lots of video games, his family is poor and his mother is ill.
Court hearings revealed that the behavior shown by Bethany Christian Services, including asking the child himself to choose between his parents and other living options, were contradictory to state procedure regarding foster care. BCS was removed as supervising agency of the Lorincx child by court order, which opened the door to having him returned home.
“It seemed as if every time we made some progress, the agency, the prosecutor came up with some other, unrelated complaint or reason to oppose reunification. We were fortunate that the Court agreed with us, and determined the ( say anything to win) allegations of being poor, his wife’s mental illness, and playing video games are not grounds for removal,” said Komorn.
Bernard Jocuns is a criminal defense attorney from Lapeer has been following the case. “It angers me that professionals that the public are supposed to trust are responsible for this miscarriage of justice. The Michigan Court Rules and Rules of Evidence are in place to provide parity to prosecution and defense (attorneys).”
“It is scary to think what would be happening to Max now, had he not caught the ear of a prominent criminal defense attorney who was willing to take his case pro-bono ,” said Jamie Lowell, a Board member of the MILegalize organization.
The decision was delivered on March 25; it could take several days before Max’s son is returned home to him.
“Yesterday’s ruling ended the 17 month nightmare for the Lorincz family, but it does not end this matter,” Komorn said today. “Komorn Law intends to pursue and exercise every single possible legal recourse available to us, to make this family whole again.”
A listing of Komorn Law Blog updates on the case can be found at:
