Post by Del Snavely on Jan 5, 2010 5:29:39 GMT -6
Posted by CN Staff on January 04, 2010 at 07:07:31 PT
Editorial
Source: Livingston Daily Press
Michigan -- It has been more than a year since Michigan voters determined that people, whose doctors conclude that marijuana would be beneficial in the treatment of some malady, can use pot medicinally without fear of arrest and prosecution.
It wasn't a close vote, either. Sixty-three percent of the electorate voted to approve Proposal 1 on the November 2008 ballot. If it was a politician, that kind of margin would have been considered a landslide victory. Elected officials have claimed to have "a clear mandate" on much thinner polling results than that. Cops still don't like it.
Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said recently his department has yet to bust someone for smoking marijuana, then learn the person was smoking with a doctor's consent under the state program. Nonetheless, he said compliance with the new law could become cumbersome in the county, which has reduced his force due to budget cuts. Extensive time could be spent verifying participants' cards, he added.
"It just creates so many more issues for us at a time when we have less people and more things happening. It's kind of frustrating, from our point of view," Bezotte said.
Local law enforcement is not alone. Protesters went to the state Capitol in October looking for Attorney General Mike Cox to pressure law enforcement agencies to stop raiding the homes of patients who have registered and been approved for cards for medical marijuana use. They said police in Flint and West Branch conducted seizures even though the subject had a legal card.
The proposal included a process for reviewing registration applications. Patients have to submit statements from their doctors. The illness the marijuana is intended to treat has to meet the criteria in the law, which includes that the patient is suffering from cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease or other conditions involving chronic pain. Then there is a limit as to how much they can have, 2.5 ounces or 12 plants for an individual who has a registry card.
The latest figures available, from Dec. 18, show 12,000 applications have been received by the state. More than 2,000 have been rejected.
So there is a screening process in place ... one voters accepted when they voted to pass this program last November.
Quite frankly, police across the state need to get on board with this program. Laws are not passed based on what is convenient for cops to enforce. Election results are not dependent on what police officers agree with.
Voters determined that if a sick person's physician concludes that this particular drug, pot, would be useful in the treatment of some illness, the law or a police officer should not be able to overrule the doctor's order.
The complaints about the difficulty of enforcement are pretty weak. When police are shown a medical marijuana card, they should stop. Of course, medical marijuana users can't use it in public and they can't have more than 2.5 ounces, so if there is a violation of those rules, it's on them, not the cops.
But if it is just a matter of verifying the card, that should be a small matter. Police verify driver's licenses all the time.
In any case, voters determined patients should be able to get the medicine they need. If they have a card, police should leave them alone.
"We're waiting for the first time that somebody calls us and wants to us to investigate someone stealing their marijuana. We're going to take that really serious," Bezotte said jokingly.
Actually, they should. They'd take it seriously if someone stole a diabetic's insulin. They'd take it seriously if someone stole a heart patient's nitroglycerin.
Voters have said that for those who need it, marijuana is medicine.
Source: Livingston County Daily Press & Argus (MI)
Published: January 4, 2010
Copyright: 2010 Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Website: www.livingstondaily.com
Contact: drugsense.org/url/23S0e9bz
URL: drugsense.org/url/LNFbeQMW
CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives
cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
Editorial
Source: Livingston Daily Press
Michigan -- It has been more than a year since Michigan voters determined that people, whose doctors conclude that marijuana would be beneficial in the treatment of some malady, can use pot medicinally without fear of arrest and prosecution.
It wasn't a close vote, either. Sixty-three percent of the electorate voted to approve Proposal 1 on the November 2008 ballot. If it was a politician, that kind of margin would have been considered a landslide victory. Elected officials have claimed to have "a clear mandate" on much thinner polling results than that. Cops still don't like it.
Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said recently his department has yet to bust someone for smoking marijuana, then learn the person was smoking with a doctor's consent under the state program. Nonetheless, he said compliance with the new law could become cumbersome in the county, which has reduced his force due to budget cuts. Extensive time could be spent verifying participants' cards, he added.
"It just creates so many more issues for us at a time when we have less people and more things happening. It's kind of frustrating, from our point of view," Bezotte said.
Local law enforcement is not alone. Protesters went to the state Capitol in October looking for Attorney General Mike Cox to pressure law enforcement agencies to stop raiding the homes of patients who have registered and been approved for cards for medical marijuana use. They said police in Flint and West Branch conducted seizures even though the subject had a legal card.
The proposal included a process for reviewing registration applications. Patients have to submit statements from their doctors. The illness the marijuana is intended to treat has to meet the criteria in the law, which includes that the patient is suffering from cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease or other conditions involving chronic pain. Then there is a limit as to how much they can have, 2.5 ounces or 12 plants for an individual who has a registry card.
The latest figures available, from Dec. 18, show 12,000 applications have been received by the state. More than 2,000 have been rejected.
So there is a screening process in place ... one voters accepted when they voted to pass this program last November.
Quite frankly, police across the state need to get on board with this program. Laws are not passed based on what is convenient for cops to enforce. Election results are not dependent on what police officers agree with.
Voters determined that if a sick person's physician concludes that this particular drug, pot, would be useful in the treatment of some illness, the law or a police officer should not be able to overrule the doctor's order.
The complaints about the difficulty of enforcement are pretty weak. When police are shown a medical marijuana card, they should stop. Of course, medical marijuana users can't use it in public and they can't have more than 2.5 ounces, so if there is a violation of those rules, it's on them, not the cops.
But if it is just a matter of verifying the card, that should be a small matter. Police verify driver's licenses all the time.
In any case, voters determined patients should be able to get the medicine they need. If they have a card, police should leave them alone.
"We're waiting for the first time that somebody calls us and wants to us to investigate someone stealing their marijuana. We're going to take that really serious," Bezotte said jokingly.
Actually, they should. They'd take it seriously if someone stole a diabetic's insulin. They'd take it seriously if someone stole a heart patient's nitroglycerin.
Voters have said that for those who need it, marijuana is medicine.
Source: Livingston County Daily Press & Argus (MI)
Published: January 4, 2010
Copyright: 2010 Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Website: www.livingstondaily.com
Contact: drugsense.org/url/23S0e9bz
URL: drugsense.org/url/LNFbeQMW
CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives
cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
