cannabisnews.com: Group: Medical Marijuana Draft Rules Unfair





Group: Medical Marijuana Draft Rules Unfair
Posted by CN Staff on January 05, 2009 at 07:19:20 PT
By Megha Satyanarayana, Free Press Staff Writer
Source: Detroit Free Press
Michigan -- The draft rules for the state's medical marijuana program treats users like criminals, and not patients that are part of a public health program, said patient and medical marijuana advocates during the opening comments of the only public meeting regarding the new law today in Lansing.About 100 people gathered at state offices to voice their concerns about the multiple rules and regulations drawn by the Michigan Department of Community Health, which will oversee the medical marijuana program starting April 4.
Among concerns were possible Fifth Amendment violations in requiring users to keep detailed records of their plants and marijuana supply and possible privacy law violations by asking users to name other users, if a patient has a caregiver that will help them utilize medical marijuana. There is also concern that the draft requirement that allows the state to consult federal Medicaid and Social Security rolls could put users in danger of losing those entitlements. "We are responsible, law-abiding adults," said Greg Francisco, executive director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. "I don't have to tell my pharmacist every other patient who my doctor has written a prescription for."Marijuana use of any sort is still illegal under federal law, giving federal law enforcement the ability to prosecute users in spite of the state law. "We need to change the law enforcement paradigm to a public health paradigm," said Melody Carr, on behalf of the MMMA.Voters approved Proposal 1, the medical marijuana initiative by 63% on Nov. 4, with every county in Michigan voting in favor of the new law. The law would allow users with terminal or chronic illnesses such as HIV, glaucoma and cerebral palsy and their caregivers to grow and use marijuana to treat symptoms of pain and nausea. The law would prohibit users from using marijuana in public places, or to operate a vehicle under the influence. Other concerns in the draft rules concern face-to-face interviews, what defines a public place and the need to store all marijuana, not just plants, as written in the proposal, under lock and key. Advocates are concerned that face-to-face requirement would be a burden on those with disabilities and in advanced stages of illness. They also fear a user would not be able to partake of medical marijuana in their homes with the shades open or on their porches, as both are visible to the public, even if neither are used by the public."We are not opposed to rules," said Francisco, "we simply want rules that work. We trust Michigan residents to keep far more dangerous drugs, like Ritalin...and Xanax in their medicine cabinets.Come back to freep.com for updates on this story from the hearing.Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)Author:  Megha Satyanarayana, Free Press Staff Writer Published: January 5, 2009Copyright: 2009 Detroit Free PressWebsite: http://www.freep.com/Contact: letters freepress.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/merGYb03Related Articles: Patients Oppose Strict Rules for Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24398.shtmlImplementation of Michigan's Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24332.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 05, 2009 at 10:32:24 PT
State Starts Deciding Medical Marijuana Rules
 By Bob Brenzing January 5, 2009LANSING, Mich. (WZZM) - The Michigan Department of Community Health began discussions today on how to regulate medical marijuana.Michigan voters approved an initiative to allow the use of medical marijuana in November. The state has until April 4 to have rules in place.Click on the video to hear WZZM 13's Nick Monacelli's report from Lansing and watch WZZM 13 News at 5:30pm for more.Copyright: 2009 wzzm13.comhttp://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=103589&catid=14
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Hope on January 05, 2009 at 10:23:29 PT
Sam Adams. It is "Disgraceful".
Cruel, weird, unjust, and stupid... just like everything else in the "War" on cannabis.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on January 05, 2009 at 09:42:24 PT
Michigan
Ah, the police state is strong in Michigan! It's rare to see the juxtaposition of a jack-booted thug with the public health people, but they are closely intertwined.We never should have allowed the government to butt into health care with the CSA. This is what you get - the government is basically saying, sure, you can use this herbal medicine, from your jail cell. Go ahead!I think the rules the Public Health people are trying to force on the medical patients in Michigan is one of the most outrageous acts I've even seen in the WOD. Cruel and oppressive. Sort of like a roving internment center for sick people. Like herding the med MJ patients into a virtual ghetto, just like the Nazis and the Jews. This is a disgraceful proposal for a country that's supposed to be free.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 05, 2009 at 08:49:08 PT
Related Article From The Michigan Messenger
Lansing Hearing on Medical Marijuana Restricts TestimonyJanuary 5, 2009Michigan Messenger’s Todd Heywood is attending the Medical Marijuana proposed rules hearing this morning in Lansing at the Michigan State Secondary Complex. About 200 people are in attendance.Approximately forty-five minutes into the hearing, the state employees conducting the hearing directed persons offering testimony about rules not to provide any comments that might duplicate concerns expressed by other attendees; a ten-minute time limit per comment had been established as the meeting began. As a public hearing conducted by a state agency, the meeting should be conducted following Michigan’s Open Meetings Act; the time limit is normal during public hearings on controversial topics, but the direction limiting the content of comments appears to violate the Open Meetings Act.Attorney Dennis Hayes, a representative of medical marijuana patients, was cut off while providing testimony, apparently because his comments duplicated concerns expressed by other attendees.The two staff members from Michigan Department of Community Health’s Bureau of Health Professions hearing testimony this morning were not introduced nor were their names provided in the hearing notice.During the hearing’s first hour, attendees expressed concerns about: creating inventory lists that could be used improperly by authorities; rules that were seen as too intrusive into personal lives of patients; poor coordination between state and federal laws could put patients at risk of prosecution under federal laws, threatening their Social Security payments since drug charges disqualify recipients for support.A Michigan State trooper has been stationed in the hallway for the proceedings; Heywood observes that the crowd appears to be one of the tamest he’s seen.Apparently cancer patients who need medical marijuana aren’t as violent as some might think.We’ll have more on this hearing later today at Michigan Messenger.http://michiganmessenger.com/11106/lansing-hearing-on-medical-marijuana-restricts-testimony
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment