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Armed bandits plant deadly bull's-eye on rural medical marijuana growers

Rural Sanilac County has seen the dark side of medical marijuana.

In one township, pot robbers once tied a medical weed farmer to a chair and cut his ear with a hatchet, police say.

In another, four armed robbers burst into a home to steal medical marijuana growing inside.

In a third township, several masked gunmen blasted their way into a grower's house to steal pot and cash, but wound up with three dead friends instead.

That case got the feds involved.

In U.S. District Court this week, an indictment was unsealed charging three Flint men with plotting an organized drug heist that involved masked gunmen storming a medical marijuana grower's home and shooting the homeowner in the leg.

They also brought a BB gun to shoot the owner's dogs, records show, though the heist didn't go as planned. The homeowner and dogs survived. His friend came to his rescue, emerging from a back bedroom with a gun and firing away, killing two of the robbers.


A third suspect killed himself two days later in jail. A fourth man, Preston Xavier Jack, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in state court and is now serving 10-20 years in prison. He was once dubbed the lone survivor of the heist.

But there were more.

Almost two years after the botched robbery, the FBI identified three more defendants: Paul Drinkwine, Justin Cooper, John Williams — all from Flint, and all charged in the indictment with multiple crimes.


Meanwhile, the local sheriff believes there are still more suspects out there who were involved in the heist that involved three getaway cars and 200 pounds of marijuana.

"This indictment only opens the door. I believe there are several more involved," said Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki, who was relieved when the FBI intervened. "Let's face it. We're a small sheriff's office ... The feds were all over it ... After almost two years, we're getting to the right people."

Tied up, Left to die
Biniecki believes drug dealers targeting mom and pop growers in rural areas is a big problem, noting his county has seen three armed robberies in just over a year.

"I've said it all along -- (marijuana) may be legal, but people are doing illegal things with it," Biniecki said.

And, they're doing illegal things to get it, added Biniecki, noting he speaks from experience:

  • In May 2016, Biniecki's office responded to a robbery involving a man and a woman who attacked a medical marijuana grower for his pot and money, tying him to a chair cutting his ear with a hatchet. "He was left tied up in the home and left to bleed to death," Biniecki said. "We found him tied up with his ear hanging by a thread." The man survived and the suspects were caught and successfully prosecuted, he said.
  • In November 2016, Biniecki's office responded to another medical marijuana robbery, this one in Minden Township. Four armed robbers burst into a home that grew medical weed in what turned out to be part of an inside job, he said. The suspects were arrested, charged, convicted and went to prison, he said. No one got hurt.
  • In November 2017, at least seven armed robbers attacked a medical marijuana growing facility in Greenleaf Township. That time, three people ended up dead and the FBI got involved. Authorities believe the suspects were hoping to sell the stolen marijuana on the black market as part of a bigger drug ring.
It's these kinds of cases that grab the attention of the federal government, said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who stressed: "Drugs are a magnet for violence."

"Drug dealing is dangerous business, and anyone who doesn't think that is crazy. It doesn't matter whether the drugs are legal or not," Schneider told the Free Press. "For example, opioids are legal drugs, but they are still being trafficked unlawfully ... and marijuana is still going to have a black market."

And when the black market is involved, along with guns and violence, the federal government — which still doesn't recognize marijuana as a legal drug — will get involved.

"We've never gone after low-level people. This is not what our office does. And we won't now. But these types of offenses are not low-level. They're violent," said Schneider, referring to the Greenleaf Township case.

Detroit's FBI chief Timothy Slater also emphasized the violence involved in the rural marijuana heist that triggered federal charges.

"This robbery created an extraordinarily dangerous situation, putting the lives of the residents and the lives of the robbers at risk," Slater said.

Violence aside, federal authorities said they also pursue marijuana cases where money laundering is involved, as was the recent case with Detroit's Holy Moly Donut Shop. Federal prosecutors said the donut shop was a front for a marijuana ring that laundered money through a sham dispensary that was located next door.

Last month, the owner of the donut shop, Victor Attisha, cut a deal in the case and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He faces at least five years in prison when he is sentenced in November. One of his accomplices in the case received five years in prison; another got 21 months.

'This is going to continue'
According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney's office and interviews with police, here is what what happened in the township of about 800 people that caught the FBI's attention:

On Nov. 18, 2017, at least seven men gathered at a home in Flint to hatch out a plan to rob a medical marijuana growing operation on Holbrook Road in Greenfield Township.

The next day, the men gathered up their guns and headed to the rural township in three cars, stopping for gas at a Marathon station and buying some items needed for the robbery. They bought a package of black T-shirts, cutting the sleeves to use as face masks during the holdup. They also purchased two boxes of leaf and lawn bags to stash away the marijuana and cash they intended to steal.

One man also bought a black stocking cap to wear during the robbery.

At about 5:45 a.m. they parked near the grower's house. At least two of them had scouted the place a week earlier. They knew large amounts of medical marijuana were stored in a shed. So they came back with a bigger crew.

They slid on their gloves and face masks, grabbed hold of their guns and burst through the front door, opening fire. The homeowner was shot in the leg. Another man in the house appeared with a gun. He shot back, killing two of the attackers. The place emptied. Sirens came blaring.

The shooting triggered a manhunt for the runaway pot robbers, complete with a chopper, dozens of cops and road closures.

Locals were so frightened that they cited the drug shooting as a reason for not wanting a faith-based drug rehab center located in the township. The Planning Commission voted against the center in September 2018.

“We recently, within the last year, had a drug-related shooting, where three people were shot and two were dead,” Planning Commission member Ken Brown said following the vote to reject the drug rehab center. “There [were] two people who got away. And there was a manhunt that pretty much locked down the area ... People are on edge to that kind of stuff right now in this community. We don’t want to jeopardize their safety.”

