http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/ Oakland County NORML en-us Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:09:56 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly Oakland County NORML News http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/images/logo.gif http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/ http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=556 Press Release 11/01/2011 For Immediate Release *Protest Planned at Chesterfield Courthouse * *The Michigan Association of Compassion Centers charges Attorney General is manipulating local courts across Michigan * The Macomb County Circuit Court is the latest battleground between Attorney General Bill Schuette and the overwhelming majority of Michigan voters as he moves to shutter a popular Compassion Center. On November 3rdat 1:00, Judge Foster will conduct a Hearing to determine the case of Chesterfield Township/Chief of Police/Bill Schuette v. Big Daddy’s Management Group. The people will be there to respond. A protest is planned for the sidewalks surrounding the Circuit Court starting at noon. The protest is sponsored by the Michigan Association of Compassion Centers, the state’s most active organization protecting patient’s rights, and will feature members of the Macomb/Oakland Compassion Club, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, local representatives of national organization Americans for Safe Access, and attorneys representing cannabis patients and businesses from across the state. “This may be the last protest of the year,” said Jamie Lowell of Ypsilanti’s 3rd Coast Compassion Center. There is more at stake than just a single Compassion Center. Schuette’s year-long war against the Voter Directed Initiative will be tested in this case: if the Township’s Nuisance charge is defeated and the caregiver-patient distribution model is deemed legal, distribution centers may be emboldened to reemerge across the State. Many Centers closed earlier this year after the Court of Appeals decided against one business model in a case originating from Mt. Pleasant. “If the distribution model is struck down it would signal a close to some of the remaining 100 distribution centers still servicing the sick and injured statewide,” said Rick Thompson, Editor of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Magazine and a Board Member of Big Daddy’s. “If it wasn’t hugely important, the AG would have just filed a Brief; instead he chose to Intervene.” After the People v McQueen ruling in the Court of Appeals, the AG sent letters to all 83 County Prosecutors instructing them on how to close dispensaries using this Nuisance maneuver. First-year AG Schuette has intruded in Nuisance cases from Isabella, Midland and Wayne County cases in the past few months and he pushed for the ouster of a District Judge in January. The previous AG, Mike Cox, took no action against medical marijuana patients from Nov. 4, 2008 until he surrendered office in January of 2011. “The Act is no different; the difference is the AG’s attitude,” said Lowell. The Nuisance suit was engaged in September of 2010. For the first 13 months of this lawsuit the Township has allowed Big Daddy’s to operate, refusing to issue a Cease and Desist Order or filing Injunctions to close their operations. In the eleventh hour the AG has formally Intervened in the case, citing “statewide implications” and adding himself as a Plaintiff, and is expected to use his influence to force an Injunction and lock the doors on the Gratiot Avenue facility for the duration of the lawsuit. The strategy is obvious- take away the defendant’s business to cut off their financial backing for a high-profile court battle. Judge Foster faces a crisis of conscience: cave in to the influence being peddled by the AG’s office, or let the case be decided on its merits. Big Daddy’s and Satisfaction Limousines will provide a shuttle bus to transport the patients and protesters from the disputed facility to the Courthouse. “Sick people can’t walk long distances,” says Thompson, “and parking in Mt. Clemens is bad even on a good day.” Early Parking at 52011 Gratiot, Chesterfield Township, Michigan call 586 421-5100 for details Gather at 11:00 to make protest signs and board the bus Protest at Noon, Macomb County Circuit Court, 40 N. Main Street, Mt. Clemens, Michigan Hearing starts at 1:00, Judge Foster’s Court, 5th floor *MEDIA CONTACT:* Jim Rasor, Attorney, 248 543-9000 Rick Thompson, 4M Magazine, 248 721-3518 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:09:56 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=555 55% of Americans support legalizing marijuanaBy "Radical" Russ Belville on August 10, 2011 I think we're beginning to see a pattern here... Another Angus-Reid Public Policy poll has asked Americans about legalizing marijuana and their opinion of the War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugs. And once again, for the third year in a row, a majority of Americans support legalization of marijuana. The poll is a randomized and controlled online survey. This format, unlike Gallup and other organizations that use telephone polls, may lead to more honest responses from those polled. When asked in Gallup’s last telephone survey about marijuana legalization in October 2010, only 46% of Americans supported marijuana legalization. Angus-Reid’s 2009 survey found 53% support. In 2010 the support was 52% and in the survey just released, support had risen to 55% in favor of marijuana legalization, with only 40% opposed. Other questions reveal some interesting points as well. When asked if America has a “serious drug abuse problem”, 64% said yes, as a country, we have a serious drug abuse problem, with another 20% saying this serious drug abuse problem is confined to “specific areas and people”. In fact, “serious drug abuse”, defined as people who were admitted to drug treatment for substances other than cannabis, totaled a little over 1.5 million – about 0.4% of our population. Even if you count people forced by a drug court to go to a rehab they don’t need for cannabis, the number is still less than 2 million people. What we do have in this country is a “serious drug prohibition problem” and it is imperative that we better educate the public that this is what they are misidentifying as drug abuse problems. Another finding: when asked whether the “War on Drugs is a success”, only 9% of Americans agreed, with a 2-to-1 margin, 67% saying it is a failure. Still, almost a quarter of Americans said “Don’t Know”, indicating another area where we must increase our public education efforts. As for legalization of drugs and cannabis, we find other interesting data. The gender gap we see in polls like Gallup’s tightens in the online Angus-Reid poll. Where Gallup showed a ten-point gap between men’s and women’s support for legalization of marijuana, Angus-Reid shows 57% of men and 53% of women support legalizing marijuana, a gap of only four points. The online component provides less intimidation of the respondent and I believe women are less likely to be truthful about their support for legalization over the phone, where they hear another voice and imagine being judged as a “pothead”. Still, we need to make up that four-point-gap. Finally, all the prohibitionists who worry about a “slippery slope” and argue “well, if we legalize pot, what’s next, legal meth?” are going to have to find a new talking point. While the poll shows 55% support for legalizing marijuana, there is but 10% support for ecstasy, 9% for cocaine, 8% for heroin, and 7% each for crack and meth. Apparently Americans know the difference between cannabis and drugs. Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:41:17 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=554 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:44:56 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=553 Hi All, The next meeting of Oakland County NORML will be on October 16 Baldwin Public Library 1-5 pm. This will be a joint meeting between us and the Birmingham Compassion Club. The meeting will focus on becoming more effective politically. We have an impressive list of speaker including: Chad Carr Birmingham Compassion Michael Komorn Michigan Medical Marijuana Association Jamie Lowell Third Coast Compassion Center Andy LeCureaux Hazel Park City Council Craig Covey Oakland County Commission Baldwin Public Library 300 West Merrill Street Birmingham, MI 48009 (248) 647-1700 I hope you are all able to make it. Thanks, Neil Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:21:56 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=552 Michigan high court rules for Dr. Dre By Ed Brayton | 03.21.11 | 7:52 am The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of rapper Dr. Dre in a case involving a very important legal principle — whether the police have a right to privacy while performing their duties. The state high court said no. The suit was filed by Gary Brown, now a Detroit City Councilman but formerly a high-ranking police official. He and other officers were videotaped while threatening to shut down a concert featuring Dre and Eminem if they showed a sexually explicit video. The video was then included in a DVD produced about the tour. The court, in a 6-1 ruling, dismissed the suit, saying that there is no right to privacy for police while on the job. The implications of this ruling are far more important than they may seem initially because it explicitly makes it legal in the state of Michigan to record the police while they perform their duties. This is incredibly important because cell phone videos of police officers have revealed misconduct, abuse and lying on reports in case after case around the country. But in some states, like Illinois, it is illegal to videotape the police in the performance of their duties. Michigan now has a clearly established legal right for what has become a crucial watchdog on police misconduct. http://michiganmessenger.com/47523/michigan-high-court-rules-for-dr-dre Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:17:44 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=551 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:22:53 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=550 Hi All, I am very happy to report, that yesterday the Michigan Democratic Party adopted the Beatrice Solomon Patient and Caregiver Protection resolution. This means it will be a part of the official party platform for 2011, after ratification on Saturday. Note they do that as a whole, so it is essentially a done deal. How significant this will be remains seen, but I believe this should hold serious weight with some people in the MDP. It is worth nothing that I was greatly assisted by Greg's Piasecki's good friend Margret. She ended up being my partner from the 9th district. So as usual Greg deserves a lot of the credit here to This kind of citizen lead ground level up advocacy I believe can be very effective in the future. I encourage my Republican friends, especially those who are precinct delegates consider taking the text, changing if you see fit, then sponsoring for adoption in your local congressional district. If we can make this a part of both parties platforms' it will be hard for people trying to get elected to ignore that. If you would like more information about becoming a precinct delegate of at least the Democratic or Republican parties, feel free to email me personally. I believe this could serve as a model for legislation that seeks to enhance the rights of patients and caregivers. If you have suggestions how to make the law better for patients and caregivers please feel free to email me personally. - Neil Beatrice Solomon Patient and Caregiver Protection Resolution Whereas, 3,006,820 people of Michigan voted to allow seriously ill people to use Marijuana in 2008 or 62.6% of the voters. Whereas, 418,208 people of Oakland County voted to allow seriously ill people to use Marijuana in 2008 or 66% of the voters. Whereas the Michigan Medical Marijuana Amendment got 1,113,986 more votes than Governor Rick Snyder and 1,357,597 more votes than Attorney General in the 2010 election. Whereas the turnout of the 2010 election was 2,763,309 voters lower than the 2008 election. Whereas, Medical Marijuana patients should not face more onerous restrictions than any other medically approved controlled substance. Whereas, minors should avoid all drugs except those prescribed or recommended by an individual currently licensed by the state of Michigan to prescribe medicine. Whereas, not all patients are able to grow their own medicine, nor are all caregivers able to grow medicine for their own patients, we believe that people who are authorized to possesses medical marijuana should be able to transfer legally cultivated incidental overages to other caregivers or patients who are legally authorized to be in possession and who are fully compliant with all of the restrictions and or limitations outlined in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Constitutional Amendment approved in 2008. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we urge all state and local law makers not to infringe of the rights of medical marijuana patients and caregivers, with the exception of sensible zoning regulations that don’t force patients and caregivers into back alleys or travel long distances. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party fully supports all the rights enumerated in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Constitutional Amendment approved in 2008. Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:21:14 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=549 Newshawk: Richard Lake Pubdate: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2011 Detroit Free Press Contact: http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/opinion04/50926009 METRO DETROIT COMMUNITIES SUED OVER MEDICAL POT Community officials across the region have spent countless hours in the last year debating how to regulate medical marijuana. Now, some are spending legal fees defending lawsuits. Royal Oak, whose ban on growing medical marijuana starts today, was sued last week, and another lawsuit is expected to be filed against the city this week. Also sued recently by medical-marijuana patients in metro Detroit were Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Livonia and Lyon Township. "This is going to keep happening, and we're going to spend legal fees while we're laying off police officers," Royal Oak City Commissioner Jim Rasor said. Rasor said the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act "is perfectly clear" in establishing Michiganders' rights to use, grow and distribute medical marijuana. But he was in the minority of the 4-3 vote on the city's ordinance change, passed last month, to ban growing medical marijuana in Royal Oak. After dozens of citizens signed a petition asking for a complete ban on the drug, city commissioners sided with allowing its use but banning its cultivation, saying that the state law voters passed in 2008 was vague and could lead to drug dealing in the city. Michigan's new attorney general, Bill Schuette, said through a spokesman last week that he agreed. "The law is an absolute disaster," Schuette spokesman John Selleck said. "It has created the No. 1 growth industry in Michigan, but these are not the kind of jobs we need. Our attorneys are looking at the issue right now to determine the best ways the law could be clarified." It's too soon to say when the attorney general might issue an opinion on medical marijuana, he said. Such an opinion would not be binding on the courts, but it would help guide community leaders on the issue, Royal Oak City Attorney Dave Gillam said. Gillam said he and the city's planning director hope to resolve a mushrooming legal quandary with their ordinance change: whether residents who are state-approved patients can continue to grow the drug in their homes and be grandfathered in to the new city zoning amendment, if they've grown the drug before, Gillam said. Royal Oak officials admitted that they failed to anticipate the problem of grandfathering existing growers, who are guaranteed confidentiality by the state Medical Marijuana Act, Grosse Pointe attorney Paul Tylenda said. He represents Steven Greene, a resident of Lyon Township, who filed a lawsuit last month against the community to challenge its total ban on medical marijuana use, Tylenda said. [sidebar] COURT CASES INVOLVING MEDICAL MARIJUANA These communities have been sued over ordinances restricting medical marijuana: Bloomfield Township -- Sued last year in Oakland County Circuit Court by two anonymous residents who said the city's requirement that state-approved patients register with the police department violated privacy provisions in the state law that allows medical marijuana. Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Livonia -- Sued in December in Wayne County Circuit Court by a Birmingham couple in their 60s, who said the communities' ordinances amounted to bans on medical marijuana. The couple said they want to use marijuana in their home, take it to a private club in Bloomfield Hills to control the wife's symptoms during long social events, and grow it in a warehouse they own in Livonia. Lawyers from the Detroit-based Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union represent them. Lyon Township -- Sued last month in Oakland County Circuit Court by a resident who received a notice from the township Dec. 20, saying he had 30 days to destroy marijuana plants inside his mobile home. The lawsuit said he is HIV positive and uses marijuana to counteract nausea caused by his medications. Royal Oak -- Sued Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court by a resident who said he suffers from cancer and back ailments. His lawsuit said Royal Oak's ban on growing medical marijuana and other restrictions conflict with the state law that allows medical marijuana. Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:57:10 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=548 The Michigan Industrial Hemp Education and Marketing Project Cordially invites you to Attend an Industrial Hemp education bazaar The Atlanta Senior Center Atlanta, Michigan February 19, 2011 10:00 A.M - 4:00 P.M. See samples of hemp products. Listen to speakers. Share ideas. Learn what Industrial Hemp is and how it can create jobs and grow our economy. Talk to people who make and sale hemp products. Learn about new technologies in the industry. Bid in our silent Auction and shop with hemp vendors. This is a Free event, no admittance fee. For more information call MIHEMP Executive Director Everett Swift 989-884-1139 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:19:17 GMT http://www.oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=547 STAFF By: Juliana Keeping AnnArbor.com Health/Environment Reporter How does his marijuana garden grow? Carefully and quietly, Ann Arbor caregiver says Topics: Health, News 14 Comments. Comment Now Share this article Print Email Share Posted: Jan 16, 2011 at 6:02 AM [Today] Jude grew up in a rough neighborhood on Detroit’s east side and left home when he was 15. Life hasn’t been easy. He’s lost five of his close friends in drug-related deaths over the years — each to either an overdose or a violent end stemming from the use of heroin or methamphetamine. He’s dabbled in an array of drugs himself, he admits, and dealt drugs like marijuana on Detroit street corners as a teen. He came out of it with a terrible driving record but no misdemeanor drug or felony convictions. Jude explains his growing process in the basement of his Ann Arbor home.Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com Now 30, the Ann Arbor resident is a caregiver — a person who grows and supplies medical marijuana to patients who qualify under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. It’s unclear how many caregivers are growing statewide; state officials say they’ll provide a figure when an accurate number is available. The state had registered nearly 50,000 patients as of Dec. 29. In April 2009, it became legal to use and grow marijuana for patients with conditions like cancer, chronic pain, HIV or glaucoma. With that change, Jude’s background in various illegal drug ventures suddenly had a legal purpose. But like other caregivers, Jude would only agree to be interviewed if his full name wasn’t used. Caregivers — citing legal and employment concerns — say state law may have legitimized the drug in part, but not in the minds of most people. Jude said he learned how to grow marijuana when he was 20, as an apprentice of sorts in black market grow houses. He also has, at various times, been a theater or business student in college — endeavors that left him without a degree and $20,000 in debt. "I ran out of money," he said of his choice to drop out of school. At one point, Jude was a wedding DJ. Now he holds a professional day job and runs his own business — one that has nothing to do with drugs. But he keeps a foot in his old life, growing marijuana in Ann Arbor and selling the product to those who are medically qualified. Inside one caregiver’s world Jude, like other caregivers interviewed by AnnArbor.com, keeps the fact that he grows and distributes marijuana to himself. He only lets his landlord, a close circle of friends and patients know what’s really going on in the basement of his rental home. State law may have legitimized what he’s doing, but medical marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. Jude fears being exposed would make him a target for those who illegally deal marijuana. And there’s a stigma associated with the drug that he fears will hurt him professionally. Jude is exclusively a grower and is not a medical marijuana patient himself, as some caregivers are. Jude, who talks like a botanist, learned most of the technical skills involved in growing marijuana indoors from reading books and papers on the subject — in addition to his work in the illegal grow operations of his past. Jude takes meticulous notes about his plants and has done extensive research on growing techniques.Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com Plywood boards form a makeshift room in the basement of his small rental home. There, his marijuana operation is padlocked shut. The paperwork required of caregivers from the Michigan Department of Community Health, which runs the state’s medical marijuana program, is affixed to the door. His landlord supports what he is doing, he said. “It’s really been just like any other part of my life,” he said. A lighting system worth about $2,000 is switched on at 11 p.m. and runs for 12 hours overnight, when the electricity rates are lower than they are during the day. The plants are in darkness for the other 12 hours. On a recent night, three 1,000-watt light bulbs illuminated 24 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. Inside the grow room, silver reflective material lined the walls to capture light — Jude casually uses the term lumens, a measurement of light streaming out of high-pressure sodium bulbs. He said he consulted an electrician when he set up the lighting system, which has to be vented to keep it and the plants from getting too hot. Fans and air conditioning control the temperature, 72 to 78 degrees, and humidity, 35 percent to 45 percent, inside the room. RELATED CONTENT Here's a round-up of recent stories on how local municipalities are dealing with the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries. These ordinances do not apply to home growers like Jude. Ypsilanti City Council considering cap on medical marijuana facilities, outlines licensing process Dexter council expected to set public hearing on medical marijuana dispensaries Protesters change tune, applaud Ann Arbor City Council for revisions to medical marijuana ordinance Chelsea City Council votes to ban medical marijuana dispensaries Fired up: Legality of medical marijuana dispensaries an issue of debate in Michigan Jude’s growing system is homemade. A Rubbermaid container acts as a reservoir, and a submerged pump circulates water constantly through the soil-free system of PVC pipes propped up about two feet off the ground by a base made of two-by-fours. Inside the pipes, sprayers disperse the water and keep the environment humid. Jude has added microorganisms to the water to help replicate what would be found in soil. He feeds the microorganisms sugar or molasses. He keeps meticulous notes on everything he does, like the pH level in the water and the growth rate of each plant. Where does he get them? That’s tricky since nothing in the state law addresses seeds or seedlings, which can’t be legally acquired. Jude said he trades cuttings — a trimming from a mature female plant — with friends. It takes about six weeks for a cutting to take root and start to flower. It takes months more before the buds can be harvested, dried and then cured to avoid molding. Once a grower harvests a plant, the plant is done producing. Each can produce between 0.5 and 2.5 ounces of marijuana. All the plants grown have to be females; male plants would pollinate the buds, rendering them unusable. Jude said marijuana caregivers bristle at the drug language used in manufacturing what the state now considers medicine. That's one of the reasons they sell it by the gram, he said. For his patients, one gram costs $10. There are 28 grams in an ounce. Jude dismisses hydroponics as a general term and said he’s combined several techniques. He described his process with a rapid-fire combination of horticulture acronyms and street terms like “bubble-ponics,” which means pushing air into the water to add oxygen to the environment. Buckets and other household containers hold the more mature plants, while smaller plants thrive in their respective pods cut into the pipe system. A strain called Northern Lights was growing for one of Jude’s patient in Folgers can. He said he likes to give each of them a free ounce of marijuana each month, and he’s not making much money on the endeavor. Jude said he simply likes to garden, and not just marijuana — his mother was a florist and he helped out with her flower garden as a kid. He also often grows his own vegetables. The caregiver’s patient Dale Franz, 73, is one of Jude’s patients. The retired journalist said severe sciatic nerve pain keeps him up at night. Each marijuana plant produces 0.5 to 2.5 ounces of product.Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com Marijuana he inhales via a vaporizer helps with the pain and helps him sleep. The Northern Lights plant Jude was growing is for him. “The difference between using something like medical marijuana and pharmaceutical drugs, for me, is that pain management is a more complex thing than just suppressing pain,” Franz said. “It involves what your feeling about it is, your perception of pain, and I think that the marijuana allows you to examine that subjectively, with your own reactions, much more easily than if you just cover it up with some kind of powerful drug. You can feel the pain, but adjust to it somehow, rather than just try to make it go away, so you’re aware that you’re still on the planet.” Franz said one of the reasons he uses medical marijuana is to avoid opiate-containing narcotics with ingredients derived from the same plant that produces heroin. He appreciates the relationship he has developed with Jude and his product. “I’m familiar with his operation,” Franz said. “I’ve seen how he grows his plants. He’s very careful. He’s reliable he’s consistent and he’s very supportive. It’s also a part of the local economy, and it’s a program that ought to be provided for people.” Juliana Keeping is a health and environment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:58:14 GMT