The first time Brandy Zink lobbied in Congress for medical marijuana, she wasn't taken very seriously. But that was in 2000, long before the dam burst on the bud. "Capitol Hill is very intimidating with those big stone buildings; you can hear every step you take echo down the halls," says Zink, a then-fledgling lobbyist in her early 20s. "At first it was very difficult to get an appointment with a representative. We'd be received politely, but there would be no follow-up. They would make jokes like asking, 'Do you have any samples?' or 'Are you high right now?' We were not taken seriously." [continues 1091 words]
Lansing - The Michigan Senate voted Thursday to place a hard cap on the 180-day signature collection window for statewide ballot proposals, a move that may snuff out a rule change sought by a pro-marijuana legalization group. The legislation, now headed to the state House of Representatives, would eliminate a part of state election law allowing petitioners to challenge the presumption that signatures are "stale and void" if they are collected outside a 180-day period. The Republican-led Senate approved the bill in a 26-10 vote, mostly along party lines. [continues 479 words]
While many citizens accept regulations when they seem reasonable, "95 percent" of cannabis (marijuana) dispensaries being affected by new regulations do not seem reasonable. It's another achievement of government-subsidized discrimination in a country where the prevalence of discrimination is undeniable. And make no mistake: Bigots orchestrated cannabis prohibition from the beginning as an act of racism, greed, and control. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
The Elite Detroit medical marijuana provisioning center is located in a former car dealership on Woodward not far north of Seven Mile Road. There is a tall cyclone fence surrounding the entire facility, including a spacious parking lot. Customers can only enter and exit the lot from Woodward; there's no way to go directly into the neighborhood from there. The self-contained little compound would seem to be the perfect place for the security conscious set. A littler farther south, on the other side of Seven Mile, the Miles Green Acres provisioning center sits in a former ice cream shop. Fortuitously, it's next door to the Dutch Girl Donuts store. There's some convenience there: Stock up on weed and stock up on doughnuts. [continues 945 words]
Lansing - Regulating and taxing the medical marijuana industry could generate up to $63 million a year for the state and local governments, according to a new economic analysis. It's a conservative estimate, said Gary Wolfram, director of economics at Hillsdale College and a former deputy state treasurer for taxation and economic policy. He released the calculations Monday on a legislative package approved last year by the state House but not yet taken up by the Senate. "This is going to generate revenue - probably a lot of revenue," Wolfram said Monday on a conference call organized by the Michigan Cannabis Development Association, which commissioned the report. [continues 476 words]
Last spring Michigan was popping with a potential of three different initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana statewide. Today it looks like the last initiative standing is the MILegalize effort. "I think that our approach represents the centrist position and is capable of being a reasonable and comfortable policy for the majority," says Jamie Lowell of MI Legalize. "It's not something that's super prohibitive and only allows a few to participate in this new emerging market. We kind of find ourselves with the most appealing, sensitive and grounded approach." [continues 1277 words]
The administration has opined that our country incarcerates too many people for nonviolent drug offenses. It recently decided to address that problem. However, the only people who are going to be happy about the solution are drug dealers. In December, the federal government quietly cut almost half of the funding for Drug Enforcement Agency task forces across the country. Police chiefs across the country received a letter from the Department of Justice entitled "Deferral of Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Payments." It explained that drug forfeiture funds, which local agencies receive for working with DEA, would be "deferred" until further notice. DOJ referred to this as a $1.2 billion "rescission" needed to balance its budget. [continues 502 words]
I've sometimes wondered what the cannabis lounge of the future will be like when cannabis connoisseurs don't have to sneak around and keep their pleasure on the down low. Will it have the typical bar and lounge look? Will it look like a coffeehouse? Will it have a psychedelic feel? Will there be overstuffed chairs providing something soft and comfortable for customers to settle back into? Will there be ferns at the windows while patrons sip chai? I've been to a place in Holland where there was a guy selling hash from a table in the back of a regular bar but never saw any place that was specifically catering to a specific cannabis atmosphere. [continues 1201 words]