The two dead robbers were identified as Quantize Bruce, 20, and Keith Saunders, 26, both of Flint. Another suspect, Stephen Shimmel, was found hanging in his jail cell two days after his arrest.

Meanwhile, Schneider believes more marijuana-related crimes are in store for Michigan, which legalized adult recreational use of marijuana last year.

"A lot of people don't know what we've gotten ourselves into," Schneider said. "This type of conduct is going to continue."
 
Armed bandits plant deadly bull's-eye on rural medical marijuana growers

Rural Sanilac County has seen the dark side of medical marijuana.

In one township, pot robbers once tied a medical weed farmer to a chair and cut his ear with a hatchet, police say.

In another, four armed robbers burst into a home to steal medical marijuana growing inside.

In a third township, several masked gunmen blasted their way into a grower's house to steal pot and cash, but wound up with three dead friends instead.

That case got the feds involved.

In U.S. District Court this week, an indictment was unsealed charging three Flint men with plotting an organized drug heist that involved masked gunmen storming a medical marijuana grower's home and shooting the homeowner in the leg.

They also brought a BB gun to shoot the owner's dogs, records show, though the heist didn't go as planned. The homeowner and dogs survived. His friend came to his rescue, emerging from a back bedroom with a gun and firing away, killing two of the robbers.


A third suspect killed himself two days later in jail. A fourth man, Preston Xavier Jack, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in state court and is now serving 10-20 years in prison. He was once dubbed the lone survivor of the heist.

But there were more.

Almost two years after the botched robbery, the FBI identified three more defendants: Paul Drinkwine, Justin Cooper, John Williams — all from Flint, and all charged in the indictment with multiple crimes.


Meanwhile, the local sheriff believes there are still more suspects out there who were involved in the heist that involved three getaway cars and 200 pounds of marijuana.

"This indictment only opens the door. I believe there are several more involved," said Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki, who was relieved when the FBI intervened. "Let's face it. We're a small sheriff's office ... The feds were all over it ... After almost two years, we're getting to the right people."

Tied up, Left to die
Biniecki believes drug dealers targeting mom and pop growers in rural areas is a big problem, noting his county has seen three armed robberies in just over a year.

"I've said it all along -- (marijuana) may be legal, but people are doing illegal things with it," Biniecki said.

And, they're doing illegal things to get it, added Biniecki, noting he speaks from experience:

  • In May 2016, Biniecki's office responded to a robbery involving a man and a woman who attacked a medical marijuana grower for his pot and money, tying him to a chair cutting his ear with a hatchet. "He was left tied up in the home and left to bleed to death," Biniecki said. "We found him tied up with his ear hanging by a thread." The man survived and the suspects were caught and successfully prosecuted, he said.
  • In November 2016, Biniecki's office responded to another medical marijuana robbery, this one in Minden Township. Four armed robbers burst into a home that grew medical weed in what turned out to be part of an inside job, he said. The suspects were arrested, charged, convicted and went to prison, he said. No one got hurt.
  • In November 2017, at least seven armed robbers attacked a medical marijuana growing facility in Greenleaf Township. That time, three people ended up dead and the FBI got involved. Authorities believe the suspects were hoping to sell the stolen marijuana on the black market as part of a bigger drug ring.
It's these kinds of cases that grab the attention of the federal government, said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who stressed: "Drugs are a magnet for violence."

"Drug dealing is dangerous business, and anyone who doesn't think that is crazy. It doesn't matter whether the drugs are legal or not," Schneider told the Free Press. "For example, opioids are legal drugs, but they are still being trafficked unlawfully ... and marijuana is still going to have a black market."

And when the black market is involved, along with guns and violence, the federal government — which still doesn't recognize marijuana as a legal drug — will get involved.

"We've never gone after low-level people. This is not what our office does. And we won't now. But these types of offenses are not low-level. They're violent," said Schneider, referring to the Greenleaf Township case.

Detroit's FBI chief Timothy Slater also emphasized the violence involved in the rural marijuana heist that triggered federal charges.

"This robbery created an extraordinarily dangerous situation, putting the lives of the residents and the lives of the robbers at risk," Slater said.

Violence aside, federal authorities said they also pursue marijuana cases where money laundering is involved, as was the recent case with Detroit's Holy Moly Donut Shop. Federal prosecutors said the donut shop was a front for a marijuana ring that laundered money through a sham dispensary that was located next door.

Last month, the owner of the donut shop, Victor Attisha, cut a deal in the case and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He faces at least five years in prison when he is sentenced in November. One of his accomplices in the case received five years in prison; another got 21 months.

'This is going to continue'
According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney's office and interviews with police, here is what what happened in the township of about 800 people that caught the FBI's attention:

On Nov. 18, 2017, at least seven men gathered at a home in Flint to hatch out a plan to rob a medical marijuana growing operation on Holbrook Road in Greenfield Township.

The next day, the men gathered up their guns and headed to the rural township in three cars, stopping for gas at a Marathon station and buying some items needed for the robbery. They bought a package of black T-shirts, cutting the sleeves to use as face masks during the holdup. They also purchased two boxes of leaf and lawn bags to stash away the marijuana and cash they intended to steal.

One man also bought a black stocking cap to wear during the robbery.

At about 5:45 a.m. they parked near the grower's house. At least two of them had scouted the place a week earlier. They knew large amounts of medical marijuana were stored in a shed. So they came back with a bigger crew.

