cannabisnews.com: City Could Face Suit Over Pot Proposal City Could Face Suit Over Pot Proposal Posted by CN Staff on November 08, 2004 at 07:54:29 PT By Adrian Chen, Daily Staff Reporter Source: Michigan Daily Ann Arbor resident and medicinal marijuana user Mark Rowland wants the Ann Arbor Police Department to follow the will of the city’s voters.AAPD Chief Dan Oates issued a statement Thursday saying his officers will continue to prosecute marijuana users and dealers even after the passage of Proposal C, which legalized medicinal marijuana in the city. Local voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot proposal in last Tuesday’s election. “It’s a blatant disregard for law that has been voted in by the citizens of Ann Arbor,” said Rowland, who added that he had an aneurism in 1993 and now uses medical marijuana.He said he has filed a personnel complaint against Oates and City Attorney Stephen Postema in response to the statement. Postema said he had not heard about the complaint, while the AAPD Professional Standards department could not comment on whether a complaint had been filed.Rowland is a part of Fresh Start, a nonprofit group dedicated to establishing a cooperative garden in Ann Arbor for medicinal marijuana users to grow their own pot.Rowland said Oates should pay attention to Proposal C because of its wide support by the people of Ann Arbor. The proposal passed by a margin of 74 percent to 25 percent last week.“Once the voters make a decision, it’s not up to the chief to tell the Ann Arbor police not to enforce the law,” he said.In addition to his complaint, Rowland said he plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the city and has consulted a lawyer. The plaintiffs in this suit will include medicinal marijuana users and those who voted for Proposal C, Rowland said.Chuck Ream, who led the fight for the passage of Proposal C as chair of the Washtenaw Coalition for Compassionate Care, says the city is interpreting a 23-year-old Ypsilanti case too strictly in order to justify continuing prosecutions against marijuana users.The case in question is Joslin v. 14th District Court, which states that any city law that prevents police from carrying out state law is void. Currently, state law prohibits the use, sale or distribution of marijuana for any purpose.This clear precedent precludes any legal opposition to Oates’ position, City Attorney Stephen Postema said.“I don’t foresee any challenges because this is the state of the law,” Postema said.But Ream disagrees. “(The city’s) premise is unsound when they say there is no ‘wiggle room’ under the Joslin case,” Ream said. For support, Ream points to language in the Ypsilanti case saying police can use “choice and discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute.In this case, the police should chose to support the proposal, Ream said. He admitted that the Ypsilanti case means that the city does not have to follow the proposal, but he sees its overwhelming passage as a “mandate” from the citizens of Ann Arbor.“I have confidence in our mayor and our city that they will not ignore the vote of the people,” he said.In the meantime, Ream has some suggestions on how the proposal could be effectively implemented, even in the face of the legal challenges brought by previous case law.“It’s clear we cannot prevent any police officer from enforcing state law, but we could provide identification cards to people who are patients and recommend all employees of the city that they respect ID cards,” he said.Source: Michigan Daily (MI Edu)Author: Adrian Chen, Daily Staff ReporterPublished: November 08, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Michigan DailyContact: daily.letters umich.eduWebsite: http://www.michigandaily.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Ann Arbor MMJ Initiativehttp://www.aammi.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmAnn Arbor Proposal Lights Up E.L. Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19787.shtmlMedical Marijuana Vote Called Invalidhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19771.shtmlA2 Voters Pass Initiative To Legalize MMJ http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19766.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 10, 2004 at 09:02:24 PT Related Article from Ann Arbor News Complaint Filed Over Medical Pot Issue Wednesday, November 10, 2004An Ann Arbor man has lodged a complaint against Police Chief Dan Oates over the medical marijuana initiative. Mark Rowland said he filed the complaint on behalf of the 74 percent of city voters who approved the charter amendment in the Nov. 2 general election. It decriminalizes marijuana for people with a health care provider's recommendation. Rowland said he uses marijuana to help with effects of an aneurysm he suffered in 1993. Oates said last week that he had directed his officers to continue enforcement of all marijuana sale and possession offenses as they did before the vote. Also last week, City Attorney Stephen Postema said 27-year-old case law shows city officials can, in fact, refer complaints for prosecution under state law even though it would be contrary to the city's new charter language. The charter amendment attempted to bar the city's ability to refer arrests to county or state prosecutors. "I can't see how the Ann Arbor prosecuting attorney and the chief of police can say (the medical marijuana initiative) is not valid," Rowland said. Oates confirmed he was aware of the complaint. The complaint has been forwarded to City Administrator Roger Fraser, who said all such complaints are accepted and investigated as a matter of course. But he said, there was little action the city could take, since it involved a legal interpretation and not an action by Oates. Postema said Rowland's complaint is over a non-issue because there are few, if any, arrests of people in Ann Arbor using marijuana as medicine. If there were, each case would be dealt with on an individual basis, he said. Statements by him and the police chief last week were meant to clarify the city's position, he said. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1100101247244890.xml [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Rainbow on November 08, 2004 at 19:32:28 PT Cops Had a cop say something similar to me in an email with the county administrator copied.I told the administrator that the sheriff should be fired for being insubordinate. If I acted like that with my boos I would surely be fired. Why are they protected? maybe he is elected but still insubbordination is a fireable offence.Cheers, Rainbow [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by OverwhelmSam on November 08, 2004 at 18:27:28 PT That's Right, Sue Them. Again and Again. Sue them at every opportunity. Sue them for arrests. Sue them for corruption. Sue them for any abuse that comes up until they get the message we're sending. Stop arresting marijuana users. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by mayan on November 08, 2004 at 18:16:19 PT On The Offensive In addition to his complaint, Rowland said he plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the city and has consulted a lawyer. The plaintiffs in this suit will include medicinal marijuana users and those who voted for Proposal C, Rowland said.Sue the hell out of them! Now is not the time to be afraid. Now is the time to go on the offensive! Screw moving to Canada as it will be a U.S. clone, anyway. We have to take back America before the whole world goes to hell! Here's some other news...Planners want to snuff pot clubs: http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/articles/2004/11/08/news/news01.txtMany risks involved with casual Marijuana use: http://www.uh.edu/campus/cougar/Todays/Issue/arts/arts2.htmlThe way out is the way in...New York Times Reports on 911Truth.org: http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20041108135825946Part of 9/11 Report Remains Unreleased; An Inquiry Is Begun: http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=416&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE HERO SUES BUSH AND OTHERS UNDER RICO STATUTE,ALLEGES WILLFUL COMPLICITY IN ATTACKS THAT KILLED 3,000: http://www.911forthetruth.com/9/11 Truth LA: http://www.911truthla.us/9/11 Datapage: http://rense.com/Datapages/inv911.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by The GCW on November 08, 2004 at 17:09:14 PT siege, Wow, again.Earth.We have some screwed up people breathing air. Sometimes, it seems they are less important than clean air.This is tweaked.A man can hurt His neck, shaking His head, so much.We have people in positions of Authority, doing this extremely dastardly evil stuff.It is hard to explain, how much I shake My head. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by siege on November 08, 2004 at 16:02:37 PT Crowd Yells "Shame" At Judge Holderness Monday, 8 November 2004, 10:21 am Press Release: Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party "Shame" Cried The Crowd At Judge Holderness And The Court It was a shameful day for justice in our garden city of Christchurch, as Neville Yates, a brain damaged amputee from an accident 30 years ago, was given 5 months jail for growing 9 spindly plants for his own medical use. " I am the only victim here" stated Neville Yates as he was led away to the police cells. " The law has been served but justice was not done" quoted Michael Britnell Deputy Leader, Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Parthttp://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0411/S00066.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Sukoi on November 08, 2004 at 15:28:23 PT A few more articles: A marijuana breakthrough? http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1275352004 Marijuana-like drugs could fight diseases http://www.detnews.com/2004/health/0411/08/a06-328262.htmB.C. considers regulating hydroponic equipment to battle marijuana growers http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=05324d06-3291-41da-97fb-bfcd429a9c64 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 08, 2004 at 13:39:15 PT Article on Nevada Group Plans to File Marijuana PetitionLAS VEGAS SUNNovember 08, 2004 A group collecting signatures on an initiative petition to legalize possession of an ounce of marijuana for adults plans to file its petition Tuesday.Larry Sandell, campaign manager for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, said today the organization has more than 55,000 signatures and was still collecting more today.The petition needs 51,337 valid signatures to put the issue before the 2005 Legislature. The petitions will be filed in Clark, Washoe, Douglas and Lyon counties and in Carson City.If the group has the required number of valid signatures, then the 2005 Legislature must consider the issue in the first 40 days of its session. If the Legislature refuses to approve the petition, it goes on the ballot.http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2004/nov/08/517790985.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 08, 2004 at 12:35:23 PT Another Article from Michigan Daily Students Protest Bush's Victory: http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/08/418f5b303a70a [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Craiig on November 08, 2004 at 10:58:25 PT "The proposal passed by a margin of 74 percent&quo quite a margin ;)but the bleeps still digging their heels in like a bad tempered kid!JUST GIVE UP NOW!!! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment