Michigan voters said yes to medical marijuana in 2008, but the vagueness in the statute put a wrinkle in the lives of numerous local caregivers and patients who were arrested in 2011 for violating the law.

The Michigan Court of Appeals helped iron out some holes when it ruled in August that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act "does not include the patient-to-patient 'sales' " and that an Isabella County dispensary that sells the drug can be closed because it's a public nuisance.

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Jackson residents have already volunteered to help a grass-roots organization put a measure to legalize marijuana on the ballot in November.

"oeEverybody that I've talked to said it should be legalized," said Steve Sharpe, a medical marijuana patient who volunteered to help the campaign. "oeWe want the public to be involved in this because it's their health, and it's their money."

The Ann Arbor-based group, Repeal Today For A Safer Michigan 2012, wants the question to go before voters. AnnArbor.com obtained a draft version of the petition that seeks to amend the Michigan Constitution, making marijuana legal for people 21 and older.

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FLINT, Michigan -- Everything from jobs to public safety to medical marijuana was up for discussion Wednesday morning between two of the candidates hoping to replace recalled state Rep. Paul Scott.

Republican nominee Joe Graves and Green Party nominee Cary Neuville-Justice fielded questions at Flint's White Horse Tavern during a live broadcast the program Off The Kuf on Kettering University's WKUF 94.3 FM.

Democratic nominee Steve Losey could not attend because of a scheduling conflict, said program host Tom Sumner.

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Risky business; The owners of Beacon of Light and all medical marijuana dispensary owners deserve to be protected by the cops not harassed by them.

Steve Krakowski

Bay City

[end]

Regarding the editorial "Bay City attorney's broadside on BAYANET gets professional reply, but no formal debate:"

Writing as a retired detective, BAYANET is a horrific waste of tax dollars, both federal "free" money and Michigan residents'. We taxpayers must pay the $30,000 per year to lock up those arrested by my colleagues. The feds are $15 trillion in the red, in case anybody cares.

After 40 years of Drug War and a trillion tax dollars spent, drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to Michigan residents young and old. We know that every drug dealer arrested is quickly replaced.

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Re: "Police chief to wage war on drugs," the Times Herald's Dec. 15 opinion:

Police Chief Michael Reaves said at least 90% of the crime in Port Huron is drug-related. City Manager Bruce Brown said it's time for a reinvigorated war on drugs. What they won't say is 90% of so-called "drug crime" is caused by drug prohibition, not the drugs themselves.

When was the last time the Times Herald reported a drive-by shooting at Kroger between the Miller Mob and the Coors Crew, who were trying to protect their turf on aisle nine?

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After $1 Triilion Dollars Wasted on Failed Policies, This Whole Medicinal Weed Thing Really Makes Sense

When I started writing this column a little more than a year ago, I thought medical marijuana was a thinly veiled cover for folks who wanted to legalize the substance. Not that I opposed the notion, nor did I doubt that marijuana has medical value - I've seen it stop nausea in people who couldn't keep any food down and I've seen people who were wasting away get an appetite. But I saw the overall marijuana drama as something of an amusing middle-class cause that really didn't mean much in the big picture. I also saw an explosion of marijuana-related storefronts around town and thought there was money to be made.

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Regarding your Dec. 18 editorial, the work of the Bay Area Drug Enforcement Team is no doubt well-intended, but ultimately counterproductive. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and prohibition have the potential to cause harm.

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Editor, Advertiser:

A coalition of Michigan parents, teachers, attorneys, physicians, health professionals, former law enforcers and many other people from all walks of life are putting together a voter ballot initiative to repeal marijuana prohibition in Michigan. The 2012 Michigan Ballot Initiative to End Marijuana Prohibition will give Michigan citizens the opportunity to vote on the repeal of Marijuana Prohibition.

We enacted the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) in 2008 to protect patients from criminal prosecutions. Instead of regulating the medical marijuana industry (like Colorado did) our State Attorney General, law enforcement, activist judges and our state legislators have done everything they can think of to destroy the new law.

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A marijuana substitute has gotten the attention of police and school officials in Holly after two local teenagers landed in the emergency room after smoking it.

The substances are sold as incense or potpourri in tobacco shops, head shops, party stores and even gas stations.

In one incident, a 14-year old girl from Hartland came to a Friday night event at the First Baptist Church of Holly after smoking incense. Pastor Ed Pedley said the teen had a racing pulse, numb tongue, and was behaving erratically. He said the girl was taken to Genesys Regional Medical Center and later released.

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The Milford Village Council voted on Dec. 5 to approve an extension of the village's moratorium on medical marijuana facilities for another six months, a move that now pushes the moratorium's expiration date to June 4, 2012.

The village originally passed its moratorium for six months back in June 2010, and this marks the third time that the moratorium has been extended for six months.

The moratorium forbids land uses for growing and distributing medical marijuana or allowing schools to provide training on the cultivation, processing, and distribution of the drug.

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When Michiganders passed the Medical Marijuana Law in 2008, I doubt many could even imagine the impact to our state. In Bay County, 56 percent of the 56,626 voters in the 2008 election, voted for medical marijuana. First of all, I believe the majority of Bay County residents are good-hearted people and passed the Michigan Medical Marijuana law with good intentions. They saw the ads with sick and dying patients and were willing to do anything to help an ailing person, never dreaming that the system would be abused. However, the majority of patients for whom the program was intended are not the ones who are using/abusing the Michigan Medical Marijuana Program.

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A Macomb County judge Wednesday said he would revise his recent opinion and allow operators of a former Chesterfield Township medical marijuana dispensary to maintain, use and transfer the drug in limited fashion.

Big Daddy's Management Group, which operates the facility, asked the judge to clarify his ruling last month that declared the facility a nuisance and banned marijuana on the premises. Big Daddy's says it complied with the ruling, which followed a Nov. 3-4 evidentiary hearing.

Foster agreed that Big Daddy's should be allowed to grow, cultivate, use and exchange marijuana as allowed by the Medical Marihuana Act, passed by voters in 2008.

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BAY CITY -- A local trio charged with illegally operating a medical marijuana dispensary in Bay City will have to wait until after the new year for their next day in court.

The preliminary examination of Johnnie V. Randall, 32, Corey R. Randall, 30, and Joshua P. Perry, 26, has been rescheduled from today to Jan. 11. Attorney Edward M. Czuprynski, who is representing Perry, said defense counsel is still waiting on necessary documents.

The Randalls own Beacon of Light Compassion Center, 100 N. Catherine St. Perry is a registered medical marijuana grower. Police allege the Randalls and Perry were selling marijuana from the center in violation of an August ruling by a state Court of Appeals prohibiting "patient-to-patient sales" of the substance.

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Undercover police officers bought marijuana from HydroWorld stores in Jackson and Lansing without ever seeing a doctor or registering with the state, according to court documents filed Friday.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is suing Danny Trevino, owner of three medical marijuana dispensaries, claiming the businesses violate the state's medical marijuana act and are a public nuisance.

Similar lawsuits were filed in the Jackson County Circuit Court and Ingham County Circuit Court on Friday. Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard LaFlamme set an initial pre-trial hearing for March 23 with a trial to start in April, according to court documents. No dates have been set for Ingham County proceedings. Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, expects action on the cases before the March date.

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How, 40 Years Ago, Sinclair and Company Laid the Groundwork for Today

I'd like to offer my most profound thanks to Amy Cantu and her people at the Ann Arbor District Library for their heroic efforts in dredging up the past and making it live again in the digital age at their new website called freeingjohnsinclair.org, which further includes every page of the underground newspaper known as the Ann Arbor and Detroit Sun in digital form.

The AADL also sponsored two days of events in Ann Arbor celebrating the John Sinclair Freedom Rally of Dec. 10, 1971, including a free concert at the Ark featuring Commander Cody and my own band with special surprise guest Wayne Kramer of the MC-5 joining Jeff Grand on guitar.

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What usually is a rubber stamp process to continue Bay County participation in a multi-jurisdictional undercover drug task force became quite a stink this month, thanks to Bay City attorney Edward M. Czuprynski.

While we don't always agree with Czuprynski's tactics, Bay County and our region are better for the rousing debates that often ensue when he launches one of his broadsides.

In a strongly worded ad in The Bay City Times published on Dec. 4, Czuprynski's target this time was BAYANET, the Bay Area Drug Enforcement Team. He questioned Bay County's participation in the longtime drug-busting team headed by the Michigan State Police.

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Former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon believes decriminalizing marijuana completely is the best route.

Speaking to an audience of about 70 people at the Baldwin Public Library on Dec. 6, McKinnon said in his 33 years as a police officer, drunks were always a bigger problem to deal with than marijuana users. Legalizing the drug would free up police resources for more important cases, he said.

Birmingham resident Mike Whitty, an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy and a vocal advocate on reforming marijuana laws, organized the event as part of the library's lecture series.

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State Governors Unite and the Closing of Big Daddy's Punishes Patients

Newt Gingrich is flying high in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. So what does the erstwhile speaker of the House have to say about marijuana?

As Gingrich seems to have an opinion about everything, it's not hard to find his pontifications on pot. Just a few weeks ago, he said that medical marijuana is a "joke" and that government should pursue the War on Drugs more aggressively. He also supports the death penalty for "high level" dealers.

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ALPENA - A growing aggregation of concerned health workers, educators, and law officials will attempt to raise funds and public awareness in the coming months as it mounts a campaign against local use and distribution of synthetic marijuana.

Hospitals and law enforcement officials across the country have reported a marked increase in serious incidents related to synthetic marijuana, marketed as herbal incense under street names like "spice" and "K2," every year since 2009. In the third of a series of work group meetings to address the drug's local presence, Alpena Probate Judge Thomas LaCross discussed possible marketing strategies on Friday with over 20 local leaders representing Alpena Public Schools, Alpena Regional Medical Center, the Department of Human Services, Catholic Human Services, Northeast Community Mental Health, Partners in Prevention, and various law enforcement and judicial offices.

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