They slid on their gloves and face masks, grabbed hold of their guns and burst through the front door, opening fire. The homeowner was shot in the leg. Another man in the house appeared with a gun. He shot back, killing two of the attackers. The place emptied. Sirens came blaring.

The shooting triggered a manhunt for the runaway pot robbers, complete with a chopper, dozens of cops and road closures.

Locals were so frightened that they cited the drug shooting as a reason for not wanting a faith-based drug rehab center located in the township. The Planning Commission voted against the center in September 2018.

“We recently, within the last year, had a drug-related shooting, where three people were shot and two were dead,” Planning Commission member Ken Brown said following the vote to reject the drug rehab center. “There [were] two people who got away. And there was a manhunt that pretty much locked down the area ... People are on edge to that kind of stuff right now in this community. We don’t want to jeopardize their safety.”

The two dead robbers were identified as Quantize Bruce, 20, and Keith Saunders, 26, both of Flint. Another suspect, Stephen Shimmel, was found hanging in his jail cell two days after his arrest.

Meanwhile, Schneider believes more marijuana-related crimes are in store for Michigan, which legalized adult recreational use of marijuana last year.

"A lot of people don't know what we've gotten ourselves into," Schneider said. "This type of conduct is going to continue."

Well this proves marijuana is evil.........not, lol

And 200lb of marijuana? Makes me wonder what the market was? It wasn't 5 medical patients.
 
Armed bandits plant deadly bull's-eye on rural medical marijuana growers

Rural Sanilac County has seen the dark side of medical marijuana.

In one township, pot robbers once tied a medical weed farmer to a chair and cut his ear with a hatchet, police say.

In another, four armed robbers burst into a home to steal medical marijuana growing inside.

In a third township, several masked gunmen blasted their way into a grower's house to steal pot and cash, but wound up with three dead friends instead.

That case got the feds involved.

In U.S. District Court this week, an indictment was unsealed charging three Flint men with plotting an organized drug heist that involved masked gunmen storming a medical marijuana grower's home and shooting the homeowner in the leg.

They also brought a BB gun to shoot the owner's dogs, records show, though the heist didn't go as planned. The homeowner and dogs survived. His friend came to his rescue, emerging from a back bedroom with a gun and firing away, killing two of the robbers.


A third suspect killed himself two days later in jail. A fourth man, Preston Xavier Jack, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in state court and is now serving 10-20 years in prison. He was once dubbed the lone survivor of the heist.

But there were more.

Almost two years after the botched robbery, the FBI identified three more defendants: Paul Drinkwine, Justin Cooper, John Williams — all from Flint, and all charged in the indictment with multiple crimes.


Meanwhile, the local sheriff believes there are still more suspects out there who were involved in the heist that involved three getaway cars and 200 pounds of marijuana.

"This indictment only opens the door. I believe there are several more involved," said Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki, who was relieved when the FBI intervened. "Let's face it. We're a small sheriff's office ... The feds were all over it ... After almost two years, we're getting to the right people."

Tied up, Left to die
Biniecki believes drug dealers targeting mom and pop growers in rural areas is a big problem, noting his county has seen three armed robberies in just over a year.

"I've said it all along -- (marijuana) may be legal, but people are doing illegal things with it," Biniecki said.

And, they're doing illegal things to get it, added Biniecki, noting he speaks from experience:

  • In May 2016, Biniecki's office responded to a robbery involving a man and a woman who attacked a medical marijuana grower for his pot and money, tying him to a chair cutting his ear with a hatchet. "He was left tied up in the home and left to bleed to death," Biniecki said. "We found him tied up with his ear hanging by a thread." The man survived and the suspects were caught and successfully prosecuted, he said.
  • In November 2016, Biniecki's office responded to another medical marijuana robbery, this one in Minden Township. Four armed robbers burst into a home that grew medical weed in what turned out to be part of an inside job, he said. The suspects were arrested, charged, convicted and went to prison, he said. No one got hurt.
  • In November 2017, at least seven armed robbers attacked a medical marijuana growing facility in Greenleaf Township. That time, three people ended up dead and the FBI got involved. Authorities believe the suspects were hoping to sell the stolen marijuana on the black market as part of a bigger drug ring.
It's these kinds of cases that grab the attention of the federal government, said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who stressed: "Drugs are a magnet for violence."

"Drug dealing is dangerous business, and anyone who doesn't think that is crazy. It doesn't matter whether the drugs are legal or not," Schneider told the Free Press. "For example, opioids are legal drugs, but they are still being trafficked unlawfully ... and marijuana is still going to have a black market."

And when the black market is involved, along with guns and violence, the federal government — which still doesn't recognize marijuana as a legal drug — will get involved.

"We've never gone after low-level people. This is not what our office does. And we won't now. But these types of offenses are not low-level. They're violent," said Schneider, referring to the Greenleaf Township case.

Detroit's FBI chief Timothy Slater also emphasized the violence involved in the rural marijuana heist that triggered federal charges.

"This robbery created an extraordinarily dangerous situation, putting the lives of the residents and the lives of the robbers at risk," Slater said.

Violence aside, federal authorities said they also pursue marijuana cases where money laundering is involved, as was the recent case with Detroit's Holy Moly Donut Shop. Federal prosecutors said the donut shop was a front for a marijuana ring that laundered money through a sham dispensary that was located next door.

Last month, the owner of the donut shop, Victor Attisha, cut a deal in the case and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He faces at least five years in prison when he is sentenced in November. One of his accomplices in the case received five years in prison; another got 21 months.

'This is going to continue'
According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney's office and interviews with police, here is what what happened in the township of about 800 people that caught the FBI's attention:

On Nov. 18, 2017, at least seven men gathered at a home in Flint to hatch out a plan to rob a medical marijuana growing operation on Holbrook Road in Greenfield Township.

The next day, the men gathered up their guns and headed to the rural township in three cars, stopping for gas at a Marathon station and buying some items needed for the robbery. They bought a package of black T-shirts, cutting the sleeves to use as face masks during the holdup. They also purchased two boxes of leaf and lawn bags to stash away the marijuana and cash they intended to steal.

One man also bought a black stocking cap to wear during the robbery.

At about 5:45 a.m. they parked near the grower's house. At least two of them had scouted the place a week earlier. They knew large amounts of medical marijuana were stored in a shed. So they came back with a bigger crew.

They slid on their gloves and face masks, grabbed hold of their guns and burst through the front door, opening fire. The homeowner was shot in the leg. Another man in the house appeared with a gun. He shot back, killing two of the attackers. The place emptied. Sirens came blaring.

The shooting triggered a manhunt for the runaway pot robbers, complete with a chopper, dozens of cops and road closures.

Locals were so frightened that they cited the drug shooting as a reason for not wanting a faith-based drug rehab center located in the township. The Planning Commission voted against the center in September 2018.

“We recently, within the last year, had a drug-related shooting, where three people were shot and two were dead,” Planning Commission member Ken Brown said following the vote to reject the drug rehab center. “There [were] two people who got away. And there was a manhunt that pretty much locked down the area ... People are on edge to that kind of stuff right now in this community. We don’t want to jeopardize their safety.”

The two dead robbers were identified as Quantize Bruce, 20, and Keith Saunders, 26, both of Flint. Another suspect, Stephen Shimmel, was found hanging in his jail cell two days after his arrest.

Meanwhile, Schneider believes more marijuana-related crimes are in store for Michigan, which legalized adult recreational use of marijuana last year.

"A lot of people don't know what we've gotten ourselves into," Schneider said. "This type of conduct is going to continue."

""Drug dealing is dangerous business, and anyone who doesn't think that is crazy. It doesn't matter whether the drugs are legal or not," Schneider told the Free Press"

Yeah, yeah, yeah....and how many liquor stores and 7-11's got boosted in the same time frame?

Here's one:

 
Michigan's medical marijuana industry made $68.6M in sales last quarter

shutterstock_662850406.jpg



You probably didn't know, but there were 11,489 pounds of legal medical marijuana sold in the state provisioning system from April 1 through June 30 this year — bringing in $68,588,886 in sales. At least that's the reckoning of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency in its quarterly report.

That stat — and a rabbit hole of other tidbits about Michigan's marijuana market — can be found in the report, which is required by law.

Other facts: Officials at the MRA approved 83 licenses for medical marijuana businesses, while denying seven. At the same time, they approved 396 pre-qualification applications, while denying 20. In addition to all official reasons to present this information, it also serves as evidence showing that the MRA is getting on with the business of processing applications at a brisk pace — something the old licensing board did at such a painfully slow rate that it contributed to Michigan's reputation as one of the worst medical marijuana systems in the country. It seems to be a step in the right direction.

If you're a marijuana market geek though, there is plenty to pore over in the report. The county with the fewest medical marijuana patients is Keweenaw, with 86, while Wayne County leads the pack with 48,221. Southeast Michigan's tri-county area packs a walloping 113,379 patients, the most concentrated population in Michigan — and the most provisioning centers.

None of this relates to the coming adult-use recreational marijuana industry, which should multiply the total pounds of marijuana sold and the revenues flowing.
 
For those in Michigan who might be looking for a caregiver, the MMMA (Michigan Medical Marijuana Assoc) has a patient/caregiver connect page.

PATIENT-CAREGIVER-PHYSICIAN CONNECT
Are you a patient looking for a caregiver? Perhaps a caregiver looking for a patient.
Look no further…Make your connection here.
The Michigan Medical Marijuana Patient-Caregiver Connection helps with patients in need of a qualified caregiver that will supply them with their medication.
Fill out the form and you will be contacted when there are networking events or a potential match has been found in your area.
Participants are vetted and confirmed to have proper registration.

You can read more about MMMA and this program by following the link.
 
AG Dana Nessel eyes tweaks to recreational marijuana law

Attorney General Dana Nessel and a workgroup she convened are exploring clarifying changes to the recreational marijuana law approved by voters last year.

The law, which appeared as Proposal 1 on the 2018 ballot, legalizes marijuana for those over 21 and creates a regulatory structure to license marijuana businesses, 56 to 41 percent.

Nessel supported the proposal but is left with some legal questions about how to implement it. There are some things “they just didn’t address” in the law, she said, including penalties for some marijuana-related infractions.

“So now there are certain portions of the bill that, you know something’s illegal, right, but then it doesn’t tell you what the penalty is," Nessel said.

Livonia City Attorney Paul Bernier points to public consumption as an example.

“We tell people that they can’t consume it in public. So if they’re sitting in Hart Plaza smoking weed, is it a possession of marijuana, a one-year (misdemeanor), or is it a use of marijuana, a 90-day (misdemeanor)?” Bernier said.

It’s not spelled out in the law, and the difference could be big: more than likely, Bernier said, the one-year would show up on your criminal record and the 90-day wouldn’t. It could affect your ability to get a job in the future.

Another part of the law doesn’t allow people to grow plants “visible from a public place.”

If somebody does, Bernier asks, should they be charged with a 1-year possession misdemeanor or a 4-year felony for manufacturing?

He thinks the legislature needs to clarify the law, which he sees as even less clear than the notoriously-fraught citizen-initiated law that ushered in medical marijuana for Michigan in 2008.

“We don’t want people guessing what is illegal or legal and what the penalties are... my concern is it’s not clear,” Bernier said.

He’s part of a marijuana legal work group Nessel convened in April to puzzle through some of the ambiguities, with the goal of avoiding the years of confusion and legal battles that followed the 2008 medical marijuana law.

The work group includes people from many sides of the marijuana issue, including police, defense attorneys, prosecutors and regulators.

Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson, president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, is a member of the workgroup. He, too, points to open questions.

For instance, somebody caught with twice the legal possession limit is subject to a misdemeanor, according to the law. But it’s silent on whether under some circumstances somebody who breaks that part of the law should be charged with possession with intent to deliver, a felony.

“It creates that ambiguity where, ok, if it’s not enumerated, you revert back to what the old law was,” Hilson said.

The goal of the workgroup, Hilson said, is to come to a consensus and come up with recommendations that will lead to legislation.

Nessel said her office is working to draft some bills.

Josh Hovey, spokesperson for the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, a marijuana business group, said the organization was aware of the workgroup.

“From our standpoint, in general, we believe the law should be implemented as-is,” Hovey said.

“However, if there are changes needed for clarification or minor wording changes, we wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to those. But we would need to take each proposed change and look at it on its own merits.”

Any changes the workgroup comes up with are going to face a hurdle. To change a citizen-initiated law requires a three-fourths vote of the legislature, instead of the normal majority vote. On some pieces, Nessel said, that three-fourths vote is going to be unavoidable, and it’s hard to do.

“Getting three-quarters of the legislature to agree on anything is virtually impossible,” she said.

But the workgroup is pressing forward.

“There are things that we all agree on, but we just don’t know how we’re going to be able to necessarily move forward on it. It’s going to be interesting. I mean, we’re going to try, right?” Nessel said.
 
In the past, Michigan patients relied on Weedmaps for dispensary listings and reviews. Now Michigan has it's own website, 4Twenty Cannabis.

"4 Twenty Cannabis has been created from the ground up to be a trusted resource for Michigan cannabis customers of dispensaries, brands, delivery services, testing facilities, grow supply stores, attorneys, consultants & medical professionals."

This site is new and there isn't a whole lot of info on it yet. But looks like it could be promising imo.
 
South Haven: Voters will decide whether to allow recreational pot shops

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — South Haven City Councilors voted Monday to let the public decide whether to ban recreational marijuana businesses from operating in the city.

The decision came after a group called Concerned Citizens of South Haven created a petition in support of the ban. The group gathered more than 105 signatures to get the matter before city councilors.

The issue involves five different types of recreational marijuana facilities: facilities for growing, processing, safety compliance, transporters and provisioning centers, or storefronts.

Councilors had the option to adopt the ordinance as written, or send it to the public for a vote in November. The majority ultimately decided it's best for the public to determine the future of their community.


Don Bemis, a spokesperson for Concerned Citizens of South Haven, said he understood why councilors opted to send the issue to a vote.

"I think it was a reasonable decision on their part," Bemis said.

According to Bemis, the group plans to campaign for the ban of recreational marijuana businesses in South Haven prior to the November vote. He said if a ban is not implemented, he's afraid underage people would have greater access to recreational marijuana, among other concerns.

"The more exposure they have to recreational marijuana, the more likely they are the use it," he said.
 
Michigan finds out after legalization, the wait for retail sales is the national norm

It’s been nearly eight months since Michigan’s marijuana legalization law took effect and the first retail sales are still months away.
Michiganders will have to wait until at least November to know if they’ll be able to buy marijuana at a store in time for Christmas -- or wait until after the New Year.
The gap between legalization and the start of retail sales in states starting their own recreational marijuana industries is the national norm, according to an MLive analysis.
That’s due to the fact that nearly every state that has legalized adult-use marijuana has done so through a ballot initiative that’s drafted by activists and citizens, said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, a national reform group that has financed legalization efforts in many states. Schweich was the campaign director and treasurer of the 2018 legalization campaign in Michigan.
“This is because initiative drafters usually err on the side of caution so that deadlines are achievable for state agencies," Schweich said. “Also, initiatives are written up to two years before Election Day, which makes it difficult to predict how quickly they can be effectuated."
The law Michigan voters approved gives state officials up to one year from the time the law took effect to implement a regulatory framework -- or risk losing control to local cities, villages and townships.
In other states, the first retail sales typically occur about one year after marijuana legalization laws take effect as state government departments both have to create rules about everything from pesticides to security camera placement to packaging restrictions -- and staff up -- before processing license applications.
In Michigan, the timing of the first sale now depends on whether regulators allow medical marijuana plants and products to be transferred to the new recreational system, said Josh Hovey, spokesman for the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association.
State officials will start processing recreational marijuana business license applications Nov. 1, and anticipate some licenses could be issued that month. That doesn’t mean sales would start in November: if state regulators don’t budge, companies will have to start new crops of marijuana specifically for the recreational market -- which would take months to mature.
Colorado and Washington paved the way as the first states to launch recreational marijuana markets.
Colorado’s implementation was slightly quicker than Washington’s, as officials adapted their existing medical marijuana regulatory framework to a new adult-use system. Voters in both states approved legalization ballot proposals in November 2012. The first legal sales occurred in Colorado on New Year’s Day 2014.
In Washington regulators had to start a licensing system from scratch, and weren’t able to issue the first licenses until they were several months in to 2014. The first retail sales occurred in July 2014.
In November 2016, California voters approved a legalization law, but couldn’t buy marijuana from a retail store until Jan. 1, 2018.
Maine and Massachusetts, which both had legalization ballot measures approved in November 2016, have been slower to implement a program. Massachusetts took a full two years to launch retail sales after that -- partly because the state legislature delayed the implementation of the law in 2017, Schweich said.
Maine has not yet seen retail sales; officials there issued long-awaited rules for the adult-use industry this June.
Some states that followed Colorado and Washington -- like Oregon in 2014 and Nevada in 2017 -- were able to launch their programs quickly. Seven months after the law took effect in Nevada, retail sales were under way.
In Oregon, voters said yes to legalization in November 2014. The law took effect July 1, 2015 -- and the first retail sales started three months later on Oct. 1, 2015. That’s due in part to a decision by state officials to allow existing state-licensed medical marijuana businesses to sell flower directly to adults over the age of 21 for recreational use as an interim measure to launch the market.
The one state that could buck the trend is Illinois: instead of a voter referendum, state lawmakers chose to legalize marijuana in June.
“A legislative approach allows for greater flexibility because the timeline for implementation is in the near future, as was the case in Illinois,” Schweich said.
Under the law, the first legal retail sales of recreational marijuana will be Jan. 1, 2020 -- six months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law.
 
3 Michigan communities vote to ban marijuana businesses in Tuesday election

A sign opposing Highland Park's Proposal 1. - LEE DEVITO
A sign opposing Highland Park's Proposal 1.



Several Michigan communities narrowly voted to ban marijuana businesses on Tuesday, adding to a growing list of municipalities that have decided to opt out of allowing marijuana sales. That's despite the fact that Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana sales in 2018.

Under the law that passed in 2018, local governments can choose to ban marijuana sales in their communities, and citizens can petition to challenge those bans by vote. The issue was on the ballot in Highland Park in Wayne County, and Vanderbilt and Crystal Lake in Northern Michigan.


In Highland Park, voters narrowly rejected Proposal 1, which would have permitted and regulated marijuana businesses. The measure failed with 56.5 percent voting no, according to The Detroit News.

Meanwhile, a measure to reverse a marijuana business ban in Vanderbilt failed with 54 percent voting no, according to Up North Live, while a proposal to ban marijuana businesses in Crystal Lake passed by 58 percent.

Each of the communities approved legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2018. Highland Park approved with 71.1 percent, Crystal Lake approved with 62.5 percent, and Vanderbilt approved with 59 percent. Statewide, 55.9 percent of Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana in 2018.

Many communities have chosen to ban marijuana sales as part of a wait-and-see approach: Michigan's first recreational marijuana shops are not expected to open until the first quarter of next year.

The communities that banned the businesses are going to lose out on a share of what the Senate Fiscal Agency expects to be $157.4 million in sales and excise taxes in the 2020-21 fiscal budget year. By 2022-23, the agency projects the tax revenue to reach $262 million.
 
This is a little funny.....

Critical shortage of cannabis flower drives MMFLA businesses to surf Facebook

Anyone know of Licensed grows that have Flower?”


This Facebook post triggered a series of laughing emojis in response. Another post began with, “Need product from state growers any recommendations” which brought this answer:

“I’m a store manager in SW Michigan. If anyone knows where i (sic) can get some flower please message!”

Those in the know understand that the licensed MMFLA provisioning centers are hurting for cannabis flower, hurting so bad they are using old school methods to get hooked up.

Normally patients in need of caregivers use Facebook to connect. People looking for clones use social media to arrange meetings. And people with cannabis use social media to make sales outside of the regulated market to people who need cannabis.

Lately, though, license-wielding and highly regulated provisioning centers are using Facebook to connect with the state’s license-wielding and highly regulated cultivation centers. Although the action seems perfectly legal it is a sign of desperation as provisioning centers search the web to keep the most highly sought after cannabis product on the shelf.

Other Facebook users expressed frustration at the lack of tested cannabis in the MMFLA supply chain. Comments include: “..nobody has flower…” “I know it’s slim right now” and “give me a call when you get some product”.

“Many approved PC’s are not opening up for this very reason,” wrote Harry Hiytham Barash in response. He is the administrator of the Facebook group ‘Michigan Cannabis Professionals Network’ and is also a Cannabis Real Estate Advisor with CMP Real Estate Group.

The struggle is real. Colin MacDougall of the Jazz Cabbage Cafe radio show told the podcast’s listeners on August 6 that the Ann Arbor provisioning center he works at had only a few types of flower available for medical patients, and that on one recent day they had only a single variety.

During a special Friday night edition of the show’s regular Tuesday broadcast, Anqunette ‘Q’ Sarfoh of Detroit provisioning center Botaniq gave a similar report. Her shelves held less than five strains, she told listeners during the July 26th recording event. In the days that followed she went on social media to let her customers know that their selection of flower buds was extremely low.

It is a problem that did not exist a month ago, and one which patients say should be fixed.

The supply shortage comes after the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) changed the way registered caregivers transfer cannabis from their personal gardens into the regulated market. Previously, untested cannabis from caregivers could be acquired by patients through provisioning centers provided the patient signed a waiver form certifying their knowledge that the product was not tested.

The MRA has stated there has never been a reported illness from caregiver cannabis sold at provisioning centers. Caregivers were the dominant source of all cannabis sold at provisioning centers during 2018 and 2019, until the recent change in regulations.

Under the new regulations caregiver cannabis must pass the same testing standards that commercially-grown cannabis has to endure before it can be sold in a provisioning center. Caregiver cannabis was promptly shelved and available when provisioning centers were allowed to purchase from caregivers directly; now caregivers must sell their cannabis to commercial cultivators or processing centers, which lengthens the time from acquisition to retail sale.

Taken together, caregivers currently have the right to cultivate more than one million cannabis plants in Michigan. Each patient to whom they are connected allows the caregiver to grow twelve plants; if the caregiver is a patient, too, the maximum they could grow is 72 plants. There is plenty of cannabis in caregiver hands, ready to jump onto the shelves again and satisfy the medical needs of Michigan’s nearly 300,000 registered patients.

Provisioning centers report they have supplies of other forms of cannabis medicine- cartridges for vaping, various types of infused foods, etc.- but flower buds are in short supply and high demand.

Patients who need flower to satisfy their medical conditions are still out there making purchases, observed longtime cannabis advocate and industry consultant Jamie Lowell, they are just not using the regulated market to do so. “The longer the wait for provisioning centers to be properly supplied, the stronger the black market gets.”

“I don’t know why they did that,” wrote one Facebook user, describing the change in caregiver cannabis acquisition instituted by the MRA. “They should just change it back. This isn’t working.”
 
Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency Introduces Tier-Based Fee System
The new plan could help make entering the industry more accessible.

Regulators in Michigan announced on Thursday that license fees for legal medical marijuana businesses in the state will be transitioning to a tier-based system beginning on October 1. Under the plan, most businesses would see a reduction in fees or no change, although some companies will end up paying more.

Andrew Brisbo, the director of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, said that medical marijuana companies will now pay license fees based on their size.

“We want to make the fees reasonably related to the size of the operation, so businesses are paying an equitable share,” said Brisbo.

Under the regulations currently in place, small cultivation operations can apply for a Class A license, which carries a fee of $10,000 once the grower has been approved by the state. Other medical marijuana businesses pay $66,000, up from the original $48,000 fee that went into effect in July 2018. Cannabis testing labs are not required to pay a license fee.


Under the new tiered system that goes into effect on October 1, the Class A growers license fee of $10,000 will not change. Other businesses will pay fees based on a three-tier system. New licensees will pay the middle-tier fee when they are initially approved by the state.

Class B growers will pay license fees of $24,000, $30,000, or $36,000 based the size of the operation. Class C growers and processors will pay $45,000, $56,000, or $67,000. Provisioning centers (dispensaries) and secure transporters will pay $36,000, $44,000, or $52,000.

Brisbo said that the new fees were set to cover the costs of regulating the state’s medical marijuana industry.


“We try to set the fees simply to offset the fees of our agency and the other costs built in from the MMFLA (Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act),” Brisbo said.

Recreational Pot License Fees Lower

State regulators have also released the license fees for businesses to participate in Michigan’s legal recreational pot marketplace, which launches later this year. Those license fees will actually be lower than the fees for medical marijuana businesses. For example, medical marijuana provisioning centers will pay $36,000 to $52,000 to renew their license while a similar license for a recreational cannabis shop will cost $20,000 to $30,000 to renew.

Brisbo said that the discrepancy in fees for recreational cannabis and medical marijuana businesses is due to state rules that require some medical marijuana licensing fees to be diverted to external programs. The funds go to the state health department to support substance abuse programs, to the Michigan State Police for standard field sobriety testing and police training, and to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for licensing substance use disorder programs.


The Marijuana Regulatory Authority will begin accepting license applications for recreational cannabis businesses on November 1.
 
Michigan gets a B+ for medical marijuana patient access

Americans for Safer Access, a medical cannabis patient advocacy organization, gave Michigan a B+ in its annual assessment of patient access. By way of a little comparison: nearby Indiana, where not even a whiff of legalization is in the air, graded an F. Illinois's and Oregon's A- grades were the highest.

Adult-use recreational cannabis gets most of the attention these days. A little reminder: the only stuff that is licensed and sold around here at the moment is medical. And while the march has been toward recreational legalization, medical patients are indeed real, and it has been a fight to maintain access to quality medication for them. Right now there are provisioning centers telling customers that they are out of dried flower, the preferred method of ingesting cannabis.

The B+ grade seems a bit high given all the delay and drama that has accompanied the medical marijuana distribution system, but then some states don't have medical marijuana at all. So everything is relative.

"I think it depends on where you live in the state in terms of accessibility to it," says Brandy Zink, a Detroit-based ASA chapter organizer. "Overall we have better access than most states because we have the ability to grow or have a caregiver. ... When you look at it from a 50-state point of view, we have it pretty good. In fact, we have it really good."

How the grades were determined is a little complicated. ASA scored states on five general categories: Patient rights and civil protection from discrimination, access to medicine, ease of navigation, functionality, and consumer safety and provider requirement. Each of those categories had a number of subsections that were then scored. For example, under the patient rights and civil protection category, states are scored for things like affirmative defense, privacy standards, employment protections, reciprocity with other medical marijuana states, and other concerns.




Under the category access to medicine, subsections include things such as allows distribution programs, allows delivery, reasonable number of dispensaries, collective gardening, and more. When it's all said and done, the scoring presents a pretty accurate portrait of the medical marijuana system in each state. By the way, our B+ beats California's B.

ASA also provides some national numbers of interest. There are 3 million medical marijuana patients in the country. There's an average 25 percent drop in opioid deaths in states with medical marijuana. In 2013 there was a $165 million federal drug cost saving in medical cannabis states. Americans support medical cannabis at a fantastic 93 percent. There's plenty more of that sort of thing included.

There's a focus on national laws here because changing federal policy will be the big break for medical marijuana studies and medication development. Zink has travelled to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress annually the past 20 years.

"This is the first congress that I've ever felt comfortable with," she says. "We supported the Michigan members of this new Congress and they have been listening to us. I've been working very hard on the federal level."

Things such as the Farm Bill that opened doors for hemp production came about due to lobbying efforts of cannabis supporters. ASA worked with the offices of Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both of whom were sponsors of last year's legislation that will impact the direction of the hemp industry, hemp research, and CBD in the United States.
 
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Aug 16 at 2 PM – Aug 18 at 6 PM

Hubbard Lake Rd, Hubbard Lake, MI 49747, United States

Tickets · $55
www.eventbrite.com

HAPPY CANNAPALOOZA EVERYONE!!!
Please join us for our 3rd year of music and festivities as we contribute to the elimination of prohibition worldwide through the power of music, art, and education! This year things are a little different as we have a family friendly camping venue with two days of music and a Sunday afternoon of educational speakers along with live visual artists, merchandise and food vendors on site!

We have a great line up performing that you're not going to want to miss Presented by Komorn Law & NE MiNorml

MC Rick Thompson
Friday:
Jack Elliott
John Sinclair
Trent Breithaupt
Habana Gold
The Rupple Brothers
David Clay Ladd
Power Surge
Katharsys Theory

Saturday
The Birthday Suits
Gypsy Feats
Wolf Creek Release
The Bandura Gypsies
Stoker
Les Older and The Ganja Gang

With Razor Rays healing vibes around the campfire!

Speakers
Michael Komorn - Komorn Law
Rick Thompson
Boston George
Rev Steve Thompson - Lifetime cannabis activist
Zahra Abbas - Epilepsy
Jamie Cooper - Autism
Michael Thue - CBD
Amie Carter - Autism
Jamie Lowell - MiLegalize/JazzCabbage
Ron Langworthy - Bliss and Natural living
Debbie Wilson - Neurology and Cannabinoids
Brad Kallio - Renewable Energy

Sunday Noon Hemp Solutions, Hempcrete Demostration

Glass Blowing by Sancho, Polaris & ADH Design

Live artistry!
Jenn Cook
Kat Lunn Sanders

Camping first come, first serve.
Hubbard Lake Lion's Park,
14999-14701 Hubbard Lake Road
Hubbard Lake, MI. 49747

Admission
$25 per day. $60 weekend

VENDING & SPONSORSHIPS
Contact John 989~335~3873
or Nikki on Facebook.

***LET'S END CANNABIS PROHIBITION WORLDWIDE THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC, ARTS, & EDUCATION ***

Must be 21 to consume alcohol and/or recreational cannabis.
Under 21 must have a medical marijuana card to consume cannabis.
Must be at least 18 or accompanied by a adult.

THANK YOU SPONSORS
Komorn Law, Mad Max Collective, Cannabis Counsel Law Firm, NE MiNorml, Third Coast Custom's, Young's Organic Garden, Holy Smoke's Tobacco & Cigar, Esteban's Divine Organic Honey, Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, Michigan Hemp Industries Association
 
Michigan Issues Emergency Rules Setting Testing Standards for Industrial Hemp Crop

Emergency rules have been issued to Michigan’s hemp industry from the state.

The hemp industry, which doesn’t have high THC levels like marijuana, has been in a pilot program for the 2019 season.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture reports that there are 541 hemp growers across the state, covering about 32,000 acres.

The new rules set proper sampling and analytical testing methods for measuring the amount of THC in industrial hemp to ensure levels are not higher than .03%.

For more information on the new rules and sampling procedures, click here.
 
How'd I get this posted before you, @momofthegoons ?? haha You're slipping! LOL


State shuts down Walled Lake marijuana testing lab for fudging test results

The number of marijuana testing facilities, already considered small to handle the growing number of pot producers in the state, shrunk from six to five Friday when the state suspended the license of a Walled Lake business on accusations of faking test results.

The state Marijuana Regulatory Agency filed a formal complaint against Iron Labs of Walled Lake for, among other things, finding marijuana that tested above the legal limit for various contaminants but not reporting those test results in the state’s tracking system. The lab allegedly also didn’t report edibles that tested above the state’s potency limit for THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana that produces a high.

“Respondent lacks integrity, moral character and responsibility or means to operate or maintain a marijuana facility,” the state’s complaint reads.

The state, which hasn’t received any reports of adverse health reactions from people who used products tested by Iron Labs, urged medical marijuana patients to be wary of the products tested by the facility.

"It is imperative that our licensees follow the rules and laws, especially regarding the testing of medical marijuana product,” MRA Executive Director Andrew Brisbo said in a statement Friday. “We are intensely focused on making sure that the marijuana product in the regulated industry meets established safety standards.”


The state said because the matter is still under investigation, it couldn't reveal how much of the state's marijuana supply was tested by Iron Labs.

While criminal charges have not been filed yet in the case, Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office is “committed to working closely with the Marijuana Regulatory Agency to take action against those facilities that disregard the rules to the detriment of the public and industry fairness.”

The labs’ operating license expired Aug. 9, but the owners had filed an application for renewal. They have the right to request a compliance conference to respond to the state’s complaint and try to get the suspension reversed.

Iron Labs couldn’t be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
 
Short’s Brewery Teams Up With Marijuana Company for Infused Products

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Short’s Brewery in Elk Rapids is teaming up with a Michigan marijuana company.

According to Green Park Innovations, Short’s new partner, they have agreed to exclusively license the short’s brand to produce a line of edibles and infused beverages.

The company’s CEO says the products will “mimic the taste of the popular short’s beers for people who enjoy them but without the alcohol.”

Some of the first products Green Park expects to make include Soft Parade-flavored gummies and vape pens that taste like Huma Lupa Licious.

The two companies will also have a joint venture in the infused beverage category.

Short’s is developing a line of beverages including cold brew coffee, sparkling waters, “mocktail” tonics, teas, lemonades, and more.

Michigan law currently prohibits adding THC to alcoholic products.

But, when the law allows, Short’s will work to also infuse their existing beer with CBD and/or THC.
 

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