Recently an old family friend got in contact with me because she has cancer and wanted to use cannabis to alleviate the side effects of her chemotherapy. She got her card from the state and had gone to provisioning center in Detroit to buy some items. She didn't want to smoke or get high so she bought edibles. She called me to figure out if she'd got the right stuff. Personally I thought that she had bought a little too much of the wrong stuff. She had bought a bunch of CBD-infused articles that she'd been told would bring her down from the THC oil that she'd purchased. [continues 1359 words]
Apparently there is a third marijuana legalization petition that has been given the thumbs up by Michigan election officials - and it's not the investor-backed plan from the Michigan Responsibility Council that made some waves last year. This new one comes from a group calling itself MichICan and its petition is called Abrogate Prohibition in Michigan 2016. This particular effort has been running under the radar for a short while but its plan is pretty much the most radical of all proposals so far. It calls for the legalization of marijuana without restrictions of any kind. In the words of the petition: "The agricultural, personal, recreational, medicinal, commercial, and industrial use of cannabis in any form shall be a lawful activity." [continues 1276 words]
Local doctors are not writing any pain medicine prescriptions when they find the patient is using medical marijuana. This is why we have a local heroin epidemic. Medical marijuana serves as a pain medicine, but does not cover all pain. Why are these doctors/hospitals willing to write multiple scripts for powerful pain pills, but stop writing any scripts for pain pills when they learn of the patient's medical marijuana use? Doctors, please help patients: write one script for pain pills to cover the horrific pain (some of these people are dying), and let medical marijuana get them through the rest. Or this problem will get worse. Beverly Hynes Lansing [end]
Re: The Detroit News' Dec 12 story, "FBI agent shot in Detroit drug raid": We seem to hear stories like this one about the enormous drug bust and injured FBI agent so often that it makes you wonder whether police officers really still believe we're making a dent in the drug market. It makes you wonder whether it's even worth it, considering a veteran officer was shot during this big drug bust. Officers are hurt and killed in the line of duty, and we can do something about it. [continues 129 words]
There is little doubt in my mind that marijuana - cannabis, weed, pot, ganja, skunk, bud, herb, sticky icky, mota (in Mexico), le shit (in France), whatever you want to call it - is on the road to legalization. There are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is the changes taking place around the world. In Italy the army has been given the task of growing medical marijuana because the cost of imported medical marijuana is too high and government officials want to bring the price down. Israel has a well-developed medical marijuana system, and much of what we are learning about the plant is coming from research there. Uruguay has legalized recreational marijuana and other South American countries - Argentina, Brazil - are considering it. Canada's Liberal Party, which won recent elections, is moving forward quickly on legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Jamaica, possibly the central beacon of marijuana use worldwide due to Rastafarians and reggae music, has come around on medical use. [continues 1272 words]
It's been pretty well documented that the War on Drugs is in large part a war on black people (read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow). New allegations from Dothan, Alabama, could be revealing one of the most insidious cases ever to come to light. The Henry County Report (HCR), a police watchdog blog, recently ran a piece that had some of the most salacious allegations one can find: crooked cops in a secret club, cover-ups, evidence planting, and young African-American men systematically victimized by the police. [continues 1353 words]
In a recent Higher Ground column, Larry Gabriel wrote about why people should sign MILegalize petition to end Michigan's cannabis prohibition ("Make the right choice: Support MILegalize,"Nov. 25). Reader Stan White wrote in to offer his endorsement: As a Colorado resident and longtime cannabis (marijuana) activist, I support the Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Initiative Committee and the MILegalize movement ending cannabis prohibition in Michigan. It's important for voters to realize and avoid controversial opportunities, the likes of which have fractured the cannabis movement in Ohio and California that failed. With MILegalize, I'm confident that just like in Colorado, every subsequent poll will show Michigan citizens continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
