Law Michigan MMJ

[momofthegoons]

Despite complaints, state sticks with pricey asset requirements for medical pot licenses
Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press Lansing BureauPublished 1:19 p.m. ET Nov. 8, 2017

So just how lucrative is the medical pot business? Apparently plenty, given one man allegedly offered to pay $20,000 a month in bribes to Garden City officials for a dispensary permit and $150,000 to state officials for a grow license. Detroit Free Press

The state will stick with high capitalization requirements for people getting into the medical marijuana industry, but is expanding what qualifies as an asset.

The capitalization requirements will stay at the proposed rates of $150,000 for the class A growing license for people who want to grow up to 500 plants and up to $500,000 for a Class C growing license, which allows for between 1,001 and 1,500 plants.

The requirements don't mean that a potential medical marijuana business person has to have that much cash. They just have to show that they have enough assets to support the business.

And in an effort to make it easier for businesses to qualify for a license, only 25% of those assets will have to be liquid — something easily converted into cash, such as retirement accounts, stocks and bonds, bank accounts or marijuana inventory. The rest can be real estate, equipment or supplies for the business.


The ruling from the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs this week comes despite a public hearing last month where dozens of people argued that the high asset requirements will put the medical marijuana business out of reach for small operators.

"We’ve looked at some of the numbers that go into the regulatory costs and that this is a program that was supposed to be self-supporting," said Andrew Brisbo, director of the state's Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation. "We want to make sure the applicants have the financial capability to pay those costs to get in to the industry and to be financially viable in the long run."


Jerry Millen, who hopes to get a state license to open the Green Way medical marijuana dispensary in Walled Lake, said the capitalization requirements won't be a problem for him. He's already purchased and outfitted a building and coming up with 25% of liquid assets is doable.

"I think there are good people and bad people in the industry," he said. "And I think the state just wants to weed out some of the bad people."

But Christina Montague, an Ann Arbor resident who is hoping to open a dispensary in Washtenaw County, said the capitalization requirements could keep small business owners like her out of the market.

"I don’t know if I’ll be able to raise $300,000," she said during a recent meeting of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board. "It’s not too much if you’re a millionaire or a big corporation, but if you’re just an everyday person and you want to be a part of this movement because you believe in it, they've got to give the middle-class guys a break."

Under the rules imposed by LARA, applicants would have to show the following proof of assets when they apply for a license:

• $300,000 for a dispensary
• $150,000 for a grower of up to 500 medical marijuana plants
• $300,000 for a grower of up to 1,000 plants
• $500,000 for a grower of up to 1,500 plants
• $300,000 for a processing facility
• $200,000 for a secure transporter
• $200,000 for testing facility

In addition to the capitalization requirements, a municipality can charge up to $5,000 to get approval to operate in the city. The application fee for the state is going to run between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on the license, and the state regulatory assessment will cost between $10,000 and $57,000. License applicants would also have to prove that they were are able to get insurance policies that provide at least $100,000 of coverage.

More:Are mega medical marijuana growers good for Michigan? State, towns disagree

Brisbo said the department came up with the figures when looking at the asset requirements in other states, including Arizona, which requires $150,000 in assets for a dispensary; Connecticut, which requires $2 million each in assets for a growing or processing operation, and Nevada, which requires $250,000 in liquid assets for growers, processors, testers and dispensaries.

Applications for medical marijuana licenses will be available from the state on Dec. 15 and the licensing board is expected to begin awarding licenses in the first quarter of 2018.

 

[momofthegoons]

Can you be fired in Michigan for using medical marijuana?
Sarah Lehr, Lansing State JournalPublished 6:30 a.m. ET Nov. 13, 2017

Joseph Casias injured his knee at the Battle Creek Wal-Mart where he worked in 2009.

Per company policy, he took a drug test. It came back positive.

Casias had been using marijuana at home to treat pain from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued on his behalf for wrongful discharge in violation of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.

A U.S. District Judge sided with the company. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the ruling.

In Michigan, it is legal for a business to fire an employee for using medical marijuana, even if the use occurs outside of business hours.

"Basically, a private business can penalize someone for being a medical marijuana patient," said Joshua Covert, a defense attorney who represents people charged with marijuana-related offenses.

A section of the state's Medical Marihuana Act says that patients with medical marijuana cards are protected from penalties, including "disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau."


The Sixth Circuit has interpreted the word "business" as a modifier referring to licensing boards or bureaus.

“Based on a plain reading of the statute, the term 'business' is not a stand-alone term as Plaintiff alleges, but rather the word 'business' describes or qualifies the type of 'licensing board or bureau,'" Judge Eric Clay wrote in response to Casias' claim.

It is not legal, however, for someone fired for using medical marijuana to later be denied unemployment benefits.

The Michigan Court of Appeals in 2014 sided with three employees who had been denied unemployment benefits after being fired for using medical marijuana.

The Unemployment Insurance Agency appealed that ruling in 2015, but the Michigan Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.

Michigan is an at-will employment state, which means an employer can fire someone for any reason. There is no burden for the employer to establish "just cause."

Legally, employees can refuse to take a drug test, but they can be fired for that refusal.

 

[momofthegoons]

More Michigan gov candidates backing pot legalization
Jonathan Oosting, Detroit News Lansing BureauPublished 9:33 p.m. ET Nov. 14, 2017

Ypsilanti — Four leading Democrats and one little-known Republican running for Michigan governor are throwing their support behind marijuana legalization ahead of a potential statewide proposal they could share the ballot with in 2018.

“We’ve seen other states do it wrong. In Michigan, we’ve got a chance to do it right,” said former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday night in a candidate forum hosted by MI Legalize.

The activist-led group is a member of and top donor to the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a ballot committee preparing to submit petition signatures for a proposal that would regulate and tax commercial marijuana production and retail sales in Michigan.

Abdul El-Sayed, a medical doctor and former Detroit Health Department director, said he has seen first-hand the efficacy of medical marijuana to treat seizures and believes full legalization would open the door to more rigorous research on its effects.


“This has become a civil rights issue,” El-Sayed said, pointing to statistics showing criminal enforcement has had a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and African-Americans. “We have an opportunity here in Michigan to rethink marijuana.”

Evan Space, a long-shot Republican from Lansing and military veteran, said he wants to provide better access to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Shri Thanedar, an Ann Arbor Democrat and scientist, said science supports legalization. Bill Cobbs, a former Detroit police officer, said prohibition has been a failure.



“Most cops don’t want to arrest people for marijuana because we understand what it does to somebody’s life when we give them a criminal record this insignificant,” Cobbs said.


MI Legalize leader Jeff Hank said forum participation by five gubernatorial candidates is evidence of “a cultural change we’re undergoing here” in Michigan and told activists the event made him emotional.

Democrats in particular are increasingly embracing full legalization. The party’s nominee for governor in 2014, Mark Schauer, took a wait-and-see approach to legalization, saying he wanted to see results of the “grand experiment” in Colorado and Washington state but would “not want to lead on that issue” in Michigan.

Attorney General Bill Schuette, the early favorite for the 2018 GOP gubernatorial nomination, led the campaign against Michigan’s medical marijuana law in 2008 but has distanced himself from the more recent legalization debate. Schuette has said he is concerned legalization could increase youth access to marijuana but has repeatedly called it an issue that voters should decide.

Political candidates are taking note of public opinion polling showing growing support for marijuana legalization in Michigan, said MI Legalize political organizer Sam Pernick, predicting the 2018 ballot measure could encourage first-time or rare voters to go to the polls.

“Republicans who were sternly opposed are now neutral, and Democrats who were neutral are now strongly supportive,” he said. “We do have many Republicans with a more libertarian bent who are supportive too.”

Pernick said forum organizers tried to identify candidates supporting legalization but also invited Schuette to the event. While he did not respond, Schuette was repeatedly mentioned, with Whitmer of East Lansing arguing the attorney general has “thrown up barrier after barrier” between medical marijuana patients and their medicine.

“This is an opportunity to go a step further and say, here in Michigan, we’re going to embrace the legalization, but we’re also going to grow our economy,” Whitmer said. “We’re going to create real clear rules so that we can do this so that we don’t leave patients, we don’t leave small business owners to fend for themselves.”

Thanedar, a businessman who is largely self-funding his campaign, argued that Michigan’s next governor needs to make sure “big business doesn’t hijack” the prospective legal marijuana industry.

“We’ve got to make sure we support the small businesses, we support the entrepreneurs and we fight any kind of attempt by the federal government to take away people’s rights,” he said.

While marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, voters in eight states have approved recreational use laws. Colorado was the first state to implement legalization, with retail sales beginning in 2014. Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage this month vetoed legislation to regulate and tax the drug despite voters last year approving a legalization measure.

Under the potential Michigan ballot proposal, marijuana retail sales would be taxed at 10 percent, plus sales tax, with the new revenue going to K-12 schools, road repairs and participating cities and counties.

Space noted the proposal would also legalize industrial hemp farming.

“Let’s turn it into an agricultural boom,” he said. “Michigan already grows corn. Why not turn our state greener and improve our environment?”

Michigan Democrats and Republicans will elect their party’s gubernatorial nominees in August. The marijuana legalization proposal could appear on the November general election if organizers submit enough signatures and the measure survives any legal challenges.

