letter about joe cain

ismokealotofpot

New Member
2. I want to apologize to all in the medical marihuana community: patients, caregivers and the leaders of other organizations and their members. The removal of Joe Cain should have been carried out long ago, and I am responsible for not acting earlier. I am accountable and responsible for all of my actions. Now that he is no longer associated with the MMMA, we are refocusing on this organization's mission - to help support patients, caregivers and supporters, and offer them a forum for an open, honest discussion.

3. To those defending Joe Cain:
I considered Joe a friend and colleague after I became involved with the MMMA, and am now deeply concerned for him. Many, if not all, of the supporting posts on our forums are by Joe himself, logging into others' accounts and speaking on their behalf. I urge those around him to offer and provide him help, as he is in need and has rejected my attempts to handle this privately, going so far as hurling personal insults to prompt a reaction.
I will vehemently defend myself, and respond to the false allegations that have been unfortunately and wrongly presented.

4. For those of you who have heard the allegations made by Joe Cain, I want to say without any equivocation that they are false, and any assertion that I stole money from the MMMA is simply not true.
As the CEO of the MMMA, Joe Cain was responsible for developing and implementing high-level strategies, making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and the corporate operations.
In this capacity as CEO of the MMMA the last two plus years, Joe has had absolute control of the website and its functionality on every level at all times, without dispute.
This control included attempts to raise revenue via the website, by advertising. Ironically, the communication posted as evidence of alleged thievery stems from email conversations between Joe and me about advertising opportunities for the MMMA. Prior to pursuing any opportunities I consulted with Joe for discussion and approval. Additionally, the placement of any and all contracted advertisers', sponsors' or vendors' banners on the site were done by or at the direction of the CEO.

This opportunity was one of the many projects the MMMA was never able to accomplish because of failures at the CEO level.
The project referenced is MMMA TV. It was our attempt to create a media campaign highlighting the medical cannabis community in a way that would be effective in the obvious challenges brought on by our attorney general. The concept was to have a patient video on the MMMA landing page, exposing the more than 8,000 daily unique visitors to a patient story each week.

We secured a sponsor for the project, and began assisting them in branding as an MMMA sponsor and in the production of a number of videos supporting and promoting medical cannabis. Believing that a strong medical cannabis message would be a priority, we hired a professional producer, committed and paid for a professional studio, hired a camera crew, an editor, and wrote and produced content over a two- three month period of time. You can view some of those videos here, and I still have all the remaining and unedited video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBYz0XKE6hk http://vimeo.com/26874642 http://vimeo.com/26968247http://vimeo.com/25814244 http://vimeo.com/26730730

The sponsor paid by check, I deposited it into the MMMA bank account, and then paid the bills for the producer, the editor, the studio etc. Any other payments made to the MMMA via check, money orders and the like have been deposited into the MMMA bank account. And as it goes in accounting, every penny that was deposited into this account can be tracked and identified to whom it was paid. There is nothing but transparency on my end.

I have full financial and accounting records of all monies paid in and out during this time, for MMMA TV, and all monies are accounted for. I cannot say the same, however, for The Market, or any other activities and efforts that were led by our former CEO himself. If you see a response somewhere by Joe, make sure he indicates into what bank account his cash transaction goes, I would not know and neither would anyone else at the MMMA. Also make sure he understands that "go ask the doorman" is not an acceptable method of accounting that the MMMA could ever be associated with.

The MMMA TV project, as with several other efforts to raise money for the MMMA, was never fully carried out because of a lack of cooperation from our former CEO. As one of the only viable resources for revenue on the site, advertising and sponsorships are vital, in addition to the community contributions, to keeping the site viable and operational. Subsequent to the MMMA TV project disbanding, countless hours were spent trying to reconcile the relationship with the former vendor to avoid a breach of contract lawsuit for the inability of the MMMA and its CEO to perform its agreed responsibilities as part of the sponsor agreement.

We were optimistic that a strong media campaign via the MMMA website and MMMA TV could both benefit the community and assist in raising revenue for the upcoming challenges the organization and the community would have.

The assertion that $60,000 was ever paid to the MMMA for advertising or sponsorship is simply not true. While I believe that this kind of revenue should be and could be brought in via advertising or other projects, it simply was never accomplished because of a lack of performance by our former CEO. One of the MMMA's objectives has been and will always be advocating for patients, creating awareness, education and being a trusted voice of the medical marijuana community. As with any membership, some method of raising revenues is required in order to accomplish their goals. The business plan of the MMMA was to generate its revenue through advertising and sponsorship programs.

The designed plan was never facilitated the way it should have been and that responsibility falls exclusively on the CEO. Any assertion that our CEO was not compensated during his tenure is false. Joe's salaries, as well as many of the other MMMA expenses, were paid directly out of my pocket. I maintain possession of the cashed checks, standard banking procedure after they have been deposited.
Moving forward, the MMMA will continue to act as a steward for the medical marijuana community, offering advice, counsel and open forums for discussion. It has been, and will continue to be, our mission to fight for the rights and protections, and act as an advocate for patients and caregivers.

I apologize again for taking so long to respond, but wanted to address each of the allegations and provide you with a clear explanation of circumstances and outcome. I thank the other leaders in the community for their support, and promise that moving forward we will be better off with this transition, and I look forward to a more unified, productive and effective defense of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and protecting Michigan patients and their caregivers.

Thank you for your patience, and please tune in to Planet Green Trees Thursday night and call or email with any questions you may have.

Very truly yours,

Michael Komorn
Interim CEO/ President of the MMMA

P.S.
If there remains any doubt as to anything I have said, see below and call into the show on Thursday, I would be happy to answer any questions that remain.

From: Joe Cain [email protected] Sent: Fri 3/9/2012 2:48 PM
To: Michael Komorn [email protected]
Subject: buyout
This is a confidental communication between my attorney an me. That would be you.

If you guys want to buy me out. Then make me an offer. That's the way it is done. As a officer of this corp I will always oppose Rick and Jamie being involved in any decision making capacity. They have conflicts. But if it is what you want, I would need my back pay which is $8000 and an additional $20,000 to help me transition out of state. Rick and jamie have money and that would be cheap. In return I would support the transition and post my support. This has been coming for a while. But I will not just step aside and let them inherit my hard work. Thanks
Thank your customer, tell them how valuable they are to you, but don't go overboard. Insincerity is easy to spot.

Sincerely,


The MMMA
Michael Komorn President/CEO
 
greed,
that was what I was saying the MMMA is all about and this proves it.

Best of all it is now in the hands of the greediest fish out there, lawyers.
 

Bubbies

Active Member
This 'tit for tat' back and forth nonsense is distracting from the greater cause. Opponents of MMJ are smiling, I'm sure, at the division within our community. This is just my personal two cents, but enough time has passed that we should be coming back together as a group and not picking sides or spending time defending individuals, but rather, our cause.
 

purklize

Active Member
This 'tit for tat' back and forth nonsense is distracting from the greater cause. Opponents of MMJ are smiling, I'm sure, at the division within our community. This is just my personal two cents, but enough time has passed that we should be coming back together as a group and not picking sides or spending time defending individuals, but rather, our cause.
Yep.........
 

TheMan13

Well-Known Member
Sad but true, politics knows no shame my friend. Although, without MJ activists entering the political arena in the past decade or so ...
 

will2568

Member
To Whom it May Concern:

I was heavily involved in the cannabis reform movement in Michigan from late 1999 to 2003. During that time I was asked to develop a website for Michigan NORML by then state coordinator Greg Schmid. I turned my back on the movement in 2003 because I got tired of all the suspicion, distrust, backstabbing and general infighting among different factions with similar political goals. Komorn and Cain weren't known to me during the time I was active in the movement, so I have no firsthand experience working with them. In recent years, I have fallen in love with a woman who uses medical marijuana to alleviate muscle spasms caused by a brain injury, and I have become a registered patient as well, for chronic migraine pain. Due to these developments, I've felt the need to become politically active again to protect our rights as medical marijuana patients. In my efforts toward that end, I have had the misfortune of dealing with Mr. Cain on facebook, and based on that experience, I wouldn't consider him a friend to me or the movement. The man is egotistical, paranoid, delusional, and cannot carry on an intelligent debate without throwing wild accusations at his opposition. The facebook group he runs, "Citizens for Human Rights," is a joke. It has an image of the US Constitution at the top of the page, yet the group admins will delete any posts they disagree with and ban anyone with enough courage to protest their brand of censorship. As far as Mr. Komorn is concerned, I have never met him, neither online nor in person. I've heard him speak at rallies such as Hash Bash and listened to a few of his podcasts, but that's it. Based on google searches, the information I've been able to find regarding both of these men does not inspire confidence in their abilities as activists. Personally, I want nothing to do with either of them or the organizations they're associated with.

Sincerely,

Will Dwyer
 

GregS

Well-Known Member
thats obvious by the sad state of the 3ma and the (6??) posters still there-
Site metrics are improving pretty substantially for a statewide non-profit. There are typically between forty and eighty users in just about any ten minute period.
 

buckaroo bonzai

Well-Known Member
To Whom it May Concern:

I was heavily involved in the cannabis reform movement in Michigan from late 1999 to 2003. During that time I was asked to develop a website for Michigan NORML by then state coordinator Greg Schmid. I turned my back on the movement in 2003 because I got tired of all the suspicion, distrust, backstabbing and general infighting among different factions with similar political goals. Komorn and Cain weren't known to me during the time I was active in the movement, so I have no firsthand experience working with them. In recent years, I have fallen in love with a woman who uses medical marijuana to alleviate muscle spasms caused by a brain injury, and I have become a registered patient as well, for chronic migraine pain. Due to these developments, I've felt the need to become politically active again to protect our rights as medical marijuana patients. In my efforts toward that end, I have had the misfortune of dealing with Mr. Cain on facebook, and based on that experience, I wouldn't consider him a friend to me or the movement. The man is egotistical, paranoid, delusional, and cannot carry on an intelligent debate without throwing wild accusations at his opposition. The facebook group he runs, "Citizens for Human Rights," is a joke. It has an image of the US Constitution at the top of the page, yet the group admins will delete any posts they disagree with and ban anyone with enough courage to protest their brand of censorship. As far as Mr. Komorn is concerned, I have never met him, neither online nor in person. I've heard him speak at rallies such as Hash Bash and listened to a few of his podcasts, but that's it. Based on google searches, the information I've been able to find regarding both of these men does not inspire confidence in their abilities as activists. Personally, I want nothing to do with either of them or the organizations they're associated with.

Sincerely,

Will Dwyer
nice will.....:eyesmoke:
NORML is from 'my experience' >>the national organization for the >>REFFERAL of marijuana lawyers

i met mr Stroup back in the 70's when thats all they did...
..help people FIND mmj lawyers....

.i must admit he helped my friends brother when he was caught in AZ and got him out within a week-
good mmj refferal lawyer down in tuscon-

80lbs he was charged w and a hefty fine ....hefty legal fees and probation back in the 70's!!
needless to say his days as a 'driver' were over and he retired happily w a little organic grocery store up in humboldt-

other than that their whole 'legalization' effort IMHO looks like an attempt to sell us(pts) to the corporations now
(just like colorado and washington--?)
--where the lawyers running the show will reap the most benefits....

they have had 40+ yrs to help with the laws....what have they done but got us where we are @-???

if they were a "pts rights" group they would have rallied, unionized or organized THE PATIENTS --
to defend what >>few rights this fake law they have 'sold' all of us allegedly gave us

they're mostly lawyers bro....whos benefit do u think they have in mind...???

i dont see it....?
did i miss somthing?

i was involved with >UMSOM back in the 70's
....the first mmj 'medicall' group in mich-
that was for medicine for people by people ....not corporate stores selling us high priced shwagg

good lUk to u and your new love and i hope you can find the right group to support here.....
many of us are looking....

the obfuscation and intentional blurriness in mich tho makes many of us that are 'awake' leary of most of the factions here all trying to sell their particular brand of "kool-aid"

Site metrics are improving pretty substantially for a statewide non-profit. There are typically between forty and eighty users in just about any ten minute period.
finally i get to 'multi-quote!

i would say the site 'statistics' are not what you think or want us to-

and as for a state wide 'non-profit' ???
--i still would like to know how the one administartor there (who now calls himself ""plant mgr"")
is getting away with the warehouse grows he has talked about.....doesnt look ""non-profit"" to me...???
or am i missing somthing in how he is operating for the club owners "w 'full' set of cards"

still havent let any of us in on 'their' secrets-
unless you pay the lawyers-$$$



^^^^if the 3ma is so good why are you here? ohhh i get it no freedom of speach there

yes bloody good that you pointed that out....freedom of speech is in here :blsmoke:
as long as its 'civil' and non threatening.....

or doesnt talk about secrets that other sites will delete you for
or bury ur thread because they dont want any lights shined down into those dark holes of legal protections they are playing with
with their 'lawyer' friends-


IMO the 3ma 'comptrollers' are only in here to monitor the site and see whos up to what-

they allready have the dog and pony show they call3ma under control and the asleep patients that support them and have drank the 'kool-aid' they are cg for-
 

bloodytrichomes

New Member
ding dong theres no boxes here lol joe cain is the m jordan of the mmmp he saw how dirty the kool aid was at the 3ma he has done as much for us as the toads at 3ma have done against us..hell he even knew the pot doc was against us ...NOW HERE THIS NO BOXES NO BOXES....clean up isle 5
 
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