CADILLAC -- Protesters who gathered at the Wexford County Courthouse expressed different reasons for being there but had one thing in common: support for medical marijuana. Voters passed a law allowing limited use of medical marijuana in 2008. It requires individuals to receive a doctor's certification and have a card identifying themselves as patients. Approximately a dozen activists visited the courthouse Thursday, Aug. 14 carrying signs with messages such as "No victim, no crime" and "My rights, my choice" as they congregated in the courthouse parking lot and circled the building on the sidewalk. [continues 245 words]
Port Huron residents will vote Nov. 4 on whether to amend the Port Huron city charter to decriminalize marijuana. Port Huron City Manager James Freed said the initiatory petition submitted by Laura Rigby on July 29 had enough signatures to get on the ballot. Five percent of registered voters, or 1,054 people, were needed to approve the peition. City Clerk Sue Child said 1,095 of the signatures were valid. Rigby turned in more than 1,600 signatures. The petition seeks to legalize the possession and use of less than 1 ounce of marijuana by anyone 21 or older. [continues 327 words]
Tragedy always reminds us of how precious life is, how important people are to us, but it is also a time to take a closer look at ourselves and face our own demons. The recent loss of actor and comedian Robin Williams brings increased attention to an illness that far too many people suffer from - substance use disorder and depression. Williams battled an addiction to drugs and alcohol for decades. Williams was quoted in an ABC News interview as saying that "drinking presents another side of yourself that even you don't know." [continues 810 words]
Chuck Ream takes his cannabis religiously. In fact he's evangelistic about it. "When you get out past your own ego, the teaching plants carry the message of right and wrong just like the Bible," says Ream. "That teaching from the magical plants could be the impetus to save our civilization, to move beyond absolute materialism. It's the only real religion." It's that kind of zeal that led to Ream receiving the High Times Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent Michigan Medical Marijuana Cannabis Cup. It's a great honor, but Ream has bigger ambitions. [continues 1091 words]
Last week, The New York Times published an editorial calling for the federal legalization of marijuana but suggested it should be left to individual states about whether it should be legal within their individual boundaries. The Times made a number of logical arguments, including comparing the criminalization of marijuana with the outlawing of alcohol in the Prohibition era. The Times said marijuana should be legal for recreational and medical use. It noted that arrests for marijuana far outstrip the number of arrests for more serious and more dangerous substances, including heroin and cocaine, and the enforcement tends to waste law enforcement resources that could be spent better on more serious crimes. [continues 809 words]
When Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, nobody knew exactly how would it affect the state's economy. But when the numbers starting coming in, it turned out that pot legalization proved to be a good source of revenue for the state. One report said Colorado expected about $184 million in tax revenues in the first 18 months since the law passed. The Colorado story encouraged many Michigan communities to legalize or decriminalize pot in their areas and the recent cities being added to the list are Oak Park and Hazel Park. [continues 385 words]
6 Suspended After Evidence Taken in Raid Not Logged Detroit - Six members of a Detroit police narcotics unit that raided a suspected drug house have been suspended after a surveillance video captured them taking away a box they never logged as evidence. The investigation is part of a larger Internal Affairs probe into the now-disbanded Narcotics Section, which was retooled last month after allegations surfaced claiming major problems in the unit. One sergeant and five officers have been suspended with pay while Internal Affairs investigators try to determine what was inside the box taken from the raid, said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. [continues 483 words]
Novi District Judge Advances to Nov. Election in Tight Race Voters in Hazel Park and Oak Park approved legalizing possession of marijuana for personal use Tuesday, while a controversial Novi district judge advanced to November's general election. Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News Debra Young of the Safer Michigan Coalition, which backed allowing small-time marijuana possession in Oak Park. The measure passed. The marijuana proposal won with 62 percent voting yes in Hazel Park and 53 percent approving in Oak Park. Hazel Park voters also approved an operating millage for the school district. [continues 507 words]
Advocate: 'I Just Think Voters Spoke on It. I Figured It Was Going to Pass.' Hazel Park and Oak Park voters who expected legalized marijuana after Tuesday's vote may face some disappointment. The two marijuana decriminalization ballot measures passed by voters are most likely a statement rather than a full-on legalization. Hazel Park Police Chief Martin Barner said the way his department handles marijuana will not change. "I'm going to continue to enforce the laws of the state and federal laws," Barner said. "And until the city council, mayor, city attorney and other administration tell me to do otherwise, (we will enforce it)." [continues 324 words]
Voters in the cities of Hazel Park and Oak Park passed similar ordinance amendments that will allow for individuals ages 21 and older to legally use, possess or transfer less than one ounce of marijuana on private property. The Hazel Park ballot measure passed with 763 "yes" votes and 460 "no" votes with all precincts reporting. The Oak Park ballot measure passed with 2,161 "yes" votes and 1,913 "no" votes with all precincts reporting. Both cities join Ferndale, where voters approved a similar decriminalization amendment in November 2013 by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Hazel Park Schools Millage YES: 57.75% (909) NO: 42.25% (665) Oakland County SMART Bus Millage YES: 73.66% (73,253) NO: 26.34% (26,195) [end]
Voters in the cities of Hazel Park and Oak Park passed similar ordinance amendments that will allow for individuals ages 21 and older to legally use, possess or transfer less than 1-ounce of marijuana on private property. The Hazel Park ballot measure passed with 763 "yes" votes and 460 "no" votes with all precincts reporting. The Oak Park ballot measure passed with 2,161 "yes" votes and 1,913 "no" votes with all precincts reporting. Both cities join Ferndale, where voters approved a similar decriminalization amendment in November 2013 by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. [end]
Voters said yes to decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in Hazel Park and Oak Park today, according to unofficial election results. The measure would allow the use, possession or transfer of less than 1 ounce of marijuana on private property not used by the public by a person who is at least 21 years old. It passed 62% to 38% with all precincts reporting in Hazel Park. The unofficial win was more narrow in Oak Park with 53% to 47% passage with all precincts reporting. [continues 92 words]
There is much talk these days, on a local and national level, of what to do with the 40,000-plus children at the U.S.-Mexican border. Like it or not, some of those kids are being placed with their family members or social service organizations right here in southeast Michigan. The United Nations calls them refugees, and some locals call them an invasion. The truth is that these children are indeed refugees - refugees of our War on Drugs. Sonia Nazario, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Enrique's Journey, a story about a boy from Honduras on his quest to reunite with his mother in the United States, embarked on a four-country journey with him 10 years ago, and recently went back to see how things had changed. She discussed it on a recent episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. [continues 574 words]
TRAVERSE CITY Daniel Reid's life changed more than a decade after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease that can lead to vision problems, pain and paralysis. An MS researcher told Reid about using Cannabidiol, a compound in marijuana, to treat the disease. "Within a few days it had an enormous effect on me," Reid said. "Over time I weaned myself off of other medications I was using, and now that's how I am treating my MS. I've had it since 1997, and I'm perfectly healthy. It's not progressing." [continues 330 words]
Michigan's 27th District House seat is turning out to be a hotly-contested primary race with five Democratic candidates and two Republicans aiming for victory. The district covers areas of Berkley, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak Township. Marijuana seems to be one of the hottest topics for the voters in the district in recent months as civil right groups have managed to put the pot legalization on the ballot in these communities. Andrew Robert Cissell, a Democrat, has been personally involved in submitting the required petitions for the ballot. [continues 363 words]
Chuck Ream knows that a few cities in mid-Michigan can't change the world, or the country. But he and others hope that ballot initiatives in Mt. Pleasant and Harrison in the November election to legalize small amounts of marijuana will at the very least get people thinking about decriminalizing cannabis on a larger scale. Ream is part of an effort in to legalize the use, possession or transfer of less than 2.5 ounces of marijuana on private property among people 21 and older. [continues 401 words]
The Ferndale City Council has given its unanimous approval to a medical marijuana center similar to one that county authorities raided with a SWAT team and padlocked in 2010. But city officials said the Meridian Wellness Center, which is to occupy a former liquor store on East 9 Mile near I-75, will operate within state law as it provides medical marijuana to state-approved patients. "I'd like there to be more state guidelines for us to follow," but the city found no reason to block the center from opening after those who proposed it met a list of conditions, Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said. [continues 542 words]
Michigan's 27th District House seat is turning out to be a hotly-contested primary race with five Democratic candidates and two Republicans aiming for victory. The district covers areas of Berkley, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak Township. Marijuana seems to be one of the hottest topics for the voters in the district in recent months as civil right groups have managed to put the pot legalization on the ballot in these communities. Andrew Robert Cissell, a Democrat, has been personally involved in submitting the required petitions for the ballot. [continues 362 words]
Oakland County ballots for Tuesday's primary election are crowded with candidates seeking six open state House seats where incumbents aren't running. But perhaps the most heated matchup is between a Republican incumbent and his challenger. In the 39th District, state Rep. Klint Kesto of Commerce Township faces tea party activist Deb O'Hagan of West Bloomfield. In May, O'Hagan removed the state coat of arms from her Facebook page after the Michigan Secretary of State received a complaint from a Kesto supporter that she was violating state law by using the design in campaign ads, according to a Free Press report. [continues 645 words]
Michigan Moves Forward Well, we can chalk up another medical Cannabis Cup for the state of Michigan. Truth is, I was too busy to make it to Clio, although the Wyclef Jean show to cap it off would have been worth the trip on its own. At least I got to enjoy Lee DeVito's posts from the affair. I think he sent them in by carrier pigeon - an electronic pigeon. These kinds of things are the fulfillment of lots of strategic planning to make sure things go right. The last Cup, held in Detroit in 2011, was pretty good except for Detroit police felt the need to stroll through and show off a little muscle. That included shutting down the medicating area. [continues 1112 words]
Inside Michigan
