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Operators of Michigan's medical marijuana distribution facilities are hiding behind steel doors with peepholes and growing warier than ever of strangers after a state Supreme Court ruling this month turned them into outlaws.
That's the word from marijuana users, cannabis lawyers and operators of facilities called dispensaries and compassion clubs.
"Nobody I know in this state is advertising this service anymore -- it's all going to be word-of-mouth from now on," said Holice Wood, owner of a compassion club where medical marijuana users come to use the drug.
But a bill expected to be introduced Tuesday in Lansing could change how they operate.
State Rep. Mike Callton, a Republican from Nashville in southwest Michigan, is sponsoring a bill that would leave it up to local officials or residents to decide if they want their community to allow dispensaries and clubs -- the terms widely used in other states for shops that distribute medical marijuana.
Although a similar bill died in committee last year, Callton said this year's bill has a better chance of passing because it comes with up-front GOP support -- eight Republicans are cosponsors. Another eight cosponsors are Democrats.
"I'm a Republican and I'm from a conservative area, but I've seen growing support from a lot of other legislators for this from both parties," Callton said.
"And now, with this court ruling, it becomes much more important," he said, referring to a Supreme Court ruling Feb. 8 that has been widely interpreted to make dispensaries illegal. Callton's proposal, House Bill 4271, would allow each community in the state to decide individually whether it wanted to allow dispensaries, and where, Callton said.
"I want people to be able to take a recommendation for (marijuana) from their doctor -- we're not calling it a prescription; the pharmacy people told me that was their word -- and be able to go to what we're calling a provisionary center," Callton said.
Wood, 45, runs the Trans-Love Energies compassion club near Eastern Market in Detroit. It's one of an estimated two dozen dispensaries and similar facilities in Detroit, and more than 100 in Michigan, all running scared, he said.
Many have closed their doors, while those remaining are operating out of sight and in fear of police raids, he said.
"I believe I can stay in business. We're a totally private club," Wood insisted Friday.
Meanwhile, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is planning to instruct all 83 Michigan county prosecutors to shut down anything resembling a dispensary -- the letters are going out this week, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Known as the first chiropractor to be elected to the Michigan Legislature, Callton adjusts the spines of other legislators at his Lansing office during breaks from House sessions, and he's active on the House Health Policy Committee.
"I see medical marijuana as a health care issue. I know a lot of people -- I have patients -- who have clearly benefitted" from medical marijuana, he said.
Lacking a regulatory structure, there are dispensaries and clubs that "feel like a drug den" while others are very professional, Callton said.
"I want all dispensaries to pass the grandma test. Your grandma should feel safe in there," he said.
Callton's bill is almost sure to be opposed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office, which declared last week through a spokeswoman that no new legislation was needed to regulate medical marijuana.
"The Michigan Supreme Court issued a straightforward ruling, and we see no immediate need for legislation at this time," spokeswoman Joy Yearout said.
Many local and law enforcement officials are skeptical about allowing dispensaries.
"As a retired police officer, I'd want there to be very tight controls on this -- very tight," said Roseville Mayor John Chirkun. "You set something up like this, people will take the opportunity to skirt the law. They'll sell some (legally) to the person who comes in the front door and sell a lot more out the back door to a drug dealer."
Sara Wurfel, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said medical marijuana "hasn't been on our radar" and that Snyder would review the bill if the Legislature approved it.
Users of medical marijuana said they need to regain safe access to the drug.
"It's cost-prohibitive to grow this yourself, and it's labor intensive," said Alec McKelvey Jr., 41, of Warren, a state-registered patient who uses marijuana to fight the side effects of cancer treatments.
"You have to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment and really know what you're doing to get a quality plant that has no parasites or mold -- that would make my health worse," McKelvey said.
Callton's proposal, which many supporters call "the dispensary bill," is soon to gain lobbying support.
"This will give control back to local government -- to zone these centers and to say how many they want," said Robin Schneider, a lobbyist in Lansing for the Detroit-based National Patient Rights Association, a coalition of dispensary and compassion club owners.
"Communities can say, 'Do we want this happening in a (residential) neighborhood or in a designated commercial or industrial district?' Or, 'we don't want this happening right next to our schools,' " said Schneider, 34, formerly a state-registered caregiver.
Medical marijuana user Marti Robinson, 55, of Southfield, a survivor of colorectal cancer who now is fighting new cancer in her lymph nodes, said she plans to talk about the bill on her Facebook page "and get people behind this."
State Rep. Tom McMillan, R-Rochester Hills, said he signed on as the first cosponsor of Callton's bill.
"I've got friends who are legitimately helped by medical marijuana," McMillan said Friday.
"There's a new group of Republicans saying this war on drugs has been a disaster. Eventually, we've got to step back and look at that," he said.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Bill Laitner
That's the word from marijuana users, cannabis lawyers and operators of facilities called dispensaries and compassion clubs.
"Nobody I know in this state is advertising this service anymore -- it's all going to be word-of-mouth from now on," said Holice Wood, owner of a compassion club where medical marijuana users come to use the drug.
But a bill expected to be introduced Tuesday in Lansing could change how they operate.
State Rep. Mike Callton, a Republican from Nashville in southwest Michigan, is sponsoring a bill that would leave it up to local officials or residents to decide if they want their community to allow dispensaries and clubs -- the terms widely used in other states for shops that distribute medical marijuana.
Although a similar bill died in committee last year, Callton said this year's bill has a better chance of passing because it comes with up-front GOP support -- eight Republicans are cosponsors. Another eight cosponsors are Democrats.
"I'm a Republican and I'm from a conservative area, but I've seen growing support from a lot of other legislators for this from both parties," Callton said.
"And now, with this court ruling, it becomes much more important," he said, referring to a Supreme Court ruling Feb. 8 that has been widely interpreted to make dispensaries illegal. Callton's proposal, House Bill 4271, would allow each community in the state to decide individually whether it wanted to allow dispensaries, and where, Callton said.
"I want people to be able to take a recommendation for (marijuana) from their doctor -- we're not calling it a prescription; the pharmacy people told me that was their word -- and be able to go to what we're calling a provisionary center," Callton said.
Wood, 45, runs the Trans-Love Energies compassion club near Eastern Market in Detroit. It's one of an estimated two dozen dispensaries and similar facilities in Detroit, and more than 100 in Michigan, all running scared, he said.
Many have closed their doors, while those remaining are operating out of sight and in fear of police raids, he said.
"I believe I can stay in business. We're a totally private club," Wood insisted Friday.
Meanwhile, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is planning to instruct all 83 Michigan county prosecutors to shut down anything resembling a dispensary -- the letters are going out this week, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Known as the first chiropractor to be elected to the Michigan Legislature, Callton adjusts the spines of other legislators at his Lansing office during breaks from House sessions, and he's active on the House Health Policy Committee.
"I see medical marijuana as a health care issue. I know a lot of people -- I have patients -- who have clearly benefitted" from medical marijuana, he said.
Lacking a regulatory structure, there are dispensaries and clubs that "feel like a drug den" while others are very professional, Callton said.
"I want all dispensaries to pass the grandma test. Your grandma should feel safe in there," he said.
Callton's bill is almost sure to be opposed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office, which declared last week through a spokeswoman that no new legislation was needed to regulate medical marijuana.
"The Michigan Supreme Court issued a straightforward ruling, and we see no immediate need for legislation at this time," spokeswoman Joy Yearout said.
Many local and law enforcement officials are skeptical about allowing dispensaries.
"As a retired police officer, I'd want there to be very tight controls on this -- very tight," said Roseville Mayor John Chirkun. "You set something up like this, people will take the opportunity to skirt the law. They'll sell some (legally) to the person who comes in the front door and sell a lot more out the back door to a drug dealer."
Sara Wurfel, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said medical marijuana "hasn't been on our radar" and that Snyder would review the bill if the Legislature approved it.
Users of medical marijuana said they need to regain safe access to the drug.
"It's cost-prohibitive to grow this yourself, and it's labor intensive," said Alec McKelvey Jr., 41, of Warren, a state-registered patient who uses marijuana to fight the side effects of cancer treatments.
"You have to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment and really know what you're doing to get a quality plant that has no parasites or mold -- that would make my health worse," McKelvey said.
Callton's proposal, which many supporters call "the dispensary bill," is soon to gain lobbying support.
"This will give control back to local government -- to zone these centers and to say how many they want," said Robin Schneider, a lobbyist in Lansing for the Detroit-based National Patient Rights Association, a coalition of dispensary and compassion club owners.
"Communities can say, 'Do we want this happening in a (residential) neighborhood or in a designated commercial or industrial district?' Or, 'we don't want this happening right next to our schools,' " said Schneider, 34, formerly a state-registered caregiver.
Medical marijuana user Marti Robinson, 55, of Southfield, a survivor of colorectal cancer who now is fighting new cancer in her lymph nodes, said she plans to talk about the bill on her Facebook page "and get people behind this."
State Rep. Tom McMillan, R-Rochester Hills, said he signed on as the first cosponsor of Callton's bill.
"I've got friends who are legitimately helped by medical marijuana," McMillan said Friday.
"There's a new group of Republicans saying this war on drugs has been a disaster. Eventually, we've got to step back and look at that," he said.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Bill Laitner