“I already know we’re going to legalize. That’s a done deal,” El-Sayed said. “What I want to talk about now is what happens next.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Marijuana won in election; activists poised to ask Michiganders for legalization in 2018
Bill Laitner, Detroit Free PressPublished 6:00 a.m. ET Nov. 16, 2017

Not all is bliss for Michigan's marijuana activists and stoners — drug busts of pot growers and their criminal trials haven't let up — yet marijuana is having a good year here, and a very good month of November.

This week, leaders of a statewide campaign to put a legalization question on Michigan ballots in November 2018 said they’d gathered at least 360,000 signatures, well more than the 252,523 required by law.

The Committee to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol now lacks only about $30,000 to pay off a signature-collection vendor before its leaders can submit truckloads of signed petitions to the Michigan Secretary of State, a move they expect to make before Thanksgiving, said spokesman Josh Hovey, with the Lansing-based public-relations firm Truscott Rossman.

And last week, marijuana was a surprise winner at the polls in Detroit, where, despite strong opposition from Detroit City Council members and church leaders, voters passed two ballot measures by wide margins to roll back the city's tough new strictures on medical marijuana shops.


The city's tough ordinance was forcing a domino-like series of closures of scores of the shops, called dispensaries, outlawing any that were near parks, churches, schools and day care centers. Those who favored the closures said Detroit had become an unintended hub of nonresidents flocking to open medical marijuana shops, in part because suburbs and suburban police refused to allow the dispensaries.

But voters undid the strict ordinance, and apparently froze the process of closures, with a 60% margin of yes votes on Proposal A to allow more "facilities" — that is, dispensaries; and a 58% yes on Proposal B to ease zoning rules on the businesses.


At a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Detroit's Cobo Center, aimed at discussing how the ballot measures are to be implemented, the opponents — drawn from the coalition of city leaders, church leaders and neighborhood organizers who championed the new ordinance — planned to show their disapproval of the ballot measures' success, according to online forums.

"Any and everyone needs to attend this meeting in opposition of this expansion of medical marijuana centers in our community.

"We need, community organizations, prevention advocates, churches, schools personnel and leadership, day care centers, Realtors, business owners, to flood this meeting," wrote Detroiter DeBorah Omokehinde.

But those who support wider access to medical marijuana, as well as to recreational marijuana, said in online forums that they plan to attend and voice a counterpoint. They included former Detroit resident Tim Beck, a retired health insurance executive and longtime promoter of legal cannabis, who said he planned to drive three hours from his retirement home west of Kalamazoo to attend the Cobo Center hearing.

"Hells bells yes, I'm going," Beck said Wednesday.

"Some of these folks just can't get it into their heads — they don't represent the voters of Detroit. I'm going to read them the riot act," said Beck, a frequent speaker on television and radio talk shows about marijuana issues.

Read more:
Marijuana's political momentum in Michigan also surged this month in other ways:

• At a bipartisan debate held Tuesday night in Ypsilanti, five candidates for the governor's seat in Lansing all spoke in favor of legalizing marijuana, said Lansing attorney Jeff Hank, a strong supporter of legalized cannabis.

Four Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Gretchen Whitmer, Abdul El-Sayed, Shri Thanedar and Bill Cobbs — were joined by Republican Evan Space for the discussion. Hank said Republican candidate and Attorney General Bill Schuette was invited but did not respond. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley was not invited, Hank said, because Calley has yet to announce.

"When five main candidates are talking about supporting the (legalization) proposal, we've gone mainstream," Hank said after the event.

• Last week's election results in Oakland County sent at least a symbolic message of protest against the county's aggressive police raids of medical-marijuana growers, processors and dispensary operators. In Keego Harbor and Lathrup Village, ballot measures were approved forbidding police engaged in drug raids and other criminal investigations from seizing the homes, businesses, cash, bank accounts, vehicles and other property until authorities obtain convictions.

The passage of the measures — a similar one passed last year in Orchard Lake — can't block the county's narcotics investigators and State Police from seizing property, but it will apply to local police while sending the others a message about how voters feel, said Peter Trzos, 36, of Keego Harbor, who campaigned for the measures.

Trzos operated three dispensaries in Oakland County until they were raided and padlocked in 2013, Trzos said. He faces nine felony charges but has not been convicted on any of the charges, Trzos said Wednesday.

• In other states last week, governors elected in New Jersey and Virginia are expected to push for easing laws on marijuana if not allowing possession outright.

Opponents of marijuana's spreading acceptance have pledged this month to continue efforts to educate voters and lawmakers about the risks of letting the drug become legal.

