Pubdate: Sat, 31 May 2014
Source: Tri-County Times (Fenton, MI)
Copyright: 2014sTri-County Times
Contact: http://www.tctimes.com/forms/letters/
Website: http://www.tctimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5188
Author: William Axford
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

STATE PROFITS $6.8 MILLION FROM MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Overall Number of Registered Cardholders Declining Since 2012

The state of Michigan raked in $10.8 million during 2013 through the
state medical marijuana program.

With $4 million in expenses, medical marijuana provided a $6.8 million
boost to the state finances, according to a Jan. 1, 2014 report on
medical marijuana in Michigan filed to the state Licensing and
Regulatory Affairs (LARA) department.

Last year's profits are slightly higher than 2012, when the state
generated $6.2 million in revenue from medical marijuana.

As part of the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMA), a
statistical report must be submitted to the state at the beginning of
each year. The revenue is generated through licensing fees.

Between Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013, 82,193 applications for a
medical marijuana card were approved while 11,612 applications were
denied. The state approved 36,175 applications for a renewed license
and denied 8,672 patients with existing licenses.

Amongst the 118,368 total registered medical marijuana cardholders,
7,988 of them reside in Genesee County, the fourth numerous county in
the state for registered medical marijuana holders. Wayne ranks the
highest at 14,169 registered patients, followed by Oakland at 10,741
and Macomb at 7,997.

Compared to last year's numbers, medical marijuana patients in Genesee
and Oakland counties have fallen 243 and 376, respectively. Overall,
there were 124,131 cardholders in 2012.

Patients seeking a medical marijuana card must have a health condition
to do so. Severe and chronic pain accounted for nearly 70 percent of
claims, followed by severe and persistent muscle spasms, severe nausea
and seizures.

No registry cards were revoked in 2013 and 2012. The number of doctors
registered to prescribe medical marijuana dipped from 1,928 in 2012 to
1,457 in 2013.

Legal disputes over dispensaries caused local municipalities to amend
medical marijuana ordinances a few times in the past few years. From
moratoriums to outright bans, each municipality responded differently
as medical marijuana continued to grow. Currently, dispensaries remain
illegal but a slew of House bills may make medical marijuana shops
legal again. Only one medical marijuana dispensary was established in
the tri-county area, Well Greens in Holly. Since being raided by
police in early 2013, incidents involving law enforcement and medical
marijuana have been nonexistent in Holly.

"We're following the current state law and federal regulations," said
Jerry Walker, village manager. "There have been little to no inquiries
on dispensaries, which are not allowed in the community at this time."

Other recent developments in medical marijuana include approval of
prescribing medical marijuana for post traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) and a bill to legalize medical marijuana in pill form.
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