There’s a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracks the path of every single pain pill sold in the United States — from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies in every town and city. The data provides an unprecedented look at the surge of legal pain pills that fueled the prescription opioid epidemic, which has resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths from 2006 through 2012.
Some of USA’s major drug companies that saturated the country with 70 plus billion hydrocodone and oxycodone pain pills from the years 2006 through 2012 as the deadliest drug epidemic in the nation.
Just six companies distributed 75 percent of the pills during this period: McKesson Corp., Walgreens, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, CVS and Walmart, according to an analysis of the database by The Washington Post. Three companies manufactured 88 percent of the opioids: SpecGx, a subsidiary of Mallinckrodt; Actavis Pharma; and Par Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals.
Purdue Pharma, which the plaintiffs allege sparked the epidemic in the 1990s with its introduction of OxyContin, its version of oxycodone, was ranked fourth among manufacturers with about 3 percent of the market.
Arrested or charged with drugged driving or DUI? The Komorn Law team can help. Contact our office for a free evaluation. 248-357-2550
The volume of the pills handled by the companies skyrocketed as the epidemic surged, increasing about 51 percent from 8.4 billion in 2006 to 12.6 billion in 2012. By contrast, doses of morphine, a well-known treatment for severe pain, averaged slightly more than 500 million a year during the period.
Those 10 companies along with about a dozen others are now being sued in federal court in Cleveland by nearly 2,000 cities, towns and counties alleging that they conspired to flood the nation with opioids. The companies, in turn, have blamed the epidemic on overprescribing by doctors and pharmacies and on customers who abused the drugs. The companies say they were working to supply the needs of patients with legitimate prescriptions desperate for pain relief.
See the rest of the story as well as an interactive map with some nice data info HERE
When Proposal 1 passed in 2018 in Michigan for the adult recreational use of cannabis many employers wondered as to how that would impact their drug policies.
An employer can refuse to hire an applicant and terminate an employee who tests positive for marijuana.
Employers can still follow a drug-free policy. That does not change.
The court ruled the employer didn’t violate the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act by revoking a conditional offer of employment.
If you are looking for an attorney that will fight for you. You found him. Michael Komorn – provides DUI, drugged driving and criminal defense passionately an aggressively. Call The Office 248-357-2550 or visit KomornLaw.com
In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate court held the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) did not provide a cause of action for an applicant whose conditional job offer was rescinded after he tested positive for marijuana during a mandatory pre-employment drug test. Eplee v. City of Lansing, 2019 Mich. App. LEXIS 277 (Feb. 19, 2019).
Plaintiff’s claims against defendants essentially revolve around the following statutory language contained in MCL 333.26424(a):
The state appellate court decision focused on the following MMMA provision:
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 . . . .
The court held the MMMA did not make medical marijuana users a protected class. It also did not “provide an independent right protecting the medical use of marijuana in all circumstances.”
This is at least the second decision involving failed drug tests, medical marijuana, and the MMMA; both were decided in the employer’s favor.
Low-income court defendants across the country have found themselves in a never-ending cycle of fines, jail, probation and debt.
To punish him for high school truancy in 1999, Tennessee officials told him he would not be able to legally drive until he turned 21. He drove anyway, incurring two tickets and racking up more than $1,000 in fines and fees.
Like other low-income defendants in similar situations across the country, Gibbs couldn’t pay and ended up serving jail time and probation. That incurred another cost: a monthly supervision fee to a private probation company.
Rather than risk another arrest, Gibbs, now 38, decided to quit driving, which he said makes it nearly impossible to work. He said he spent several years living in a motel room with his mother, his disabled father and his sister before they all became homeless. In August, the family found housing in a dilapidated trailer, miles from the nearest town or food source.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m being punished for being poor,” Gibbs said.
Charged with a Felony or Misdemeanor? – Contact Komorn Law at 248-357-3550 for a free case evaluation.
For years, state and city officials in the U.S. — unwilling to raise taxes — have steadily increased their reliance on court fines and fees to balance budgets. Poor defendants who can’t pay are jailed, clogging local lockups with people who in many cases have not been convicted of any crime and putting others on a probation that doesn’t end until all debts are erased.
Emergency rules were
released this month by state officials to ensure that they meet a December
deadline to launch the industry — or risk losing control.
The 64-page
document includes details for how the recreational marijuana industry will
function, and gives a good indication of what interested entrepreneurs should
expect in terms of state scrutiny.
Here are 14
things to know if you’re interested in getting into the recreational marijuana
market in Michigan:
1. You need a
state license to do business
A state license
is necessary to operate any kind of marijuana business in Michigan.
