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1 US MI: Michigan Marks 1st Day Of Legal, Recreational PotFri, 07 Dec 2018
Source:Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)          Area:Michigan Lines:31 Added:12/07/2018

DETROIT - Michigan is officially the first state in the Midwest to allow marijuana for more than medical purposes.

Today marks the first day for the legal recreational partaking of pot in Michigan following voters' strong endorsement in the Nov. 6 election.

Staff at the Lansing City Pulse, a weekly alternative newspaper, marked the day by handing out free joints across the street from the Capitol.

Michigan is now among nearly a dozen states and the District of Columbia with legalized recreational marijuana. Still, retail shops are still months away and must involve state regulators.

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2 US MI: Marijuana Butter Case Tossed Out By Michigan Appeals CourtThu, 23 Nov 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:49 Added:11/28/2017

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A Michigan judge has thrown out a case against two former corrections officers who lost their jobs after being arrested and charged with possession of marijuana-infused butter.

Michael Frederick and Todd VanDoorne were charged in 2014 following an early-morning, warrant-less search of their homes. Both were registered under the state's medical marijuana law to use the butter to control pain. Police allege they didn't comply with the law. They subsequently lost their jobs in Kent County.

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3 US MI: Marijuana Industry High On Prospect Of Michigan's CannabisMon, 20 Nov 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:160 Added:11/23/2017

LAS VEGAS -- For Hilary Dulany, long roots in Michigan and the prospect of expanding her Oregon marijuana business are luring her back to the Great Lakes State.

For Nancy Whiteman, the prospect of taking her business national has her looking for partners in Michigan.

For the two women and many other entrepreneurs attending the MJ Biz Conference in Las Vegas last week -- the pre-eminent conference where 18,500 professionals looking to get into the cannabis industry gathered -- the common thread was Michigan's soon-to-explode marijuana business.

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4 US MI: You Can Be Fired For Medical Marijuana. Advocates Want That ToMon, 13 Nov 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Lehr, Sarah Area:Michigan Lines:203 Added:11/14/2017

Can you be fired in Michigan for using medical marijuana?

Joseph Casias injured his knee at the Battle Creek Wal-Mart where he worked in 2009.

Per company policy, he took a drug test. It came back positive.

Casias had been using marijuana at home to treat pain from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued on his behalf for wrongful discharge in violation of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.

A U.S. District Judge sided with the company. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the ruling.

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5 US MI: Editorial: Vote No On 2 Detroit Medical Marijuana BallotThu, 02 Nov 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:105 Added:11/06/2017

Nine years after Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative that permits doctors to prescribe marijuana for therapeutic purposes, state and local lawmakers are still struggling to design a regulatory scheme that balances the interests of patients, providers and residents.

Earlier this year, Michigan legislators finally adopted a new regime that establishes distinct licensing criteria for growing, processing, testing, transporting and distributing the drug, which is still forbidden by federal law, and dividing the tax revenues generated by those activities between the state and local governments.

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6 US MI: Michigan Lawmakers Want Reprieve For Medical MarijuanaWed, 27 Sep 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Gray, Kathleen Area:Michigan Lines:80 Added:09/28/2017

Medical marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to stay open while the state decides who will get a license for the lucrative cannabis business under a pair of bills to be introduced in the state Legislature.

Sen. David Knezek, D-Dearborn Heights, and Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, will introduce the bills in the Senate and House this week to counteract an advisory by the state to dispensaries that they should close before Dec. 15 or risk their chances at getting a license.

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7 US MI: State Says Growers, Processers, Sellers Of Pot Can Be In SameThu, 21 Sep 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Gray, Kathleen Area:Michigan Lines:83 Added:09/26/2017

The medical marijuana business is expected to explode next year when the state begins to hand out licenses, and rules released Thursday by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs could prove to be even more profitable for some budding marijuana entrepreneurs.

LARA said in an advisory that one person could apply for three of the licenses -- grower, processor and dispensary -- and locate all of those businesses in one facility.

Read more:

"It's something that we've had a lot of inquiries about," said David Harns, spokesman for LARA, as people looking to get involved in the medical pot business get ready for Dec. 15, when applications for licenses will become available from the state.