Downriver's SUDDS Coalition, which works in 13 communities to keep youths from abusing alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, is soon to launch an awareness campaign on social media and billboards about the dangers of marijuana, said Bethany Sanford, a community organizer with SUDDS, which stands for Stop Underage Drinking/Drugs Downriver.

"Between marijuana and the opioid prescription drugs, these have been big focuses for SUDDS this year," Sanford said. A key message of the group is that marijuana is just as bad as alcohol and other drugs when it comes to deleterious long-term effects on young people because adolescent brains are still developing, she said.

SUDDS and other groups fear that legalizing cannabis will allow more access by young abusers. Any gain in tax revenues from legalization "isn't worth it," Sanford said.

Michigan's legalization question, aimed for November 2018 ballots, would try to keep young people away from marijuana in the same way that state law forbids the consumption of alcohol by anyone under 21.

The proposal would let those 21 and older use recreational marijuana in private homes. It would steer the resulting tax revenues to public schools and road projects, as well as to the coffers of local communities but only to those that "opt in" to the proposal by allowing marijuana cultivation, sale and related business activity within their borders, campaign leaders said.

The measure's provisions for cultivation, sale and other businesses such as testing and transport were written to comply with a new state law on medical marijuana, which on Dec. 15 will begin to accept applications for marijuana business licenses.

 

[momofthegoons]

Press Release: LARA Advises Medical Marihuana Caregivers and Patients on Transition to Licensees and Employees
By admin On November 17, 2017 In News

LARA also releases advisory bulletin clarifying local and state license fees


November 17, 2017 – The Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) released two advisory bulletins today to inform and advise potential licensees of the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation’s (BMMR) intention regarding (1) the transition from medical marihuana caregivers and patients to facility license holders and employees and (2) local and state license fees. The bulletins are for advisory purposes only and are subject to change.

Caregivers and Patients: Transition to Facility Licensee or Employee

The Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) requires grower and processor facility licensees to have at least two years experience as a caregiver, or have an active employee with such experience. However, a licensed grower or processor – or their employee – must not be registered as a caregiver. LARA intends to require that, upon licensure, any caregivers affiliated or employed by a grower or processor must submit the form to cancel caregiver status within 5 business days. New employees have five business days to submit the caregiver cancellation form.

The MMFLA requires that – to be eligible for a secure transporter license – an applicant and its investors cannot be registered patients or caregivers. Therefore, applicants for a secure transporter license – and those affiliated with the applicant as investors, direct/indirect owners, partners, officers, directors, managers, or members – must withdraw from the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program (MMMP) registry as caregivers or patients prior to applying for a secure transporter license.

The MMFLA does not prohibit provisioning center and safety compliance facility licensees from being registered as patients or caregivers under the MMMP, nor does it prohibit such facilities from employing patients or caregivers.

A patient or caregiver who wishes to withdraw from the MMMP registry must submit a completed Withdrawal Form directly to the MMMP according to the instructions on the form.

Fees under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act

The MMFLA requires BMMR to collect two separate fees: the medical marihuana facility license application fee and a regulatory assessment fee. The MMFLA also allows a local municipality to collect a fee for a potential licensee to operate within its boundaries.

The Municipality Fee is a local-level fee – up to $5,000 – which is not determined nor collected by BMMR; it is in addition to the state-level fees collected by BMMR.

The Medical Marihuana License Application Fee is a one-time, non-refundable, state-level fee that offsets the initial costs incurred by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), the Michigan State Police, and the costs of background investigations. The application fee must be submitted before the application can be processed. BMMR intends to set the standard application fee at $6,000 when the emergency rules are released.

The Annual Regulatory Assessment Fee is a nonrefundable, state-level fee which offsets LARA’s annual operational costs to implement, administer, and enforce the MMFLA as well as the expenses of medical-marihuana-related services provided by the Attorney General, the State Police, and Treasury. The regulatory assessment also covers support costs of the statewide monitoring system and provides $500,000 annually toward licensing substance abuse disorder programs, as required by statute.

The regulatory assessment allocates funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for substance abuse-related expenses and covers expenses related to the standardized field sobriety tests administered in enforcing the Michigan vehicle code. The regulatory assessment is the final step prior to the issuance of the license and is not paid until after board approval for licensure. The regulatory assessment is collected annually and may change each year; the new assessment amount will be announced by LARA prior to the start of the new fiscal year. The regulatory assessment does not apply to safety compliance facility licenses.

These bulletins do not constitute legal advice and are subject to change. They are intended to be advisory only, in anticipation of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs’ promulgation of emergency rules consistent with statutory requirements. Potential licensees are encouraged to seek legal counsel to ensure their licensure applications and operations comply with the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act and associated administrative rules.

 

[OldOyler]

Funny.

The only part of the laws they always get clear up front is their money.

THEN it's oh yeah, now about those pesky patients...

Karma, dearest lawmakers and govt cogs, well I hate tell you...

She's a real bitch with sh*t like that...

 

[momofthegoons]

Sigh...... someone needs to sit all these law makers down and educate them on the types of people who use medical cannabis. Cause this demonization really needs to stop.

Milton Township could rescind pot ordinance after sheriff warns about 'criminal element'
Sheriff Behnke fears 'it will produce criminal element'

• By Mary Beth Spalding South Bend Tribune Nov 18, 2017 Updated Nov 18, 2017

NILES — An ordinance that Milton Township passed about a month ago to allow medical marijuana businesses
could be rescinded this week after Cass County officials and others voiced opposition, with the sheriff citing concerns about potential crime.

Trustees could vote to rescind the ordinance at their 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting at Township Hall.

"Maybe it's just not right for Milton at this time," said Township Supervisor Robert Benjamin.


The state of Michigan is creating a commercial system for regulating medical marijuana under a 2016 law that goes into effect next year. Communities can opt into the system by establishing local rules, including which types and how many of the businesses they'll allow. The five types are growers, processors, safety compliance facilities, transporters and dispensaries.

Currently, under a 2008 Michigan law, the cultivation and use of medical marijuana is permitted for qualifying patients. Qualified caregivers can grow up to 12 marijuana plants per patient, with a maximum of five patients per caregiver.

The Milton Township board voted in October to allow three medical marijuana growers and three processors. It chose not to allow other types of medical marijuana businesses, such as dispensaries, because of the “agricultural nature of the township,” said Benjamin.

Benjamin said trustees decided any revenue the township got from possible medical marijuana businesses would be redirected to the sheriff's department, which provides law enforcement for the township.

But a unanimous recommendation to rescind the ordinance altogether recently came from the township planning commission, after members heard earlier this month from Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz and Sheriff Richard Behnke, among others, who spoke against the township allowing medical marijuana businesses.

Behnke said he became concerned when he learned Milton Township might allow commercial growing operations “for the simple fact it will produce a criminal element of some type.”

“In the state of Michigan, where there’s medical marijuana growing operations, there is crime,” Behnke said.

"My concern is for the public safety of the citizens of Cass County."

Behnke said there have been break-ins and even an armed robbery at Cass caregiver grower operations that exist under the 2008 medical marijuana law.

Larger commercial growing operations could also become targets for criminals, he said.

Back when the state's first medical marijuana law was passed in 2008, Behnke said Cass County officials "worked hard" to keep out dispensaries that sprang up in larger cities under gray areas of the statute. He said he's not aware of any other county municipality currently considering allowing medical marijuana businesses.


Kelly Sweeney, a Milton Township trustee and member of the planning commission, said the township’s attorney, Catherine Kaufman, also advised the planning commission against backing medical marijuana operations.

The state is still drafting rules for new facilities, and she recommended the township “take a cautious approach” for now, Sweeney said.

Once the law is clearer, Sweeney could envision the township revisiting the issue.

“Milton Township has always done what’s in the best interest of their residents, not always what other people want us to do,” he said.

Benjamin, the township supervisor, said it’s likely the board will vote to repeal the ordinance it passed because the planning commission is making a 5-0 recommendation to do so.

“Because they’re representing all the areas of the township and they’re unanimous that this doesn’t fit for our township, it does carry a lot of weight,” Benjamin said.

Still, township officials are eager for more public feedback. They don’t feel like they’ve heard from very many of the more than 3,800 residents in the township on the issue of medical marijuana.

“We’re constantly looking for feedback,” said Sweeney.

 

[Shredder]

Wait until Milton township's neighbors start raking in cash, lol.
I notice in MI dry counties, there's ussually a liquor store on the county line.

I havn't heard much in my bailiwick, but my township is only 500 people and no real towns. Talk about rural, lol.

 

[Mr Mellish]

Wait until Milton township's neighbors start raking in cash, lol.
I notice in MI dry counties, there's ussually a liquor store on the county line.

I havn't heard much in my bailiwick, but my township is only 500 people and no real towns. Talk about rural, lol.

There are dry counties in Michigan?????? I thought that was a southern thing.

 

[Shredder]

There are dry counties in Michigan?????? I thought that was a southern thing.

I'm not sure if there are any totally dry counties here anymore. I know some changed in the recent past but, there are several with restricted sales, like not on Sunday. I've worked around holland mi and it was like that.

 

[Baron23]

Wait until Milton township's neighbors start raking in cash, lol.
I notice in MI dry counties, there's ussually a liquor store on the county line.

I havn't heard much in my bailiwick, but my township is only 500 people and no real towns. Talk about rural, lol.