I favor the MILegalize petition. Please visit its website and contribute to its campaign fund. Michigan is a right-to-farm state. If your land is suitable and you raise crops according to state standards, you may compete in the state's open market. I'd say legalize marijuana but don't corporatize it. Never interfere with patients' rights to grow their own. And tell the police to take a hike. They are addicted to profiting from Michigan's antiquated, unconstitutional forfeiture law. Their reps have repeatedly hijacked lawmakers' votes to fine tune the MMMA by showing up en masse and playing "tough cop" in legislators' offices just before a vote. [continues 257 words]
We're heading into the final rounds of the petition drives to legalize recreational marijuana here in Michigan. The MILegalize petition drive is expected to round things up by the end of December. The competing petition circulated by the Michigan Cannabis Coalition (MCC) is expected to finish up in January. In case you were wondering, the MILegalize petition is clearly the one you should support and the law you should vote for when the time comes. The MILegalize campaign comes from the Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Initiative Committee, which is mainly made up of the activists who have been fighting to change the marijuana laws in Michigan for many years. These are the people who have stood with the many municipal initiatives to legalize marijuana in cities across the state. These are the people who have rallied to support those who have been unjustly prosecuted in spite of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). They have fundraised, and stood on the state Capitol steps, and lobbied in the legislature. Michigan NORML, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and the Michigan Green Party have endorsed MILegalize. [continues 1208 words]
We're heading into the final rounds of the petition drives to legalize recreational marijuana here in Michigan. The MILegalize petition drive is expected to round things up by the end of December. The competing petition circulated by the Michigan Cannabis Coalition (MCC) is expected to finish up in January. In case you were wondering, the MILegalize petition is clearly the one you should support and the law you should vote for when the time comes. The MILegalize campaign comes from the Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Initiative Committee, which is mainly made up of the activists who have been fighting to change the marijuana laws in Michigan for many years. These are the people who have stood with the many municipal initiatives to legalize marijuana in cities across the state. These are the people who have rallied to support those who have been unjustly prosecuted in spite of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). They have fundraised, and stood on the state Capitol steps, and lobbied in the legislature. Michigan NORML, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and the Michigan Green Party have endorsed MILegalize. [continues 1210 words]
There's a lot of talk about high rollers trying to get in on the growing marijuana market. Here's the tale of a couple of low rollers who'd like to get in on a market that - as Donald Trump would say - is gonna be HUGE! Andrea and Ervin Allen run a family- and home-based business on the east side of Detroit. It's called A&E products; they're in the medical marijuana business. Andrea is a medical marijuana caregiver and Ervin is a patient. Their tale of interest in the plant goes back about 13 years when Andrea's father died from cancer. [continues 1360 words]
I saw purple spots. I saw yellow spots. I saw green spots. I saw orange spots. No, I wasn't tripping on some hallucinogen. I was looking at the map of Detroit on display at the City Planning Commission's public hearing on the zoning ordinance for the city's Medical Marijuana Caregiver Centers. Each of the colored spots represented the schools, churches, parks, liquor stores, strip joints, and whatever else the proposed centers would have to be at least 1,000 feet away from as the zoning ordinance is currently written. [continues 879 words]
Lansing - A group seeking to put recreational marijuana legalization on the November 2016 ballot abruptly stopped collecting signatures at the end of September, prompting a competing pro-pot group to speculate the other campaign is faltering. "We've heard rumors they were out of money. We haven't seen them on the street," said Jeff Hank, chair of the MI Legalize campaign. "To take a month off from petitioning is odd." But Republican political consultant Matt Marsden, who is heading the Michigan Cannabis Coalition, says the campaign is taking a "pause" to study the 210,000 voters who have already signed in pursuit of the minimum 252,523 valid voter signatures needed to get on the ballot. [continues 333 words]
It seems that some Michigan political bodies have finally been pushed to give up their wait-and-see approach to marijuana. The wait-and-see was really more of a stall-and-demure and even an ignore-it-and-maybe-it-will-go-away tactic. But citizen actions have finally forced lawmakers to step up. In Detroit and Lansing legislators are addressing the fact that medical marijuana patients actually have to buy their marijuana somewhere. In Detroit that means that the first of two sets of regulations for medical marijuana facilities was passed. It's about time; there are an estimated 148 of them, about one for each of the city's 139 square miles, and they're not clearly legal or illegal. [continues 890 words]
"I don't have that much longer to live so I have to think about what it is I have to do before I go gently into that dark night. And what I'd like to do, I think, is help people understand that ideas and thinking historically and philosophically is as important to rebuilding a country and a community and making a revolution as activism. Most people think of revolution as taking power from somebody else. And I think of revolution as transformation of ourselves." [continues 888 words]
Concerned Detroiters who cringe at the rapid spread of marijuana dispensaries and medical card-holders who rely on the product for treatment packed a public hearing today to debate proposed regulations of the city's medical marijuana industry. The Detroit City Council is considering a proposal that includes a way to license the city's approximately 150 medical marijuana shops. The proposal also has zoning restrictions on how close they can operate near schools, churches and other dispensaries. Eunice Gantt, a lifelong Detroiter, said the growing number of marijuana dispensaries hurts the city's reputation. [continues 504 words]
Nearly eight years after Michigan voters overwhelmingly concluded that marijuana should be available to patients whose doctors prescribe it, state lawmakers are finally addressing some of the most egregious defects in Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act. A package of bills that won lopsided approval in the state House of Representatives last week would establish a rational (if unnecessarily complicated) regulatory scheme for licensing growers, processors, retailers and even those who transport marijuana from one facility to another. The House-approved plan also imposes a 3% tax on retailers' gross income and authorizes doctors to prescribe non-smokable forms of the drug that the Michigan Supreme Court says remain prohibited under the 2008 law. [continues 166 words]
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently brought up marijuana while speaking to students at Amherst College in Maryland. As she talked about the need to be passionate, she said, "Pick something in your life that you don't like and that you work to change." She acknowledged that some young people were passionate about legalizing marijuana. But then she shrugged her shoulders dismissively as though marijuana legalization was small potatoes - more or less bullshit. I got a similar reaction a few years ago in conversation with a lawyer who has spent his career fighting for civil liberties. When the subject of marijuana came up, he kind of grinned and said, "That's not my issue." The way he said it seemed to imply that he wouldn't give such a lame concern the time of day. [continues 830 words]
Medical marijuana patients claim city officials have targeted them in violation of state law. Warren officials including police harassed medical marijuana patients - - some suffering from cancer -- with tickets and other methods in violation of state law, according to a lawsuit filed Monday against the city. The 23 patients from Macomb County, including seven caregivers plus two businesses, are plaintiffs in the legal action taken in Macomb County Circuit Court. "The city has created an environment of intimidation and fear, that people are afraid to get the medicine they need," said their attorney, Michael Greiner. [continues 485 words]
We may not think of ourselves as a vindictive country, but consider this: To even get us back to the incarceration rate of 1972 - hardly ancient history - we would have to reduce the number of people in prison by 80 percent. That's how overboard we've gone when it comes to locking people up. Trying to dial us back from this hyper-incarceration is a group called JustLeadershipUSA. It teaches former prisoners how to open America's eyes to our jail addiction. The other night, I attended the graduation for 19 fellows who'd just finished the yearlong course in leadership. They'd been chosen from 117 applicants nationwide on the basis of the good they'd been doing since they got out of prison. [continues 331 words]
There's good reason to pose this question. There are two petition initiatives aimed at legalizing marijuana for recreational use on the 2016 ballot - and a June poll showed state voters support legalization 56 percent to 36 percent. Faced with what looks like an inevitable course, politicians in Lansing are discussing doing the same thing legislatively. There are four states that have already legalized recreational use; Ohio is voting on it in November, and several other states will be voting on it in 2016. Presidential elections bring out the largest crowds, and polls say that the majority of voters favor legalization. By the way, 2016 will be the first election where marijuana is an issue. Candidates will be asked about it, especially when visiting states where medical or recreational laws are in effect or on the ballot. [continues 829 words]
Actress Susan Sarandon recently tweeted a message to rappers A$AP Rocky and Action Bronson, saying, "thx for the shout out on '1Train.' Not sure what it means, but let's blaze one & talk about it some time." It comes as no surprise that Sarandon, or Rocky and Bronson would want to blaze one. Sarandon has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana use for years - it probably helped her get through the chilly days on the set of the classic movie Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rocky and Bronson put out tracks that boast about their involvement with the stuff, so there's no surprise there. What's interesting is that the 68-year-old Sarandon reached out across the age and cultural divide to invite the youthful performers for a smoke. [continues 820 words]
In the United States, and in Michigan, autism is growing. In fact, it is growing at such an alarming rate that it has just recently been identified as a significant public health issue, due to statistics provided by the Center for Disease Control's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a nationwide federal program that tracks autism rates around the country. Estimates show that autism rates have risen in every report since tracking began in 2002, from one in 150 in 2002 to one in 68 in 2010. There is not a cure, however, new studies show, autism can be treated. [continues 378 words]
Back when I was in college, I walked into a friend's dorm room one night to find a bunch of weed scattered on a table with a bunch of ripped up papers. I could tell these guys were buggin' because their eyes were all bugged out as they stared at me. "Can you roll a joint?" one of them implored. Apparently these guys were using something else and needed to chill out. I coolly slipped into a seat, grabbed some papers, and commenced to rolling. These guys were really grateful as they sucked the sweet smoke into their lungs. [continues 858 words]
I had a friend named Tim who used to refer to marijuana according to the effects discerned on a first smoke. He would call a product laughing weed, or munchies weed, or sleepy weed, or happy weed, or dancing weed ... you get the idea. Recent advances in understanding the bud actually supports Tim's manner of classifying what came his way. Tim's pronouncements weren't scientific - although his sampling of the substance was more scientific than the know-nothing government prohibition - but we are discovering that there are indeed different kinds of pot with different effects. That is particularly true when considering medicinal use. In the past, marijuana dealers on the illegal recreational market have mostly sold generic "weed" (generally Mexican), with occasional supplies of Colombian, Jamaican, Hawaiian, and a few other lines named after their supposed geographic origins. [continues 846 words]
According to the Center For Disease Control, 44 people die from prescription opioid overdoses every day in the United States. In 2013, more than 16,000 people fatally overdosed on prescription painkillers. Recently, researchers from the Rand Corporation and the University of California-Irvine have determined that in the 18 states that allow medical marijuana and also allow dispensaries, there was a 16 percent reduction in "opioid-related mortality" (deaths) and a 28 percent reduction in opioid-abuse treatment admissions. In the six states that allow medical marijuana, but not dispensaries, there was no difference in opioid related overdoses or abuse treatment admissions. Their conclusion: Marijuana dispensaries save lives. [continues 116 words]
In our July 22 Higher Ground column ("Making an example") Larry Gabriel wrote about a police sweep on a Detroit Medz dispensary, a move which appeared to be defended by Detroit Councilman James Tate. Robert Sharpe, a policy analyst at Common Sense for Drug Policy, weighed in. Regarding Larry Gabriel's July 22 column, would City Councilmember James Tate and the Metropolitan Detroit Community Action Coalition prefer that we go back to the old days when violent drug cartels had a monopoly on marijuana distribution? It's long past time to stop treating marijuana like kryptonite. The plant is not nearly as dangerous (or exciting) as drug warriors would have us believe. [continues 70 words]
Last week the Detroit Medz shop on Detroit's west side was raided for "selling marijuana outside the provisions of the state medical marijuana act," says Sgt. Cassandra Lewis of the Detroit police media relations department. News reports said police found two guns, 4,100 grams (about 9 pounds) of marijuana, and arrested one person - although Lewis says two individuals were arrested that evening. Lewis says that there were complaints from the community and that police previously had made undercover buys there, although it's not clear if those undercover buys were made by people with state cards (or fake ones as has been done in the past) or by folks who just walked in with nothing to show. [continues 849 words]
I was saddened and disappointed to read The Detroit News report that Detroit police officers had raided a medical marijuana dispensary and arrested several apparent bad actors who were allegedly selling marijuana to eighth graders. As a member of the Michigan Cannabis Development Association (MCDA), I was appalled and disgusted by these alleged actions, as were many of my colleagues, who are legitimate businessmen and businesswomen trying to provide medicine to patients with serious illnesses. The MCDA believes that medical marijuana, which can be tremendously beneficial to legitimate patients with serious medical conditions, should be for the medical use of registered patients only. [continues 250 words]
The only thing my father ever told me about marijuana was that I shouldn't use it because it was illegal. He didn't say it was bad for me or anything. He pointed out that you can drink alcohol in front of the police and not get arrested. That's the kind of thing that someone who was around during alcohol prohibition - and dad was - would say. Today you still can't smoke a bud in front of the cops in most situations. But with legal medical marijuana in a bunch of states and legal recreational moving along smartly, there are a lot of people who never thought much about it noticing green buildings popping up in their neighborhoods or maybe some really bright lights shining from their neighbor's house at night. Here's a little primer for the curious on the herb superb. [continues 797 words]
I read with interest Nolan Finley's Editor's Note, "Get pot legalization right," and his prediction that marijuana would be legal for adults in Michigan by the end of 2016. To that end, I have been working on legislation to decriminalize and regulate the trade in marijuana. Getting it right and learning from the experience in Colorado is critical if Michigan is to maximize the public safety and financial gains of ending prohibition. Marijuana prohibition is a colossal failure. It is an expensive and hopeless endeavor that drives profits for violent criminals. Our head-in-the-sand policy doesn't keep marijuana out of the hands of adolescents, and it pushes the trade in marijuana into neighborhoods. Additionally, it distorts the priorities of our law enforcement resources. Rather than wasting hundreds of millions of dollars every year arresting and prosecuting marijuana users, we can redirect those efforts toward providing substance abuse treatment and taking down violent criminals. [continues 480 words]
When you lift that freshly poured glass of beer to your lips, the scent that bubbles up to your nose, sometimes tickling it, just before the liquid rolls across your tongue, is part of the entire experience. It gives an olfactory preview of the depth of flavor in the beer. What you smell are the hops in the beer, specifically the terpene -Myrcene, which gives beer its bitter, hoppy smell and taste. It's a good complement for beer. -Myrcene is known to be sedating, a muscle relaxant, a bit of a hypnotic, and an anti-inflammation agent - - all geared to making your beer-drinking experience an enjoyable one. [continues 858 words]
Would you smoke marijuana if it were legal? Backers of two rival ballot initiatives to decriminalize the cultivation, purchase and use of marijuana are betting that a significant percentage of Michigan adults a=C2=80" at least 12% a=C2=80" would, generating upwards of $200 million a year in tax revenue once the state has established the ground rules for a legal market. But what if you knew your employer could fire you for having chemical traces of marijuana in your bloodstream a=C2=80" even if you used it only [continues 681 words]
Prediction: Recreational marijuana use will be legal in Michigan within two years. The door that cracked with the approval of medical pot use is now wide open. A Detroit News/WDIVTV poll finds that 56 percent of state residents favor legalizing marijuana for general use. That will embolden backers of petition drives aimed at getting marijuana legalization on the November 2016 ballot. If the issue makes it on the ballot, it will pass. But it should be done right. The problem with the medical pot authorization is that it kept too many trappings of the illegal drug trade in place. For example, the pot is produced for the most part not by commercial growers but by the patients themselves, or their caregivers. And it's sold primarily in single purpose outlets that could pass as head shops. [continues 147 words]
Re: Chad Livengood's June 16 report, "Legalize pot, 56 percent in Michigan poll say": Only 56 percent support legalizing marijuana? Who is this other 44 percent who believes the government should tell you what you can and cannot put in your body? Billy Green, Farmington Hills [end]
I am all for legalizing marijuana, but only when all levels of government are in concert. Adding recreational use to the existing law would be the right thing to do for decriminalization and freeing up court dockets but there has to be guarantees of the ability to freely use cannabis without fear of prosecution from any law enforcement agency when the user is in complete compliance with the law. Mark Durfee, Detroit [end]
Lisa Smith is outspoken about the good effect that medical marijuana has on the symptoms of her son Noah's autism. She's so passionate about it that she spoke at a public hearing before the state committee charged with making recommendations on adding qualifying conditions under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. Actually, there may not have been hearings had it not been for Smith. A couple of years ago the committee voted against autism as a qualifying condition, and once they do that the issue is usually not revisited. But after seeing the effect that marijuana had on her son's autism after she used it to treat his epilepsy, Smith sued the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which oversees medical marijuana certifications, to force the office to take another look at it. [continues 831 words]
Those who say that medical marijuana is a steppingstone to recreational marijuana are correct - although generally for the wrong reasons. However, in the rush to recreational here in Michigan and elsewhere, it would be a huge mistake to discount medical use and the needs of patients. People outside of the marijuana movement tend to see the pro-marijuana crowd as a bunch of stoners wanting to get high - even the medical users. There are some people who are using medical marijuana with a wink and a nod as cover to get high. But I've also talked to numerous folks who would either be dead or have a significantly lower quality of life without it. People tell me they are successfully treating cancer and managing the symptoms of epilepsy with marijuana extracts. Others are using it to control pain and to kick addictions to painkillers that no longer work for them. People with multiple sclerosis and diabetes are finding that it enhances their quality of life. [continues 783 words]
It was a smart bit of positioning the MI Legalize team has been doing in relation to the whole Michigan roads and infrastructure funding argument. They were smarter than Gov. Rick Snyder and his Republican-controlled legislature were in parsing the mood of state voters on raising the sales tax by 1 percent - something Snyder went all in on before failing spectacularly. One of the cornerstones of the MI Legalize plan, which hasn't been finalized or registered with the state for petitioning, is that 40 percent of the taxes raised will go to fixing the roads. Voters didn't want to pay the sales tax, but they may well decide to let the stoners pay for it. [continues 845 words]
A year ago, Kimberly Cole was taking 11 different prescription drugs to try to control her epileptic seizures, neuropathic pain, and other health issues. Then, on her doctor's advice, she tried marijuana. Today she doesn't take any of those 11 drugs. Marijuana was a choice of last resort. Cole has suffered from epilepsy since birth and was not a candidate for surgery because seizures were on both sides of her brain. It was not unusual for her to suffer numerous seizures per day - sometimes losing consciousness and control of her body. The effects were so severe she sometimes had to learn how to count again - and she's an industrial engineer. In 2012 she had a seizure, fell down a flight of stairs, and broke her back that brought on the neuropathic pain. [continues 842 words]
When I was at the breakfast for Tommy Chong a couple of weeks ago, I talked with another African- American at the event. Actually, he was the only brother at this gathering of activists and dispensary owners aside from me. As we spoke, I noted that brothers are few and far between when it comes to marijuana activism. His comment was: "And you know why." Indeed I do. Brothers are afraid to stick their necks out on this issue because when the powers that be decide to start chopping heads off they know which heads are going to roll first. Given the history of the war on drugs and the fact that African-Americans get arrested for marijuana at more than three times the rate of whites, it makes sense to be paranoid. [continues 812 words]
Chief: Two Residents Have Died in Overdoses This Year To combat a growing trend of individuals selling, buying and using heroin in Shelby Township, Police Chief Robert Shelide plans to permanently assign a narcotics officer to serve on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's task force. Shelide presented a plan to the township's Board of Trustees April 7 to show how he will restructure the department's detective bureau to allow for the task force inclusion. "I'm very serious about combatting t he heroin problem," Shelide said. "The person we select for this position will have the highest standards and be one of the most talented officers in our department. At the end of the day, we want these (heroin dealers) eradicated from our community." [continues 334 words]
Inside Michigan
