Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2011
Source: Leader & Kalkaskian (MI)
Copyright: 2011 Morning Star Publishing, a Journal Register Property
Contact:  http://www.morningstarpublishing.com/leader_and_kalkaskian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5238
Author: Chris Tredway, Editor
Referenced: Michigan Medical Marijuana Act http://drugsense.org/url/8mvr7sW8
Bookmark: http://www.drugsense.org/cms/geoview/n-us-mi (Michigan)

MARIJUANA LAW GATEWAY TO CONTROVERSY

Kalkaska County Inhales Statewide Conundrum

KALKASKA - The people voted, marijuana became a legal substance, and 
everyone in Michigan was to live happily ever after.

This fairytale hasn't been all rainbows and dancing bears, however, 
and as lawsuits continue to crop up across the state the future of 
medical marijuana seems hazy at best.

Kalkaska County is not without its share of confusion, and at times 
frustration, over the Medical Marihuana Act of 2008. The county 
hasn't gone without its day in court, either.

And when the gavel dropped here in July of 2010 in regard to medical 
cannabis, statewide attention fell on Chief Judge Janet Allen of the 
46th Circuit Court and Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly.

The defendant was Archie Kiel, a man accused of growing 31 more pot 
plants than the law allowed at his home in Rapid City. Kiel served 42 
days of a five-month sentence and recently filed an appeal, which 
could result in a new trial and shift eyes back to the county courthouse.

It could also help clarify a law many view as vague and contradictory.

"The law has some areas that need to be redefined, or defined for the 
first time," said Carl Christoph, the appellate attorney assigned to Kiel.

Christoph's client - a former marijuana caregiver whose house was 
raided by the Traverse City Narcotics Team in August of 2009 - is 
hoping last year's conviction will be overturned, which would restore 
his right under the law to grow pot for up to five card-carrying 
patients and himself. Kiel is scheduled to appear before Judge Allen 
on May 27 at 9:30 a.m.

The judge will then rejoin colleagues across the state in trying to 
formulate issues with little help from past cases.

"We don't have much guidance from appellate courts," Judge Allen said 
concerning decisions on the marijuana law. "There are not many 
published cases that would help trial courts."

While the primary topic in Kiel's case is of the caregiving variety, 
there are other issues that have sprouted due to the marijuana law. 
One in particular has attracted Donnelly's attention due to its 
widespread implications.

Don't Kill the Messenger

Embattled these days by marijuana proponents who believe he harbors 
animosity toward the plant, Donnelly maintains the air of a messenger 
- - as in the bearer of bad news.

He sat recently behind his desk - a landscape strewn with police 
reports - and tried to throw light on the current climate.

Michigan's medical marijuana law, he said, is poorly written and has 
thus proven to be a breeding ground for debate. On top of that, 
Donnelly believes most of his critics have not actually read the law.

"One of the clear failures in establishing this law is that it 
created a conflict with another law, and it's not been resolved yet," 
the prosecutor said. "And people who are expressing opinions about it 
- - the ones that I have dealt with - have not ever read it themselves."

The law at odds with Michigan's marijuana act is one which prohibits 
any trace of the drug in those operating a motor vehicle, Donnelly 
said. This means some patients, particularly those with lower 
metabolisms, could potentially not be legal to drive for several days 
after lighting up.

"I believe there is a law in Michigan that says if you have any 
presence of marijuana in your system it is unlawful for you to drive. 
And I believe that means exactly what it says," Donnelly said. "So if 
you have a medical marijuana card and you smoke marijuana every day, 
I would think you would always have some presence of it in your system.

"If somebody is going to use marijuana every day as some type of 
medical treatment, they're probably not ever going to be legal to 
drive their car. I'm not saying they can't use medical marijuana, I'm 
saying you might have to make a choice."

Bill and Brandi Ness, of Onaway, choose both.

Reefer Reputation

The couple, who often travel to Traverse City for doctor 
appointments, also choose to avoid driving through Kalkaska County on 
their way. Local authorities here, they said, have developed a 
reputation among medical marijuana users.

"Every time we come to Traverse City we drive 50 miles out of our 
way," said Bill Ness, a marijuana card carrier who also functions as 
his wife's primary caregiver.

Both use the drug to combat chronic pain - Bill is nearly blind and 
suffers from migraine headaches and Brandi injured her shoulder 
several years ago.

Last winter while driving through Kalkaska, they were pulled over by 
a state trooper - with county deputies providing backup - for a 
broken tail light. Brandi Ness, the driver, had left an old joint on 
the dashboard and soon found herself undergoing field sobriety tests. 
She had taken two puffs on the joint more than 12 hours before 
driving, she said.

The trooper believed Brandi Ness to be under the influence and took 
her to Kalkaska Memorial Hospital for blood tests and then on to the 
county jail, where she spent the night. The blood tests, she said, 
came back clean.

Bill Ness, who was dropped at a local hotel that night, said he and 
his wife were treated wrongfully by "somebody who is supposed to 
protect and serve."

Regardless of reputation, Donnelly said he and other local 
authorities do not target marijuana users.

"It is incorrect to say that the police are going out of their way to 
arrest people because they have some connection with medical 
marijuana. Most of the outspoken people that I have heard, and read 
their views in the paper, are poorly informed," he said.

"I am routinely accused by people of not knowing the law and not 
following the law. My job is to read, understand and enforce the law. 
I've been doing this for 25 years."

Mike Volz, a Fife Lake resident familiar with Kiel's court battle and 
a marijuana user himself, doesn't buy the prosecutor's defense.

"Donnelly has a blatant and biased disregard for the Michigan 
marijuana law," he said.

While Donnelly's approach to the law seems to have created one kind 
of controversy, there are others who spawn another, seeking safety 
beneath an act intended to house only medical patients.

Carpe Diem

"Some people will say, you don't have glaucoma or cancer and so 
you're abusing the law. But I'm not. We voted on it. The law says if 
I go to a doctor and say I have chronic pain that it's okay," one 
area resident said, seeking anonymity.

A pot smoker since 2005, this man acquired the drug exclusively 
through a dealer until this year when his friend qualified for a 
medical marijuana card. He's recently been cleared to carry his own 
card, though, and said the doctor's appointment took about three 
minutes. The card should arrive within a couple months, but temporary 
paperwork qualifies him in the meantime.

"It's $150 for the doctor, and $100 goes to the state. That's why I 
assume everybody's able to get their cards, because the state just 
takes everybody's $100 and says, 'Thank you. We're broke.'"

Does he have reservations about taking advantage of the marijuana act?

"No. It (pot) makes me feel better," he said. "It's legal, so why 
not? I'm driving around with weed in my car anyway."  
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