Michigan voters said yes to medical marijuana

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Michigan voters roll in medical marijuana, causing discomfort for cops, doctors

Posted by Crystal McMorris | The Bay City Times
November 16, 2008 06:52AM

Michigan voters said yes to medical marijuana by a ratio of nearly 2-1.

And while the law takes effect Dec. 4, details of how it will play out remain hazy among doctors, law enforcement officials and state residents who want to use the drug for medicinal purposes.

The state's Department of Community Health, through its county-level health departments, have been designated to maintain a registry and issue registration cards to patients and "caregivers" who will then be legally allowed to have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. The law also allows for patients and their caregivers to grow up to 12 plants, as long as they grown them in an "enclosed, locked facility." The department has until April 4 to have the registry up and running.

But local officials, doctors and patients remain unsure exactly how the new law will play out.

WHAT THE LAW MEANS Voters have made medical marijuana legal in Michigan, but details about how the law will effect patients and their caregivers remain cloudy. The Michigan Department of Community Health answers some questions: What does Proposal 1 allow? Proposal 1 allows patients with a debilitating medical condition to use marijuana after obtaining a registry identification card from Michigan Department of Community Health. To obtain a registry card, patients must have a written certification from a physician verifying that they have a debilitating medical condition the symptoms of which can be alleviated by marijuana use. Patients in need of medical assistance in using the medical marijuana may designate a primary caregiver who will also be allowed to grow and possess marijuana. How much marijuana can patients and their caregivers have at one time? A registered patient shall not be arrested or prosecuted for the possession of 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana and 12 additional plants in an enclosed, locked facility. A registered caregiver shall not be arrested or prosecuted for assisting a patient to whom he or she is connected through the department's registry. Each caregiver may have up to 2.5 ounces of "usable" marijuana and 12 plants per patient.

More info:
Michigan voters roll in medical marijuana, causing discomfort for cops, doctors - Bay City Times - MLive.com

Voters say yes to medical marijuana - A2 Politics - The Ann Arbor News - MLive.com

Posted By: Jessica Puchala

Though medical marijuana soon will be legal in Michigan, patients and their caregivers still will have to break the law to get it, at least the first time.

Proposal 1 will allow approved patients and their caretakers to possess and grow the drug, but there won't be a legal way to get marijuana seeds or seedlings.

"How do you get from point A to point B? There is no law that protects you there," said James McCurtis, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health, "and we are not giving any advice on how you get your marijuana."

It's a gray area that's common to most of the 13 states that have passed medical marijuana initiatives. California is alone in allowing "dispensaries" to sell marijuana on a nonprofit basis.

And "like many things in the world that happen in a legal gray area, it seems to happen without a great deal of difficulty," said Bruce Mirken, communications director at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

"It's unfortunate that there are limits right now to what a state can do," he added.

With the possession, distribution and sale of marijuana still illegal under federal law," Mirken said, "If you set up a full scale distribution system for seeds or seedlings, you run the risk of running afoul of the feds."

Lynn Allen is getting ready to cultivate his own marijuana plants.

The 52-year-old Williamston man, who has the bleeding disorder hemophilia and HIV, contracted from a tainted blood transfusion, bought a book. He is researching which strains of marijuana might work best for his condition.

But the lack of protection for those buying seeds "does disturb me a bit," he said. "I don't know offhand how we'll deal with that unless they turn a blind eye to it."

That's something that Lansing Police Chief Mark Alley said he won't do.

"We don't plan on turning our backs on illegal behavior," he said.

Still, there are apparently plenty of people in the state interested in participating in the program.

"We've been getting calls ever since Nov. 5," McCurtis said, "because a lot of people think the day after the election that the law goes into effect right away.

It doesn't. The Department of Community Health has until April 4 to put rules in place for administering the program. After that, it will take another 20 days or so to process the first requests, McCurtis said.

For more information, click the link below....

Legal marijuana poses pot puzzle | wzzm13.com | Grand Rapids, MI