Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2013
Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
Column: Higher Ground
Copyright: 2013 C.E.G.W./Times-Shamrock
Contact:  http://www.metrotimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1381
Author: Larry Gabriel

MEDICAL MARIJUANA & THE GOOGLE EFFECT

Another Layer of Legitimacy

This is big news for marijuana activists around the world: Michigan 
Compassion, a Taylor-based medical marijuana nonprofit, has received 
a major award from Google Grants to support its education efforts. 
Not only does it help the organization, it adds another layer of 
legitimacy in an area that had formerly been pushed into the shadows 
of society.

"Michigan Compassion is a recipient of a Google Grants award," reads 
a letter Google provided the organization. "The Google Grants program 
supports registered nonprofit organizations that share Google's 
philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as 
science and technology, education, global public health, the 
environment, youth advocacy and the arts. Google Grants is an in-kind 
advertising program that awards free online advertising to nonprofits 
via Google AdWords."

The value of the grant isn't clear. Heidi Parikh, co-founder and 
president of Michigan Compassion, says she can't comment on the 
details of the grant, but published reports have estimated it from a 
low of $120,000 to as high as $250,000 in annual credits for the life 
of Michigan Compassion - over the years it could be millions. That's 
a lot of value for a small nonprofit with three staffers and dozens 
of volunteers. Michigan Compassion is a registered 501(c)(3) federal 
nonprofit. In fact, the organization is included in the Southeastern 
Michigan Combined Federal Campaign Charity Listing of organizations - 
along with the Boy Scouts of America, Red Cross and the American 
Cancer Society - that government employees are encouraged to support 
through payroll deduction.

I was at the meeting a couple of years ago when Parikh announced that 
the organization had received its nonprofit status. That happened to 
be the evening that Irv Rosenfeld, one of a handful of patients in 
the federal medical marijuana program who receive 300 free marijuana 
cigarettes each month, spoke to the group. It was a great event for 
both reasons.

"One of the main reasons we really worked toward getting our 
501(c)(3) status was so we could be a legitimate legal organization 
moving forward in Michigan," Parikh says. "Getting grants and being 
able to meet with staff at medical facilities are things only a 
registered nonprofit could do. Only a 501(c)(3) organization could 
receive this grant. We are treated and respected like any federally 
recognized nonprofit in the community. Almost every cause has a 
legitimate nonprofit to move it forward in the community as far as 
education and awareness are concerned."

Parikh's husband, Amish, writes grants for Michigan Compassion and 
credits the example of Rosenfeld, who suffers from Multiple 
Congenital Cartilaginous Exostis and has been receiving government 
marijuana since 1980, with convincing the CFC Charity Listing to 
include Michigan Compassion. The organization will be able to do 
presentations at charity fairs for groups such as the U.S. Post 
Office to educate workers about their services in an effort to 
solicit donations.

The nonprofit focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of 
medical cannabis through education, information and advocacy. Its 
website includes such information for patients as a discussion of the 
Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and what to expect from a caregiver. 
There is information for medical professionals such as links to 
scientific studies on marijuana for medical purposes, and discussion 
of the human cannabinoid receptors that substances in marijuana 
interact with. It even scrolls headlines of the latest marijuana 
news. Michigan Compassion has reached out to doctors and medical 
facilities to help educate them about medical marijuana.

"What they don't understand is that it's not about smoking," Parikh 
says. "There's this little cloud above their heads with this lit-up 
joint. We've come so far. There are gel tabs, topicals and other 
things that are being created. It's happening; it's legitimate. We're 
at the forefront as a legitimate organization. ... Our vision is to 
see it rescheduled, researched and readily available in its natural form."

Federal reclassification of marijuana is the Holy Grail for medical 
marijuana activists. Its status as a Schedule 1 drug "with no 
currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse" blocks 
research for most organizations in the United States.

In addition to the financial value of the Google grant, it shows 
evidence that a major, worldwide corporation is ready to engage with 
medical marijuana. In the past, Google has had strict and restrictive 
policies regarding marijuana advertising. If there is no serious 
blowback against Google for this grant, it may have opened the door 
for other big corporations to take a kinder eye toward medical 
marijuana. It's pretty clear that the more real information people 
get regarding medical marijuana, the more they favor it. As open 
discussion of marijuana becomes more prevalent, recent polls show 
about three out of four Americans support legalizing medical 
marijuana, and about half of Americans support legalizing it for 
recreational use. It's a totally different environment from decades 
past when there was little actual information about the substance and 
it couldn't even be discussed beyond an emotional level.

"It's all about being treated equal," Parikh says. "I came from a 
business mentality, don't let your emotions get in the way. Don't run 
your business based on emotions."

Doctors have been in a bad position too. They've had no training or 
information about marijuana other than the anecdotal. And some have 
been threatened by medical institutions to keep them from engaging 
with marijuana. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who led the 
opposition against the MMMA even before he was elected, has been 
fighting medical marijuana tooth and nail. He's intimidated doctors 
by declaring that anyone involved with it is still subject to federal 
prosecution. There are other interested parties enhancing that line of thought.

"The pharmaceutical reps are telling doctors that if they prescribe 
marijuana they will be in trouble with the law," Parikh says. "We 
visit doctors' offices, talk to them respectfully and let them know 
that they are not going to go to jail for recommending marijuana."

The Google grant will be useful for medical marijuana patients in 
other ways. When someone does a Google search for medical marijuana, 
information from Michigan Compassion will appear closer to the top of 
search results.

"When someone has cancer and they're researching online, maybe 
they've heard about medical marijuana, anything they type in that 
asks that question, the information is way down low," says Parikh. 
"The grant will optimize searches by bringing it up to the top. It 
will help those who are looking for what we educate on and to find us 
quickly. We educate on the MMMA. The consequences for a wrong 
interpretation of it are so strong; we want to make sure that people 
stay safe. It's very hard to interpret law. The police can't 
interpret it. If a 60-year-old couple that has never been involved 
with marijuana begins to grow, and they get arrested, look at the 
consequences they face. We teach people. We don't want to see people 
arrested for a mistake."

Make no mistake about it. It's never too late to become educated 
about something new. Michigan Compassion can be found online at 
mycompassion.org.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom