Pubdate: Wed, 7 Jan 2009
Source: City Pulse (Lansing, MI)
Copyright: 2009 City Pulse
Contact:  http://www.lansingcitypulse.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4532
Author: Neal McNamara
Photo: http://www.mapinc.org/images/marijuanaseeds.jpg
Cited: Michigan Medical Marihuana Program http://www.michigan.gov/mmp
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org/
Cited: Michigan NORML http://www.minorml.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+Department+of+Community+Health
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

JUST SAY NO

A first draft of rules of the state's new medical marijuana law 
incites protest from patients and advocates.

The frustration of Desmond Mitchell, a state Department of Community 
Health policy adviser, was almost palpable at a public hearing Monday 
morning regarding the department's draft rules for the state's new 
medical marijuana law.

Mitchell sat at a long conference table, slightly slumped, as 
lawyers, patients, advocates, and even one self-proclaimed 
pot-growing expert gave impassioned speeches about medical marijuana, 
as if they were being faced with the revocation of their constitutional rights.

About halfway through the threehour meeting, Mitchell spoke up.

"I would ask that we not go over the same rules, so everyone can 
speak," Mitchell told the crowd gathered in a conference room at the 
state's secondary complex out near Dimondale - estimates from various 
media outlets put that crowd between 100 and 200.

But the speakers, some infirm in wheelchairs, others looking scruffy 
like veterans of a long war to legalize medical marijuana, were upset 
at the draft rules - some saying that the department was 
contradicting the law passed in November by voters by a margin of 63 
percent, or outright seeking to restrict access to medical marijuana.

Some of the most despised rules include requiring useable marijuana 
to be kept in a locked cabinet and requiring patients and caregivers 
to keep an inventory of their marijuana; some feared this could help 
incriminate patients by creating a paper trail of their use of a drug 
still illegal under federal law.

Some in the public questioned why medical marijuana has to be locked 
up but other, stronger drugs can be kept just anywhere.

Questions were also raised about rules that would allow state 
officials to inspect medical marijuana patients' inventories and 
prohibit medical marijuana to be consumed in public view, even on 
private property.

The Rev. Steven B. Thompson, the head of the Michigan National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, chastised the 
department for drafting a rule that would bar him from using 
marijuana on his property, which he said is quite expansive.

"I have the right to consume medical cannabis on my porch, on my 
property and in my home," he said, adding that he doesn't have 
curtains on his windows.

There were also complaints about the procedure one would have to 
undergo to get a reduced rate in applying to be on the medical 
marijuana registry - the department has proposed a $100 application 
fee, which would be reduced to $25 if a patient can prove that 
they're receiving Social Security or Medicare. Some said that this 
could put patients in legal trouble, or get them kicked off of 
federal assistance.

Even "the man" - state police spokesman Greg Zorotney - criticized 
the rules; he took issue with a rule that would have leftover medical 
marijuana, such as when a patient dies, given over to law enforcement agencies.

"Our department doesn't want to accept medical marijuana from 
anybody," Zorotney said. "There should be a mandate that it be 
destroyed or transferred to another patient."

Karen O'Keefe, a lawyer with the Washington-based Marijuana Policy 
Project, which largely bankrolled Michigan's medical marijuana 
initiative, said that the department was overstepping its boundaries. 
O'Keefe, who wrote Michigan's law, said that the department was given 
two duties: set up a patient registry and oversee the list of 
diseases that would allow someone to use medical marijuana.

"The draft rules have gone much further, and they instead seek to add 
onerous and unreasonable restrictions on patients," she said. "In 
several cases (the draft rules) contradict the language of the 
voter-enacted law."

James McCurtis, a department spokesman, said that the rules - the 
state has a deadline of April 4 - could still go through "infinite" 
iterations. McCurtis said that the state has been in contact with 
Oregon for guidance on setting up a medical marijuana system.

At the end of the meeting Mitchell reasoned with the crowd, telling 
them that their input is valuable to the process of implementing a 
final set of rules. He seemed to indicate that what was presented 
Monday would probably change.

"We're a regulatory agency, and we look at things different than you 
a lot of the time," Mitchell said.  "I just want to assure you that 
no one is pulling a fast one - your comments will help us to make the 
rules better." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake