stumpjumper
Well-Known Member
So I wonder if they will let the patients remain cardholders?
Michigan MJ news articles
- Thread starter gladstoned
- Start date
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
What records are they required to maintain? I don't remember seeing that in the statute, as matter of fact how long before we put this back into the department of health and out of the lara? Does having it a lara affair seem to suggest that this whole program is just something anyone can apply and get like a stanard permit. Is it the medical program or the licensee and permitted program? Wtf any way
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
Unless he was writing recs
stumpjumper
Well-Known Member
I was under the impression he was writing recs and not keeping patient records.
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
That would make sense, it just really gets my golden goat when I read articles like this.
stumpjumper
Well-Known Member
I just seen a thing on Detroit news yesterday about over 35 or 37 murders in D in the last 3 weeks...I wonder how many they've solved. Or even better, how many they are attempting to solve.
Rare D MI
New Member
You may not know the area well but that is 16 miles north of Detroit. Small town cops, getting small town tips. That house wouldn't have been raided in Detroit probably. This is gonna be a record year around here for murders. A lot of shooting going on.
gladstoned
Well-Known Member
Not by police anyway. lmao.
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/michigan-medical-marijuana-lawsuit-lara-registry_n_1917200.html
l Marijuana Lawsuit Charges State Registry Is Not Complying With State Law - The Huffington Post
Michigan Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Charges State Registry Is Not Complying With State Law
Comments (4)
A lawsuit filed last week in Ingham County Circuit Court charges that the state agency responsible for issuing Michigan's medical marijuana registry identification cards is violating the law by not properly carrying out its legal responsibilities.
The suit, filed Sept. 19 against Steven H. Hilfinger, Director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), and Rae Ramsdell, Director of the Bureau of Health Professions with LARA, alleges that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program (MMMP), which they oversee, is not acting in accordance with the state's marijuana act passed in 2008. The plaintiff in the lawsuit isMartin Chilcutt, a U.S. Navy veteran in his late seventies, who is the founder of a group called Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access.
The suit requests a writ of mandamus, a court order used to force government officials to perform their duties. Those who don't comply risk being found in contempt of court.
And it charges that the MMMP program has not established a review panel to add new medical conditions to a list allowing qualified patients to legally use pot according to the timeline set forth in state law; has not issued registry cards in a prompt manner; and has failed to issue annual reports.
There are currently 130,965 active patients and 26,896 active caregivers registered with the MMMP.
In an interview last August, attorney Matt Abel of Cannabis Counsel, PLC, the law firm now filing the suit, told The Huffington Post that state had not yet set up the program's required review panel and because of that was at least two years behind in issuing recommendations to add new conditions to the program. According to a state statute that took effect in April 2009, a review panel is supposed to issue a recommendation to the Department of Community Health within 60 days of a petition being received; the department's director is supposed to approve or deny a petition within 180 days of it being filed with the department.
The MMMP has also struggled to issue registry cards to patients in a punctual manner. In March of last year the program got bogged down with a substantial backlog after it received over 16,000 applications in one month. The agency had to purchase new equipment to keep up with the influx.
Attorney Thomas Lavigne filed the lawsuit against the MMMP. He said medical marijuana advocates decided to appeal to the courts after efforts to press the matter with the agency and state legislators went nowhere.
"They're failing to uphold their duty to follow the law by issuing these cards in a timely manner and their time limits have long passed. It should be a no-brainer," he said. "It's just part of a larger pattern of complete disregard for patient and caregiver rights by the state apparatus on every level."
Although he wouldn't comment directly on the lawsuit, Jones was supportive of LARA's work with the medical marijuana program.
"It is my understanding that the cards are being produced much faster," he said. "I do know that initially when the program first started they were slow, but it's my understanding they're now being done in a timely fashion."
Jones also said he was puzzled by the claim medical marijuana advocates were upset about not having access to reports from the MMMP.
"There's been information published in the newspapers -- how many cards there are and what percentages of different afflictions that they're being issued for. I think the information is available," he said. "I don't understand this group's inability to find what they want."
LARA spokeswoman Lori Donlan told The Huffington Post in an email that the state's medical marijuana program currently complies with the Michigan statute that concerns issuing cards in a prompt manner. She said all applications are reviewed and approved within 15 days of receipt; denials are issued and sent out in 15 days; and cards are printed and sent out within 24 to 48 hours.
In reference to the medical marijuana review panel, Donlan said the department still needs to include two more people on panel, but will schedule a meeting for before the end of the year. She added that the department willingly provides information on request and said a report will be put together "by fiscal year" and posted in the coming months.
"It was difficult to create annual reports at a time when the department had a significant backlog of applications to review and process," she said.
"When creating a new program it is difficult to estimate the number of participants and with the high volume of applications combined with the challenges in processing thousands of requests per month, the department has worked through these issues."
LARA had no comment about the recent lawsuit, which they said was being reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office.
l Marijuana Lawsuit Charges State Registry Is Not Complying With State Law - The Huffington Post
Michigan Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Charges State Registry Is Not Complying With State Law
Comments (4)
A lawsuit filed last week in Ingham County Circuit Court charges that the state agency responsible for issuing Michigan's medical marijuana registry identification cards is violating the law by not properly carrying out its legal responsibilities.
The suit, filed Sept. 19 against Steven H. Hilfinger, Director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), and Rae Ramsdell, Director of the Bureau of Health Professions with LARA, alleges that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program (MMMP), which they oversee, is not acting in accordance with the state's marijuana act passed in 2008. The plaintiff in the lawsuit isMartin Chilcutt, a U.S. Navy veteran in his late seventies, who is the founder of a group called Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access.
The suit requests a writ of mandamus, a court order used to force government officials to perform their duties. Those who don't comply risk being found in contempt of court.
And it charges that the MMMP program has not established a review panel to add new medical conditions to a list allowing qualified patients to legally use pot according to the timeline set forth in state law; has not issued registry cards in a prompt manner; and has failed to issue annual reports.
There are currently 130,965 active patients and 26,896 active caregivers registered with the MMMP.
In an interview last August, attorney Matt Abel of Cannabis Counsel, PLC, the law firm now filing the suit, told The Huffington Post that state had not yet set up the program's required review panel and because of that was at least two years behind in issuing recommendations to add new conditions to the program. According to a state statute that took effect in April 2009, a review panel is supposed to issue a recommendation to the Department of Community Health within 60 days of a petition being received; the department's director is supposed to approve or deny a petition within 180 days of it being filed with the department.
The MMMP has also struggled to issue registry cards to patients in a punctual manner. In March of last year the program got bogged down with a substantial backlog after it received over 16,000 applications in one month. The agency had to purchase new equipment to keep up with the influx.
Attorney Thomas Lavigne filed the lawsuit against the MMMP. He said medical marijuana advocates decided to appeal to the courts after efforts to press the matter with the agency and state legislators went nowhere.
"They're failing to uphold their duty to follow the law by issuing these cards in a timely manner and their time limits have long passed. It should be a no-brainer," he said. "It's just part of a larger pattern of complete disregard for patient and caregiver rights by the state apparatus on every level."
Although he wouldn't comment directly on the lawsuit, Jones was supportive of LARA's work with the medical marijuana program.
"It is my understanding that the cards are being produced much faster," he said. "I do know that initially when the program first started they were slow, but it's my understanding they're now being done in a timely fashion."
Jones also said he was puzzled by the claim medical marijuana advocates were upset about not having access to reports from the MMMP.
"There's been information published in the newspapers -- how many cards there are and what percentages of different afflictions that they're being issued for. I think the information is available," he said. "I don't understand this group's inability to find what they want."
LARA spokeswoman Lori Donlan told The Huffington Post in an email that the state's medical marijuana program currently complies with the Michigan statute that concerns issuing cards in a prompt manner. She said all applications are reviewed and approved within 15 days of receipt; denials are issued and sent out in 15 days; and cards are printed and sent out within 24 to 48 hours.
In reference to the medical marijuana review panel, Donlan said the department still needs to include two more people on panel, but will schedule a meeting for before the end of the year. She added that the department willingly provides information on request and said a report will be put together "by fiscal year" and posted in the coming months.
"It was difficult to create annual reports at a time when the department had a significant backlog of applications to review and process," she said.
"When creating a new program it is difficult to estimate the number of participants and with the high volume of applications combined with the challenges in processing thousands of requests per month, the department has worked through these issues."
LARA had no comment about the recent lawsuit, which they said was being reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office.
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
http://skimthat.com/3903/marijuana-officially-decriminalized-kalamazoo-michigan
Marijuana officially decriminalized in Kalamazoo, Michigan | The Raw Story
The City Commission of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed an ordinance making possession of under an ounce of marijuana a misdemeanor enforceable by an appearance ticket, rather than jail time.
Previously, the city would prosecute marijuana possession under state law which carried penalties of one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Under the new city ordinance, offenders over age 21 will serve up to 93 days in jail or pay up to a $100 fine.
First time offenders who plead guilty will have the option to skip jail and go straight to probation without being a conviction.
The ordinance was passed to free up public safety officers from the time-consuming process of testing and packaging confiscated marijuana to instead take more service calls.
Kalamazoo is the only city in Michigan to decriminalize marijuana.
Marijuana officially decriminalized in Kalamazoo, Michigan | The Raw Story
The City Commission of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed an ordinance making possession of under an ounce of marijuana a misdemeanor enforceable by an appearance ticket, rather than jail time.
Previously, the city would prosecute marijuana possession under state law which carried penalties of one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Under the new city ordinance, offenders over age 21 will serve up to 93 days in jail or pay up to a $100 fine.
First time offenders who plead guilty will have the option to skip jail and go straight to probation without being a conviction.
The ordinance was passed to free up public safety officers from the time-consuming process of testing and packaging confiscated marijuana to instead take more service calls.
Kalamazoo is the only city in Michigan to decriminalize marijuana.
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
What about Ann Arbor, did I miss something or have you guys been decrim for about 40 years now.
Huel Perkins
Well-Known Member
I was about to say the same thing! Its been decriminalized in Ann Arbor since 1974....
