The General
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Michigan - Maria Green's smile beamed from ear-to-ear as she held her 8-month-old daughter, Bree on Friday evening. "Today has been incredibly awesome," Maria Green said during a press conference at the Nichols Law Firm. "I feel blessed and we're over the moon that she's back home. We feel like we're a family again." The six-week long battle between the Greens and Child Protective Service came to a presumptive end when a deal was reached between the Green's Attorney, Joshua Covert, and Ingham County Probate Judge Richard Garcia to return Bree to their custody as long as they adhere to certain guidelines for the next 30 days.
"We're subject to drug testing," Steve Green said. "They want to make sure that we aren't using another prescription or different drugs. They also want to make sure that Bree doesn't test positive [for marijuana]" Bree Green was in awe of everything around her: the lights, the television cameras, the microphones, and even the glass conference table that she banged like a drum. She made her grand entrance into the room wearing a puffy winter coat and crocheted hat covering a full head of blonde hair.
"It feels like she's been gone for a year," Steve Green said, later comparing getting her back to being better than a trip to Disney World. "For a while, neither one of us could go to her room without sobbing. It felt like it was a year ago because it was that emotional." CPS returned Bree to her parents at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, less than four hours after an out-of-court settlement was reached. An ecstatic Steve Green could not control his happiness when he saw her.
"He ran to the door," Maria Green said. "He saw the [CPS worker] with Bree in her arms and he ran to grab her. It's just fantastic knowing that we can take her home." She said that it was a surreal feeling being able to take her back home in her minivan. "Just to hear her in the backseat was almost like a new experience." Maria Green became a certified medical marijuana caregiver in 2011 as a way to help treat Steve's violent seizures. Bree was removed from her parents' home on Sept. 13 after CPS felt that her parents had violated a provision in the state's Medical Marijuana Act.
The issues stem from a Sept. 2011 home invasion of a nearby house when the Greens lived in Oakland County. As police were investigating the home invasion, one of the officers smelled the marijuana coming from the Green's home. Police obtained a warrant, raided the house, and confiscated 29 marijuana plants, not knowing that Maria Green is a licensed caregiver.
On Oct. 3, charges were dropped, opening the door for Bree to be returned to her parents. Joshua Covert, the Green's attorney, and Ingham County Probate Judge Richard Garcia worked out the deal over the last two days.
"Getting her back was sensational," Steve Green said. "We were kind of worried about the return policy but the office said 'she's free' so it was great to be able to hold her and run to her. It all kind of felt like one of those movies where they run up to each other in slow motion, except she couldn't run." Bree had been staying with her grandmother, with her parents being able to visit multiple times during the week.
The Greens will need to attend parenting classes for 30 days once they get Bree back as a part of the agreement with the judge. If they meet all of the provisions of their agreement — some of which were not disclosed — the matter will be dropped. The Greens will also be allowed to resume growing medical marijuana and Maria Green, who also is a caregiver to five cancer patients, can continue to help treat them.
"I'm just glad that people are aware with what's going on with certain aspects of the Medical Marijuana Act," Maria Green said, thanking the local and statewide media for covering this situation. "People don't really understand that these types of things are happening to families. Having that public awareness has been so valuable to us." "I hope that it'll have a very positive impact on families and how CPS treats other marijuana patients and their families," she added. "I hope that everybody can kind of learn from this situation that we have here and do everything in their power to not go through the trauma of taking a child away."
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mlive.com
Author: Jay Scott Smith
Contact: Contact Us - MLive Media Group
Website: Baby Bree returns home as medical marijuana parents talk about ordeal | MLive.com
"We're subject to drug testing," Steve Green said. "They want to make sure that we aren't using another prescription or different drugs. They also want to make sure that Bree doesn't test positive [for marijuana]" Bree Green was in awe of everything around her: the lights, the television cameras, the microphones, and even the glass conference table that she banged like a drum. She made her grand entrance into the room wearing a puffy winter coat and crocheted hat covering a full head of blonde hair.
"It feels like she's been gone for a year," Steve Green said, later comparing getting her back to being better than a trip to Disney World. "For a while, neither one of us could go to her room without sobbing. It felt like it was a year ago because it was that emotional." CPS returned Bree to her parents at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, less than four hours after an out-of-court settlement was reached. An ecstatic Steve Green could not control his happiness when he saw her.
"He ran to the door," Maria Green said. "He saw the [CPS worker] with Bree in her arms and he ran to grab her. It's just fantastic knowing that we can take her home." She said that it was a surreal feeling being able to take her back home in her minivan. "Just to hear her in the backseat was almost like a new experience." Maria Green became a certified medical marijuana caregiver in 2011 as a way to help treat Steve's violent seizures. Bree was removed from her parents' home on Sept. 13 after CPS felt that her parents had violated a provision in the state's Medical Marijuana Act.
The issues stem from a Sept. 2011 home invasion of a nearby house when the Greens lived in Oakland County. As police were investigating the home invasion, one of the officers smelled the marijuana coming from the Green's home. Police obtained a warrant, raided the house, and confiscated 29 marijuana plants, not knowing that Maria Green is a licensed caregiver.
On Oct. 3, charges were dropped, opening the door for Bree to be returned to her parents. Joshua Covert, the Green's attorney, and Ingham County Probate Judge Richard Garcia worked out the deal over the last two days.
"Getting her back was sensational," Steve Green said. "We were kind of worried about the return policy but the office said 'she's free' so it was great to be able to hold her and run to her. It all kind of felt like one of those movies where they run up to each other in slow motion, except she couldn't run." Bree had been staying with her grandmother, with her parents being able to visit multiple times during the week.
The Greens will need to attend parenting classes for 30 days once they get Bree back as a part of the agreement with the judge. If they meet all of the provisions of their agreement — some of which were not disclosed — the matter will be dropped. The Greens will also be allowed to resume growing medical marijuana and Maria Green, who also is a caregiver to five cancer patients, can continue to help treat them.
"I'm just glad that people are aware with what's going on with certain aspects of the Medical Marijuana Act," Maria Green said, thanking the local and statewide media for covering this situation. "People don't really understand that these types of things are happening to families. Having that public awareness has been so valuable to us." "I hope that it'll have a very positive impact on families and how CPS treats other marijuana patients and their families," she added. "I hope that everybody can kind of learn from this situation that we have here and do everything in their power to not go through the trauma of taking a child away."
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mlive.com
Author: Jay Scott Smith
Contact: Contact Us - MLive Media Group
Website: Baby Bree returns home as medical marijuana parents talk about ordeal | MLive.com