Licensing fees
start at $4,000 and top out at $40,000, depending on the type of business.
The Marijuana
Regulatory Agency controls the entire state licensing process,
and oversees both the upcoming recreational and existing medical marijuana
markets. It’s housed in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory
Affairs.
Depending on
where your business is located, there may be a local license or permit from the
municipality that is necessary as well.
2. There are
multiple license types — and they can be combined
Each function of
the industry has a different state license type. They can be combined to make
one large vertically integrated company.
Here are the
license types and a short description of the function of each one:
-Retailer: brick and
mortar storefront sales
-Class A Grower: up
to 100 plants
-Class B Grower: up to 500
plants
-Class C Grower: up to
2,000 plants
-Excess
Grower: for
companies with at least two medical marijuana grow licenses and up to five
Class C recreational licenses that want to operate on a large scale in the
recreational market.
-Microbusiness: individuals
can grow up to 150 plants, process the material and sell it all at the same
location
-Processor: extracting
and manufacturing products from marijuana flower like oils, edibles, vape
cartridges and more
-Secure
Transporter: transportation
company that moves products from growers to the lab, to processors and then to
retail stores
-Safety
Compliance Facility: testing lab to make sure products meet
state standards
-Designated
Consumption Establishment: a social use lounge or club
There are also
additional license types for people who want to host festivals.
Marijuana flower
at Yerba Buena farm, located about an outside of Portland, Oregon, Sept. 18,
2018. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)
3. License
applications can be turned in starting Nov. 1
Officials with
the Marijuana Regulatory Agency will begin accepting license applications Nov.
1.
Once a business
turns their license in, the agency has 90 days to turn it around. If applicants
don’t respond to officials’ questions or requests for more documentation within
five days, their application could be denied.
4. Retail stores
will have to be owned by a medical marijuana company at first
Under state law,
for the first two years of the recreational marijuana program, only business
owners that hold a medical marijuana provisioning center license will be
allowed to apply for a retailer license in the adult-use market.
That requirement
will stay in place until November 2021.
However,
officials have the option to remove that requirement in November 2020 if they
deem it necessary.
5. Large-scale
growers will have to be owned by a medical marijuana company at first
The same
prerequisite licensing requirement is in place for large-scale growers who want
a Class B, Class C or an Excess Grow license.
Under state law,
for the first two years of the recreational marijuana program, only business
owners that hold a medical marijuana grow license will be allowed to apply for
a large-scale grow license in the adult-use market.
That requirement
will stay in place until November 2021.
However,
officials have the option to remove that requirement in November 2020 if they
deem it necessary.
6. Processors
will have to be owned by a medical marijuana company at first
The same
prerequisite licensing requirement is in place for processors.
Under state law,
for the first two years of the recreational marijuana program, only business
owners that hold a medical marijuana processing license will be allowed to
apply for a processing license in the adult-use market.
That requirement
will stay in place until November 2021.
However,
officials have the option to remove that requirement in November 2020 if they
deem it necessary.
If you’re interested in starting a medical marijuana business you will need an attorney – click here to learn more about it regulations, licensing and legal issues.
7. Transporters
will have to be owned by a medical marijuana company at first
The same
prerequisite licensing requirement is in place for secure transporting
companies.
Under state law,
for the first two years of the recreational marijuana program, only business
owners that hold a medical marijuana secure transporter license will be allowed
to apply for a secure transporter license in the adult-use market.
That requirement
will stay in place until November 2021.
However,
officials have the option to remove that requirement in November 2020 if they
deem it necessary.
8. Only Michigan
residents can start a small business at first
Prospective
small business owners who want to grow on a small scale with a Class A grow
license or start a microbusiness don’t have to hold any medical marijuana
license.
But they do have
to be Michigan residents, for the first two years of the program.
That requirement
will stay in place until November 2021.
However,
officials have the option to remove that requirement in November 2020 if they
deem it necessary.
9. Lab licenses
have no residency requirements
There are no
residency requirements or medical marijuana licensing requirements for
individuals interested in obtaining a safety compliance facility license —
unlike the other license types.
However, the
owner of a safety compliance facility — more commonly known as a testing lab
— cannot have an ownership interest in any other type of marijuana business.
10. This type of
crime will disqualify you
If the business
license applicant has previously been convicted for distributing a controlled
substance to a minor, they are automatically not eligible for a recreational
marijuana business license.
Additionally,
there are other specific situations that would prompt state officials to
immediately reject a license application:
-If the
prospective business lies in their application
-If the
applicant either works for or consults with the Marijuana Regulatory Agency or
LARA
-If the
applicant is an elected government official in Michigan, in another state or in
the federal government — or if the applicant is employed by any governmental
unit — in Michigan or elsewhere
11. State
officials have discretion to deny you a license
State regulators
have broad discretion to deny a business license application based on their
judgement of the applicant’s background, under the emergency rules.
Per the rules,
regulators are allowed to consider the following:
-Whether anyone
with an ownership stake in the company has “a pattern of convictions
involving dishonesty, theft, or fraud that indicate the proposed marihuana
establishment is unlikely to be operated with honesty and integrity”
-Whether the
applicant has any delinquent taxes
– Whether the
applicant has “a history of noncompliance with any regulatory
requirements, all legal judgments, lawsuits, legal proceedings, charges, or
government investigations, whether initiated, pending, or concluded, against
the applicant, that are related to business operations, including, but not
limited to fraud, environmental, food safety, labor, employment, worker’s
compensation, discrimination, and tax laws and regulations, in this state or
any other jurisdiction”
12. Expect
background checks and inspections
State officials
will be scrutinizing both the individuals that want to start recreational
marijuana businesses, their business plans and the physical facilities
involved.
Understanding
who regulators consider to be “applicants” for state licenses is
important.
Though it varies
slightly according to how the business is incorporated, the basic definition of
an applicant is anyone with more than 10 percent ownership of the company. In
some cases, this includes their spouses as well.
Every applicant
will have to undergo a background check, and should expect to submit a year’s
worth of tax returns and to disclose criminal and financial background
information.
Additionally,
the businesses have to have a physical building and must pass a prelicensure
inspection within 60 days of submitting their license application to the state.
Municipalities
also have the ability to start local licensing programs for adult-use marijuana
businesses — but they don’t have to.
That means if a
city or township hasn’t banned recreational marijuana — and has no local
licensing requirements for the industry — businesses only need a state license
to operate.
It’s important
to note that even if a city or township has banned medical marijuana
businesses, that has little to no impact on the recreational marijuana
industry. Even though most of the major adult-use business license types
require the applicant to hold a medical marijuana license as well, that doesn’t
mean the recreational business has to open up shop at the same location of the
medical marijuana business.
14. No proof of
capitalization is needed
Prospective
businesses don’t have to show state officials proof that they have money
available to start their company.
That’s important to note because medical marijuana business applicants are required to show officials proof of capitalization. In the medical industry, potential businesses have to have from $200,000 to $500,000 in assets in order to be licensed.
Originally Posted in MLive Here – MLive provides many great news articles about Medical and Recreational Marijuana in the State of Michigan. Do a Search.
– Armada – Center Line – Chesterfield Township – Harrison Township – Macomb Township – Memphis – New Baltimore – New Haven – Ray Township – Richmond – Richmond Township – Shelby Township – St. Clair Shores – Sterling Heights – Washington Township
Manistee
– Manistee – Norman Township
Marquette
– Forsyth Township – Ishpeming – Powell Township
Mason
– Custer Township – Village of Custer – Grant Township – Meade Township – Pere Marquette Charter Township – Scottville – Sheridan Township – Victory Township
Mecosta
– Green Charter Township – Martiny Township – Morton Township
– Berlin Township – Frenchtown Township – Luna Pier – Monroe – Raisinville Township – Whiteford Township
Montcalm
– Carson City – Day Township – Eureka Township – Village of Lakeview – Montcalm Township – Sidney Township
Montmorency
– Avery Township – Hillman Township – Village of Hillman
Muskegon
– Blue Lake Township – Casanovia Township – Montague – North Muskegon – Norton Shores – Whitehall
Newaygo
– Ashland Township – Fremont – Newaygo
Oakland
– Addison Township – Bloomfield Township – Commerce Township – Franklin – Leonard – Milford – Northville – Novi – Orchard Lake – Oxford Township – Wolverine Lake – Rochester – Rochester Hills – West Bloomfield Township – Wixom
Oceana
– Grant Township – Rothbury – Shelby Township
Ogemaw
– Churchill Township
Ontonagon
– Stannard Township
Osceola
– Evart – Hersey Township – Reed City
Otsego
– Bagley Township – Corwith Township – Gaylord – Hayes Township – Otsego Lake Township – Vanderbilt
Ottawa
– Ferrysburg – Georgetown Township – Grand Haven – Grand Haven Charter Township – Hart – Holland – Holland Township – Jamestown Township – Olive Township – Spring Lake – Wright Township – Zeeland