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8 US MI: Detroit Voters To Decide On 2 Marijuana Proposals In NovemberFri, 15 Sep 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Stafford, Katrease Area:Michigan Lines:144 Added:09/19/2017

Two initiatives that would amend Detroit's medical marijuana ordinance to allow dispensaries to open near liquor stores, and grow facilities to operate legally, will appear on the November ballot, after a Wayne County circuit judge's ruling earlier this week.

If approved by voters in November, the changes could have a wide-reaching impact on the city's budding marijuana industry.

Detroit corporation counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell told the Free Press that the city respects the right of voters to decide but concerns have been raised about the measures, particularly the one that would impact zoning regulations.

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9 US MI: Police Suspect Marijuana Lab In Redford House ExplosionThu, 31 Aug 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Allen, Robert Area:Michigan Lines:37 Added:08/31/2017

An explosion in a house Wednesday night in Redford Township seriously injured three people, and police suspect it involved an explosive marijuana processing operation.

The three people in the house when the explosion occurred, at 8:15 p.m. on the 20100 block of Woodworth, were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to a news release from Redford Police Department.

A neighbor told the station she saw three men run out of the house and "their clothes were melted off of them" after the explosion, according to a report from Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV). .

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10 US MI: Communities Dilemma: Yes Or No To Medical Marijuana BusinessesMon, 21 Aug 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Gray, Kathleen Area:Michigan Lines:183 Added:08/25/2017

To weed or not to weed? That is the question for Michigan's communities.

As the state board that will regulate Michigan's new medical marijuana law begins to craft the rules that will govern the multimillion dollar industry, the state's cities, townships and villages must decide whether they want in or out.

As they are making their decisions, local officials are being bombarded with phone calls from people who want to gain a foothold in the medical marijuana business and are promising untold riches for the communities that let them in.

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11US MI: Michigan Regulator: Shut Down Medical Pot ShopsMon, 21 Aug 2017
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Gerstein, Michael Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:08/25/2017

Lansing - A member of a state board charged with creating new rules for the virtually unregulated medical marijuana industry on Monday called for all existing dispensaries to be shuttered until official licenses can be doled out.

But the board tabled the issue until the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation and the office of Attorney General Bill Schuette can weigh in after retired State Police sergeant David Bailey raised the idea.

Anxiety quickly rippled through the boarda€™s second public hearing as people lined up to express fear and anger that they would have to resort to the black market to find medical marijuana.

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12 US MI: New Petition To Legalize Marijuana In Michigan Gets OKThu, 17 Aug 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Egan, Paul Area:Michigan Lines:78 Added:08/22/2017

LANSING -- The Board of State Canvassers gave approval Thursday to a new proposed ballot effort to amend the state constitution to fully legalize recreational use of marijuana without taxing the drug.

The proposal from Abrogate Prohibition Michigan of Midland would nullify all laws prohibiting or regulating the use of marijuana and impose no fines, taxes or penalties on its use.

"I call it the Second Amendment of cannabis," sponsor Timothy Locke told the Free Press, comparing it to the U.S. constitutional provision granting the right to bear arms.

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13 US MI: Proposal Would Let Detroit Pot Shops Open Near Liquor StoresSun, 16 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Stafford, Katrease Area:Michigan Lines:143 Added:07/19/2017

An initiative to amend Detroit's medical marijuana ordinance to allow dispensaries to operate near liquor stores, child-care centers and parks could appear on the November ballot, after a group behind the effort submitted thousands of signatures backing the measure.

Citizens for Sensible Cannabis spokesman Jonathan Barlow confirmed his group submitted petitions late last month seeking to amend Chapter 24 of the city's code.

Elections Director Daniel Baxter said the group met the threshold of required signatures and his department has since turned the initiative over to the Detroit City Council, which is expected to consider it Tuesday.

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14 US MI: Oped: In Easing Chronic Pain, Marijuana May Be A Better ChoiceSun, 16 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Clauw, Daniel Area:Michigan Lines:112 Added:07/19/2017

Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem. The Institute of Medicine estimates chronic pain affects 100 million Americans at an estimated annual cost of $600 billion. But the rampant use of opioids to treat chronic pain stands out as the least-defensible and most-harmful of our maltreatments. Many U.S. physicians remain resistant to this, though I would argue other options should be considered.

More than 14,000 Americans died in 2014 from unintentional overdose of prescription opioids, making this the leading cause of death among younger individuals in many states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Countless others continue to take opioids not because they have meaningful pain and functional improvement, but because they enjoy feeling numbed, or simply have not been presented with more appropriate and helpful therapeutic options.

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15 US MI: A Marijuana Activist Group Is Money And Brains BehindSat, 15 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Laitner, Bill Area:Michigan Lines:157 Added:07/15/2017

Marijuana ballot campaign's donors include "Big Tobacco," say critics. But supporters say smoke-store chain in Michigan is not typical donor.

A campaign to once again try to fully legalize marijuana in Michigan is getting big support from a Washington D.C. nonprofit activist group and from a tobacco store company that has talked of opening a chain of marijuana shops in the state.

The donor list, revealed in the latest campaign finance statements filed by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, alarmed critics who have long contended that marijuana's nationwide march toward legalization is being funded not by the idealistic stoners and medical-marijuana users long linked to the politics of cannabis but instead by a pack of profit-minded investors and corporate types said to be similar to Big Tobacco -- the nation's cigarette and cigar industry.

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16 US MI: 87 Pounds Of Heroin Found In Raid Of Novi Apartment ComplexTue, 11 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Allen, Robert Area:Michigan Lines:52 Added:07/14/2017

Investigators found more than 87 pounds of suspected heroin Monday during a raid at a Novi apartment, according to a federal criminal complaint.

DEA agents and the Oakland County Narcotics Investigation Team entered the Brownstones apartment complex unit shortly after 9:30 a.m. on the 42200 block of Joyce Lane to find three men inside, along with eight bricks of a light-brown substance on a table in plain sight, according to the complaint from special agent Michael Reamer in U.S. District Court.

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17 US MI: Audit: Women's Prison Not Conducting Searches For ContrabandThu, 13 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Eggert, David Area:Michigan Lines:62 Added:07/13/2017

Auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff.

The Michigan Department of Corrections said Thursday it may take disciplinary action after auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff at a women's prison.

Auditor General Doug Ringler said during two five-day periods last year, the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti did not conduct or document nearly a quarter of the required cell searches and prisoner shakedowns. Using surveillance video, auditors also found that 58 of 170 required cell searches were not backed up by the footage -- meaning they were potentially falsified.

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18 US MI: Michigan's Marijuana Legalization Drive Hits SignatureTue, 11 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Laitner, Bill Area:Michigan Lines:97 Added:07/11/2017

Could Michigan be next to legalize marijuana? The stars are aligning, say fans of legal cannabis.

After a flubbed effort last year, supporters of marijuana legalization in Michigan can celebrate reaching a milestone at a posh $250-a-plate fund-raiser Thursday night.

Their new petition drive has gathered 100,000 signatures in just six weeks, putting the campaign well ahead of schedule and giving leaders reason to believe that this year's petition drive will manage to put the legalization question on Michigan ballots, spokesman Josh Hovey said.

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19 US MI: Police: Playground Dragon Was Turned Into Marijuana PipeMon, 03 Jul 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:43 Added:07/05/2017

Wayne police say the man had taken a toy dragon head from a local park and turned it into a marijuana pipe.

A 19-year-old Wayne man faces criminal charges after police say he stole a dragon head from a playground and turned it into a marijuana pipe.

Wayne police say [name redacted] was recently arrested and charged with larceny -- $1,000 or more and malicious destruction of property -- $1,000 or more. The charges stem from an incident Wayne police responded to on Christmas Day in 2015.

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20 US MI: Detroit Shuts Down 167 Pot Shops, More Closures On The WayTue, 30 May 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Stafford, Katrease Area:Michigan Lines:110 Added:05/30/2017

Detroit's crackdown on illegally operating medical marijuana dispensaries has shuttered 167 shops since the city's regulation efforts began last year and dozens more are expected.

Detroit corporation counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell told the Free Press that 283 dispensaries were identified last year, all of which were operating illegally.

"None of them were operating lawfully," Hollowell said. "At the time I sent a letter to each one of them indicating that unless you have a fully licensed facility, you are operating at your own risk."

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21 US MI: Sisters, 16 And 20, Overdose On Heroin In Beverly HillsSat, 14 Jan 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:84 Added:01/15/2017

Over a 12-hour period in Beverly Hills, two sisters and a boyfriend of one of the them were rushed to the hospital after accidentally overdosing on heroin.

Police say all three are lucky to be alive.

"The boy was the luckiest," said Detective Sgt. Lee Davis of the Beverly Hills Public Safety Department. "Two of our detectives went to his house about the two prior overdoses and they found him totally unresponsive and all alone. If they didn't show up, this probably would have been a totally different story."

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22 US MI: Good Samaritan Bill For Overdose Victims PassesMon, 02 Jan 2017
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Gray, Kathleen Area:Michigan Lines:44 Added:01/02/2017

LANSING Lawmakers gave final, and unanimous, passage to a bill Wednesday that they hope will help lower the number of drug overdose deaths from prescription drugs.

The Good Samaritan bill, which passed the state Senate on a 38-0 vote, would provide immunity from criminal charges for people under the age of 21 who are seeking emergency medical assistance for themselves or friends as a result of a prescription drug overdose.

The bill, which would require health care facilities to notify the parent or guardian of the young person suffering from an overdose, was passed unanimously in the House last month.

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23US MI: Fox 2 Anchor With Ms To Retire, Fight To Legalize PotTue, 01 Nov 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Steinberg, Stephanie Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:11/04/2016

Former Fox 2 Detroit anchor Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh is throwing her support behind a movement to legalize all forms of marijuana for adults over 21 in Michigan.

Sarfoh was previously on a leave of absence from Fox due to medical issues related to her multiple sclerosis condition and announced her decision to retire on Tuesday. Sarfoh will be introduced as a leading member of the grassroots organization MILegalize at a fundraiser Wednesday at Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor.

"I loved my job, but multiple sclerosis was making it harder and harder to do it," she said in a video post on social media Tuesday morning.

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24US MI: Canada Pot Plans Could Hit Border TrafficThu, 22 Sep 2016
Source:Windsor Star (CN ON) Author:Schmidt, Doug Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:09/26/2016

Security director says it's unclear whether move will cause delays

DETROIT - Could a pot-smoking Canada trigger congestion along the United States border?

As the Trudeau government presses ahead with plans to legalize the sale and purchase of pot, some are wondering whether it could result in longer wait times at the approximate 120 official ports of entry along the northern border.

"It's an unknown now, but it could have the effect of really slowing down, not just travellers, but truckers, too," said Stan Korosec, director of security and Canadian government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co.

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25 US MI: Column: 537 Plants Seized in Medical Marijuana Sting;Wed, 24 Aug 2016
Source:Colorado Springs Independent (CO) Author:Stein, Nat Area:Michigan Lines:100 Added:08/24/2016

Huge bust halts MMJ grower

On Aug. 18, the Colorado Springs Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence division assisted with the execution of three search warrants that resulted in the arrest of one person and the seizure of 537 marijuana plants, three firearms, ammunition and an undisclosed amount of cash. The raid took place within city limits and included agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Felipe Hurtado, the 51-year-old man arrested, had six outstanding felony warrants in Georgia in connection with the 2014 theft of around 8.9 million hydrocodone tablets - an opioid medication that's widely prescribed and highly addictive. According to CSPD's statement following the bust, Hurtado was associated with an unspecified criminal organization and fled to "the general area of Colorado Springs [...] to grow marijuana under the pretext of medical marijuana."

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26 US MI: Column: Study Combats Gridiron Injuries WithWed, 24 Aug 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:153 Added:08/24/2016

"I hurt daily," says former NFL and Michigan State University football player Andre Rison. "Marijuana candy helps."

Rison has been in the news recently due to legal troubles in connection with his child support payments and testing positive for marijuana while on probation. I don't know anything about his child support issues, but I sympathize with the guy when it comes to his pain. Football players work in a physically violent arena, and most of them suffer debilitating pain on a regular basis. I've met people who still suffer from having played high school football. Imagine what it's like after having banged around with massively muscular 300-pound people for a living. That's why I totally support the choices of players such as Barry Sanders, who walked away from the game hopefully while they were still ahead.

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27 US MI: Column: Marijuana Legalization Falls Along Party LinesWed, 03 Aug 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:156 Added:08/03/2016

State Rep. Jeff Irwin recently made Cannabis Business Executive's list of "100 Political Influencers in Cannabis."

It's no surprise; Irwin has been the biggest cannabis supporter in our state legislature. Over the years, the Ann Arbor Democrat has introduced or supported various decriminalization or legalization bills in Lansing. And he's consistently spoken up about marijuana legalization at the annual Hash Bash. Irwin doesn't seem to care much one way or the other about being named as a political influencer on the subject.

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28US MI: UM Studies Marijuana EffectMon, 18 Jul 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Carter, Evan Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:07/18/2016

A new study put out by University of Michigan researchers suggests that over time, marijuana use dampens the response of the area of the brain that responds to rewards.

Researchers with UM's Addiction Research Center and Department of Psychology found over time marijuana use shifts the brain's reward system so that a person may need more of the substance to get that level of satisfaction they would normally get from "natural rewards," such as food.

"This kind of suggests that marijuana may be biasing the brain's reward system away from things the brain would normally find pleasurable," said the study's Senior Researcher and UM Assistant Professor Mary Heitzeg.

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29US MI: Lawsuit: State Produced Bogus Marijuana Test ResultsFri, 24 Jun 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Snell, Robert Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:06/24/2016

Detroit - Several medical marijuana caregivers and patients have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the Michigan State Police crime lab intentionally misrepresented test results that expose thousands of people to possible felony charges.

The civil rights lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Detroit, alleges the state police acted in concert with the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) and other law-enforcement agencies, including the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

The lawsuit was triggered by an alleged ongoing policy by the state to produce inaccurate test results that show marijuana seized during criminal investigations contained the synthetic cannabinoid Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is responsible for marijuana's psychoactive effects. THC has little or no psychoactive effect when a marijuana plant is converted to an oil or edible, according to the lawsuit.

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30 US MI: Column: Marijuana: The Painkiller AlternativeWed, 22 Jun 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:183 Added:06/22/2016

"I had a run-in with Vicodin; that turned into a habit that I had to kick," said Laurent. "Opiate withdrawal - I never want to deal with that again."

Laurent isn't this Detroiter's real name. He didn't want to use it because he uses marijuana both medically and recreationally, and because he's young and hopes to become a social worker - maybe a substance abuse counselor - and doesn't want this column to pop up in some employer's search.

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31US MI: Editorial: Pot Testing Law Tramples RightsThu, 16 Jun 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI)          Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:06/17/2016

Roadside Drug Testing Is a Back Door Prohibition on Marijuana, a Nightmare for Medical Users

Before breaking for the summer, the Legislature approved an extra-constitutional one-year pilot program that allows police officers to conduct roadside saliva testing on drivers they suspect might be under the influence of a variety of drugs.

It's the kind of legislation that sounds beneficial, but threatens privacy and due process rights. Gov. Rick Snyder should veto a bill that is bound to be a litigation machine.

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32US MI: Pot Group Sues Mich. Over BallotsFri, 17 Jun 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Oosting, Jonathan Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:06/17/2016

MI Legalize's Lawsuit Challenges Law, Policy That Nulls Signatures

Lansing - A Michigan group seeking to put a marijuana legalization question on the November ballot is taking its fight to court.

MI Legalize on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the state in the Michigan Court of Claims, challenging a law and policy that effectively invalidated its petition signatures collected outside of a customary 180-day window.

Attorneys Jeff Hank, Thomas Lavigne and Matthew Abel, members of the MI Legalize board, argue the law and policy are inconsistent with the Michigan Constitution, which allows for initiated petitions but does not specify a time limit for signature collection.

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33US MI: Officials: Marijuana Signatures 'Insufficient' ForWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Oosting, Jonathan Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:06/08/2016

Lansing - A group seeking to legalize marijuana in Michigan submitted an "insufficient" number of valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot after collecting outside of a traditional 180-day window, state elections officials said Tuesday.

In a staff report, the Bureau of Elections recommended the Board of State Canvassers reject the MI Legalize petition at its Thursday meeting.

The activist-led group last week submitted an estimated 354,000 signatures, more than the 252,523 required to make the ballot, but the bureau said only 146,413 were collected within 180 days of the filing. State law, updated Tuesday to tighten that window, had treated older signatures as "stale and void."

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34 US MI: Column: Fighting For A Vote On Legalized MarijuanaWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:157 Added:06/08/2016

MILegalize is still kicking. The effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Michigan turned in more than 350,000 signatures in its attempt to put the question on the fall ballot. It was the only group out of a number of petition efforts to actually turn in their petitions with the qualifying 252,523 signatures.

To the organizers, activists, petition circulators, and petition signers, I say: "Well done." But the main question being asked now is: Was it done quickly enough?

MILegalize spent a year collecting signatures, and overcame numerous obstacles, from challenges to the petition print size, to a lack of money and no support from national organizations. That's something the Michigan Cannabis Coalition's competing ballot initiative couldn't do. Neither could the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan and a handful of others.

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35US MI: Michigan Pot Legalization Group Submits SignaturesThu, 02 Jun 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Oosting, Jonathan Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:06/03/2016

Lansing - Michigan marijuana activists on Wednesday submitted more than 350,000 petition signatures in hopes of putting a recreational legalization question before voters this fall, but the prospects of making the November ballot remain cloudy.

"It was a huge effort," Jeff Hank, executive director of MI Legalize, told reporters outside the Michigan Secretary of State's Office. "We had thousands of people volunteer to circulate petitions, and we had all sorts of people donate small amounts of money."

MI Legalize needed to submit at least 252,523 signatures by Wednesday, but it's unclear how many of its signatures will be considered valid because the group collected well beyond a traditional 180-day window written into state law.

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36 US MI: Column: Petition Rules Could Hold UP MichiganWed, 25 May 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:155 Added:05/25/2016

When the MILegalize petitions proposing the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan hit the streets last summer I signed the first one that came my way. That was sometime in July.

Now my signature probably won't count. That's the big issue facing the folks who organized the legalization effort right now: whether or not petition initiative signatures collected outside of a 180-day window are valid. And it doesn't look good. The most immediate answer to that question will be rendered by Gov. Rick Snyder when he decides to sign, or not sign, S.B. 776, the recent legislation that sets a hard 180-day window for collecting signatures on a petition initiative.

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37US MI: Signature Policy Stalemate Chokes Marijuana Ballot BidFri, 13 May 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Oosting, Jonathan Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:05/13/2016

Lansing - An increasingly long-shot effort to put a marijuana legalization measure on Michigan's 2016 ballot suffered another setback Thursday, when the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked on a policy revision for proving the validity of old signatures.

The two Republicans and two Democrats on the board were at odds over state Bureau of Elections recommendations that would have updated and eased the state policy for "rebutting" and rehabilitating signatures collected outside a traditional 180-day collection window. The proposed updates stalled in a series of 2-2 votes.

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38 US MI: Column: Marijuana On The RoadWed, 11 May 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:165 Added:05/11/2016

One of the burning questions about cannabis use is: How high is too high when operating a motor vehicle? It's befuddling to the legal system, as driving law is not moving as quickly as marijuana law.

Many want to establish a "per se" level of THC in someone's blood that indicates being under the influence. That comes from loosely equating alcohol and marijuana intoxication. In Michigan, the per se blood alcohol content for driving under the influence is .08. Regardless of a person's behavior, if his or her blood alcohol level is .08 or above, they are legally under the influence. With marijuana, it's not clear what that level is.

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39 US MI: Police Speak Out About Dangers Of Legalizing MariuanaSun, 08 May 2016
Source:News-Herald, The (Southgate, MI) Author:Sword, Ashley Area:Michigan Lines:108 Added:05/09/2016

With the legalization of marijuana possibly being added to the state's November election ballot, police are speaking out about the dangers of recreational use.

Flat Rock Police Chief John Leacher has been meeting with Downriver groups to ensure there is an "educated election this coming fall."

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result," Leacher said, commenting on the legalization of marijuana in Colorado in 2012.

Colorado Amendment 64, which amended the state's constitution, outlined a drug policy for marijuana that passed with 55 percent of the vote.

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40 US MI: Column: In 2016, A Friendlier Climate For 420Wed, 27 Apr 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:141 Added:04/27/2016

We're in the midst of the cannabis holiday season. The Ann Arbor Hash Bash and Monroe Street Fair were a few weeks ago, and the Global Marijuana March is May 7 (Grand Circus Park in Detroit). Smack dab in the middle was 4/20.

The first place I hit was the B.D.T. Smoke Shops in Hazel Park, which proudly notes that it has been there since 1973. The folks there held a pig roast in the parking lot, and visitors played on fowling lanes from the Fowling Warehouse - throwing a football at bowling pins - and were medicating with cannabis as they munched their pork sandwiches. 89X FM had a booth, and retired Red Wing Darren McCarty was there hanging out and signing autographs.

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41 US MI: More Suspects Arrested In Connection To March 10Mon, 25 Apr 2016
Source:Petoskey News-Review (MI) Author:Johnson, Mark Area:Michigan Lines:71 Added:04/26/2016

GAYLORD - Two more suspects were arrested Friday follow the March 10 Otsego County medical marijuana dispensary raids, bringing the total arrest number to four.

According to Detective Lt. Ken Mills, unit commander for the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement (SANE) team, a 21-year-old male and a 56-year-old male, both owners of Gaylord medical marijuana dispensaries, were arrested Friday.

The names of both men are being held pending their arraignment. Mills said the 21-year-old was arrested and lodged at the Otsego County Jail and was released after posting bond. The 56-year-old man turned himself in at the Michigan State Police Gaylord post, posted bond and was released without being lodged.

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42 US MI: Investigations Continue Following Medical MJ RaidsTue, 19 Apr 2016
Source:Gaylord Herald Times (MI) Author:Johnson, Mark Area:Michigan Lines:121 Added:04/19/2016

GAYLORD - It's been nearly six weeks since all of the medical marijuana dispensaries in Otsego County were raided by law enforcement officials, resulting in two arrests and an ongoing investigation.

As of Friday afternoon, the execution of search warrants at nine dispensaries in Gaylord and one in Vanderbilt March 10 have been proceeded with the arrest of two men, including [name1 redacted], 45, of Gaylord, and [name2 redacted], 36, of Gaylord, though more are expected to be made, possibly by the end of the month.

[continues 706 words]

43 US MI: Column: Ahead Of ScheduleWed, 13 Apr 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:160 Added:04/14/2016

Will the marijuana game change this year?

There has been a good bit of speculation that President Obama will reschedule marijuana before he leaves office. I first heard that concept a couple of years ago from somebody at one of the national marijuana policy organizations. I took it for wishful thinking. We can wish Obama reschedules marijuana, but that doesn't make it true.

But maybe we can stop holding our breath about that. Last week the Washington Post reported that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sent out a memo to lawmakers that it plans to decide in the first half of 2016 if it will reschedule marijuana. I'm assuming that the "first half of 2016" means by the end of June.

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44 US MI: Tommy Chong: The King Of GreenWed, 13 Apr 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Blitchok, Dustin Area:Michigan Lines:179 Added:04/14/2016

The Iconic Stoner Chats With Us About Detroit, Cancer, and Donald Trump

It's a Friday morning, and Tommy Chong is about to ride up John R in a replica of The Love Machine, the 1964 Chevy Impala from Up in Smoke. He has one hand on the chain link steering wheel and what Cheech Marin might call a Led Zeppelin-sized joint in the other.

When asked if he wants to blaze, though, the most iconic of stoners declines. "It's still Michigan," he says.

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45 US MI: Healers or Dealers? the Battle Between Detroit and ItsWed, 13 Apr 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Perkins, Tom Area:Michigan Lines:206 Added:04/13/2016

The Family Trees dispensary near Seven Mile and Plainview sits within eyeshot of a vacant liquor store and small storefront church, which are less than 1,000 feet away.

As of April 1, that means Family Trees is breaking the law. While the business has provided marijuana to patients at the location for two years without incident, owner Reginald Venoy, like many of Detroit's dispensary operators, faces an uncertain future.

Will the police kick down his door and seize his marijuana and assets? Or will he answer a knock at the door to find he's being served? Or will nothing happen?

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46US MI: OPED: Feds Using Forfeiture To Their AdvantageMon, 04 Apr 2016
Source:Detroit News (MI) Author:Burrus, Trevor Area:Michigan Lines:Excerpt Added:04/05/2016

The Justice Department recently announced that it is resuming the "equitable sharing" part of its civil asset forfeiture program, thus ending one of the major criminal justice reform victories of the Obama administration.

Civil asset forfeiture is a legal tool by which police officers can seize and sell private property without a convicting the owner of any crime, and equitable sharing is a process by which state and local police can circumvent state restrictions on civil asset forfeiture and take property under the color of federal law.

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47 US MI: PUB LTE: Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol Or CoffeeSun, 03 Apr 2016
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:White, Stan Area:Michigan Lines:31 Added:04/04/2016

As a Colorado voter who helped end cannabis prohibition in my state, I've observed the current laws work as planned, protecting responsible adults who choose to use the extremely popular, God-given plant. Every subsequent poll indicates Colorado voters continue to support it, and there's every reason to believe Michigan voters will end the discrimination and continue supporting it in the future.

By any measure cannabis is safer than alcohol, and it's less addictive than coffee. In over 5,000 years of documented use, it has not killed one person, while cigarettes kill over 1,000 Americans daily. That's safety on a Biblical scale.

A sane or moral argument to continue caging or punishing responsible adults who use cannabis doesn't exist.

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

[end]

48 US MI: LTE: Legal Marijuana Likely To Harm Michigan TeensSun, 03 Apr 2016
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Nickerson, Stephanie Area:Michigan Lines:38 Added:04/04/2016

As Michigan considers marijuana, ("Michigan voters would OK legal pot, poll says," March 28), it is important to understand the impact on public health, especially the health of teens. The debate over legalization may be confusing and contributes to the perception that marijuana is harmless.

Research shows otherwise. For example, one in six teens who start early will become addicted to marijuana, a statistic that rises to 25-50 percent with daily use. Legal-pot states are beginning to see the effect. Colorado, for example, now leads the nation in past-month marijuana use by young people.

[continues 66 words]

49 US MI: Column: May You Live In Interesting TimesWed, 30 Mar 2016
Source:Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Author:Gabriel, Larry Area:Michigan Lines:152 Added:03/30/2016

March 31 marks a new day in Detroit for medical marijuana. It's the last day for Medical Marijuana Caregiver Centers to apply for a license to operate in the city.

Before this, provisioning centers multiplied in a gray area of the law where they weren't exactly legal but were tolerated. That's an outgrowth of how Michigan's medical marijuana law played out when the courts ruled patients can have marijuana but didn't allow for venues to sell it. It's right in line with the weird machinations prohibitionists have always gone through to keep people away from the weed.

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50 US MI: Michigan Voters Would Ok Legal Pot, Poll SaysTue, 29 Mar 2016
Source:Detroit Free Press (MI) Author:Laitner, Bill Area:Michigan Lines:131 Added:03/29/2016

A new survey of state residents likely to vote this fall found that a clear 53% majority of Michiganders would just say yes to legalizing and taxing marijuana.

The survey's result was no surprise to groups hoping to gather 253,000 signatures in Michigan to get a marijuana measure on November ballots.

"Support for legalizing marijuana continues to increase here at a rate of at least 2% per year - that's what we've been tracking in Michigan, and it seems to be roughly the same across the country," said Detroit lawyer Matt Abel, a long-time supporter of legal pot.

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