I'm with you, no play...no pay. No dispensaries, no tax dollars. End of story.

 

[momofthegoons]

Marijuana legalization proposal could add to crowded ballot in November 2018
Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press Lansing BureauPublished 3:53 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2017

LANSING — When the coalition to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use turned in petition signatures to the Secretary of State on Monday, the group added to what could be a crowded ballot next November.

Other ballot proposals, including the way district lines are drawn for local, state and federal elected offices, are nearing their goal of obtaining 400,000 signatures to get on the 2018 ballot. And more groups keep popping up in the hopes of getting their issues before voters next year.

Protecting Michigan Taxpayers, which wants to repeal the law that requires public construction projects to pay union-scale wages, has already turned in more than 380,000 signatures. The group hopes the Legislature will take up the issue once the signatures have been verified by the Secretary of State.

If both the House and Senate approve the issue, it automatically goes into law without the need for a signature from Gov. Rick Snyder, who opposes the repeal. Repealing the prevailing wage has been a top priority of leadership in the Republican-controlled Legislature, but it has been thwarted in its efforts because of Snyder's threat to veto such legislation.


The marijuana legalization effort has been tried in previous years, but hasn't gotten the necessary 252,523 signatures during the required 180-day window. This year, backers paid a company to collect the signatures and came up with more than 360,000 to provide a cushion if some of the signatures are thrown out. But raising the money to pay for the signatures was a bit harder than anticipated, said Josh Hovey, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol. The final $30,000 needed to pay the petition signature vendor was raised and paid last week.

“That had to do with uncertainty on what the state was going to do to regulate the industry and the new Trump administration in Washington," he said. "But that one chapter is soon to be behind us and it will be a whole new ball game as we move forward."


The coalition hopes to raise a total of $8 million for the upcoming campaign, which includes the $950,000 that the group paid for the petition signatures.

"It’s very clear that people are ready for this very sensible proposal," said Jeffrey Hank, executive director of MI Legalize, one of the groups included in the coalition. "But our work isn’t done. You know how hard it is to run a campaign and we have to raise millions of dollars."

The ballot proposal would:

• Levy a 10% excise tax at the retail level as well as the 6% sales tax. The estimated revenues from the taxes are at least $100 million, Hovey said.
• Split those revenues with 35% going to K-12 education, 35% to roads, 15% to the communities that allow marijuana businesses in their communities and 15% to counties where marijuana business are located.
• Allow communities to decide whether they’ll allow marijuana businesses.
• Restrict possession of marijuana that a person can carry for recreational purposes to 2.5 ounces, but individuals could keep up to 10 ounces in their homes.
• Follow the same type of licensing model that is being used for medical marijuana, which will provide for five categories of licenses — growers, processors, testers, secure transporters and dispensaries.

The marijuana proposal also could go before the Legislature, which can approve it, reject it, introduce its own proposal or do nothing. If it acts, which is unlikely in the GOP-controlled Legislature, it would automatically go into effect. If it rejects it or does nothing, the issue goes on the November 2018 general election ballot.

But the coalition doesn't expect the Legislature to act on the proposal.

"People are way ahead of the politicians on the legalization issue and we don't have any confidence that the politicians are going to take action," said former state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, the political director of the coalition. "It's never a waste of time to extend an olive branch to gain compromise, but I'm not very hopeful that the Legislature will pass this initiative as we've proposed."

And there will be organized opposition to the legalization. The Committee to Keep Pot Out of Neighborhoods and Schools, which is funded by the Michigan Responsibility Council and which represents big business interests that want to get into the medical marijuana market, said, "We are on the verge of creating a regulated system for the production of medical marijuana which will provide regulation, taxation and rigorous testing so that patients and doctors will know the products are safe. The ballot proposal puts the public at risk and will be vigorously opposed."

The marijuana legalization proposal won't be the only issue on the ballot next year. The Voters not Politicians group is close to securing the 400,000 signatures needed to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot that will change the way district lines are drawn for state and federal elected offices.

The state Legislature now redraws the lines every 10 years based on population numbers gathered every decade by the U.S. Census. The political party in power draws the lines, often to protect its members and majorities in the halls of the Legislature and Congress.

Under the proposal, an independent, bipartisan commission — four Republicans, four Democrats and five people with no party affiliation — would be selected to redraw the lines. Organizers and volunteers for the petition drive have been out in force at community events since earlier this summer in an effort to collect the 315,654 necessary signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

But getting the signatures and getting on the ballot are two different things. A legal challenge is expected from Republican-affiliated groups that oppose the proposal.

Other groups also have said they hope to get enough signatures to get their issues on the ballot, including:

• Keep Our Lakes Great: Would end the state's easement for the Enbridge pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac and prohibit the state from granting any additional easements for pipelines under the Great Lakes.
• Clean Michigan: A constitutional amendment to make Michigan's Legislature part-time.
• Raise Michigan and MI Time to Care: Two ballot proposals that would require that Michigan employers give employees paid sick time.
• Abrogate Prohibition: A constitutional amendment to legalize the use of marijuana.
• MI One Fair Wage: Gradually raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022.

 

[Baron23]

I think Detroit needs some new City Council members and definitely new Planning Commission members. EVERY anti-democratic move to over turn voter referendums, of course all in the name of the best interests of the electorate, should be grounds for removal from office, IMO.

Planning staff wants Detroit to sue over marijuana laws

Detroit — The city’s Planning Commission wants Detroit to file a lawsuit over a pair of voter-approved medical marijuana laws it claims will illegally impair the city’s zoning powers.

But Detroit’s Law Department says it has no plans to challenge the will of the city’s voters in the Nov. 7 general election.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-1 to support the planning commission in urging Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit’s corporation counsel to initiate a challenge of the proposals to “preserve the integrity of the city’s zoning ordinance.”

Planning officials contend the marijuana initiatives “improperly” amend Detroit’s zoning code in violation of state regulations.

“We believe, in short, this sets a precedent that could do irreparable harm to the city’s local control as it relates to the zoning ordinance,” Marcell Todd, a senior city planner for Detroit, told council members Tuesday. “All other zoning ordinances could then be subject to a ballot initiative.”

But Detroit’s Corporation Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell countered that the city’s Law Department doesn’t plan to file suit and that the mayor’s office is in alignment with that decision.

“I have no plans to challenge the will of the voters on this matter,” Hollowell told The News. “My position is that the voters have spoken and so what we should be focusing on is how do we make the regulatory framework adopted by the voters work.”

Councilman James Tate, who introduced the resolution, agreed with planning officials that the city should pursue a lawsuit over the “faulty language.”

“This is not an issue of voter suppression,” Tate stressed. “If we want to go to court to take out the bad stuff — the illegal stuff — in the ballot language that does not hurt anyone’s vote.”

But Council President Pro Tem George Cushingberry Jr. took exception, noting a judge previously ruled in favor of putting the measures before voters.

The two proposals that ease restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries in Detroit were approved by voters this month.

Proposal A, a medical marijuana facilities ordinance, had 60 percent of the support from voters to 39 percent rejecting it, with all precincts reporting.

Proposal B, a zoning ordinance, had 58 percent of the support from voters to 41 percent voting “no.”

“All this does is give us the opportunity to try to overturn what the people said clearly by over 60 percent; that they don’t like the way we did it,” Cushingberry protested.

The voter-led proposals replace Detroit’s current medical marijuana ordinance that City Council approved in March 2016.

Proposal A requires Detroit to opt into the state law that recognizes five licenses: growing, testing, processing, transporting and provision centers.

It eliminates distance requirements for dispensaries near parks, day cares, liquor stores and arcades and reduces requirements for churches and other marijuana facilities.

Proposal B expands the zones for medical marijuana facilities to operate and eliminates zoning board appeal application reviews and public nuisance regulations.

Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform collected enough signatures to get the initiatives on the ballot. Group spokesman Jonathan Barlow said Tuesday the planning commission’s move is unfair.

“We don’t understand why they are looking to waste more city dollars on challenging us in court,” Barlow said.

 

[ataxian]

I think Detroit needs some new City Council members and definitely new Planning Commission members. EVERY anti-democratic move to over turn voter referendums, of course all in the name of the best interests of the electorate, should be grounds for removal from office, IMO.

Planning staff wants Detroit to sue over marijuana laws

Detroit — The city’s Planning Commission wants Detroit to file a lawsuit over a pair of voter-approved medical marijuana laws it claims will illegally impair the city’s zoning powers.

But Detroit’s Law Department says it has no plans to challenge the will of the city’s voters in the Nov. 7 general election.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-1 to support the planning commission in urging Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit’s corporation counsel to initiate a challenge of the proposals to “preserve the integrity of the city’s zoning ordinance.”

Planning officials contend the marijuana initiatives “improperly” amend Detroit’s zoning code in violation of state regulations.

“We believe, in short, this sets a precedent that could do irreparable harm to the city’s local control as it relates to the zoning ordinance,” Marcell Todd, a senior city planner for Detroit, told council members Tuesday. “All other zoning ordinances could then be subject to a ballot initiative.”

But Detroit’s Corporation Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell countered that the city’s Law Department doesn’t plan to file suit and that the mayor’s office is in alignment with that decision.

“I have no plans to challenge the will of the voters on this matter,” Hollowell told The News. “My position is that the voters have spoken and so what we should be focusing on is how do we make the regulatory framework adopted by the voters work.”

Councilman James Tate, who introduced the resolution, agreed with planning officials that the city should pursue a lawsuit over the “faulty language.”

“This is not an issue of voter suppression,” Tate stressed. “If we want to go to court to take out the bad stuff — the illegal stuff — in the ballot language that does not hurt anyone’s vote.”

But Council President Pro Tem George Cushingberry Jr. took exception, noting a judge previously ruled in favor of putting the measures before voters.

The two proposals that ease restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries in Detroit were approved by voters this month.

Proposal A, a medical marijuana facilities ordinance, had 60 percent of the support from voters to 39 percent rejecting it, with all precincts reporting.

Proposal B, a zoning ordinance, had 58 percent of the support from voters to 41 percent voting “no.”

“All this does is give us the opportunity to try to overturn what the people said clearly by over 60 percent; that they don’t like the way we did it,” Cushingberry protested.

The voter-led proposals replace Detroit’s current medical marijuana ordinance that City Council approved in March 2016.

Proposal A requires Detroit to opt into the state law that recognizes five licenses: growing, testing, processing, transporting and provision centers.

It eliminates distance requirements for dispensaries near parks, day cares, liquor stores and arcades and reduces requirements for churches and other marijuana facilities.

Proposal B expands the zones for medical marijuana facilities to operate and eliminates zoning board appeal application reviews and public nuisance regulations.

Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform collected enough signatures to get the initiatives on the ballot. Group spokesman Jonathan Barlow said Tuesday the planning commission’s move is unfair.

“We don’t understand why they are looking to waste more city dollars on challenging us in court,” Barlow said.

Isn't the current PRESIDENT selling this STATE to some country in the MIDDLE EAST?
POT and SHARI-LAW = CONFLICT

 

[Baron23]

Isn't the current PRESIDENT selling this STATE to some country in the MIDDLE EAST?
POT and SHARI-LAW = CONFLICT

Sorry, mate...can't go there.

 

[momofthegoons]

I think Detroit needs some new City Council members

Personally, I'd like to see Detroit get rid of the City Council altogether. They've been embroiled in more scandle and bullshit.... and have done very little to help the city.

 

[Shredder]

Personally, I'd like to see Detroit get rid of the City Council altogether. They've been embroiled in more scandle and bullshit.... and have done very little to help the city.

Doesn't sound like they can do much more than primp and posture tho. Their own lawyers ain't playing, so who they gonna call?

 

[momofthegoons]

Skeptics question accuracy of Michigan's new roadside drug tests
Updated Nov 28, 10:33 AM; Posted Nov 28, 10:33 AM By Tanda Gmiter



The president of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association is concerned the saliva tests being used by police in a new roadside drug testing pilot program may have a high error rate.

Michael Komorn joins other skeptics who are questioning the accuracy of the tests, according to The Associated Press. They started being administered by state police and local authorities earlier this month in five counties: Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair and Washtenaw.

"Nobody should be compelled to take this test until we've got some confirmation that it is an accurate test," Komorn said. "That's basic fundamental liberty and freedom, that government shouldn't be able to subject individuals to tests."

The pilot program is expected to last for a year. If a driver is suspected of impaired driving, a specially-trained officer can use a handheld device to test that person's saliva for the presence of certain drugs.

Drugs that can be tested for include amphetamine, benzodiazepines, marijuana/cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates.

If a driver refuses to take the oral fluid swab test, it can result in a civil infraction, just like if someone were to refuse a preliminary breath test, police have said.

People who have questioned these roadside swabs say Michigan's pilot program is also an accuracy test for the device itself, the Alere DDS2.

Because drugs affect each person differently, there's often no firm agreement on how much of these substances equate to an impaired driver. So settling on this kind of a test can be complicated, academic experts and authorities have said, according to the AP.

The roadside device will record results based on threshold limits of nanograms per milliliter, set by the manufacturer for six substances:

* Amphetamine 50
* Benzodiazepines 20
* Marijuana/Cannabis (THC) 25
* Cocaine 30
* Methamphetamine 50
* Opiates 40

Michigan State Police said the thresholds for saliva testing are different than thresholds used for blood testing.

Authorities say this pilot program is aimed at stemming an uptick in fatal crashes caused by drug-impaired drivers.

Fatal crashes in the state increased more than 30 percent from 2015 to 2016, the AP reported. There were nearly 240 fatal crashes in 2016, compared to nearly 180 in 2015.

 

[Baron23]

I believe that this article refers to MI, but the asshole who wrote it seems to have assumed we all know what state "the state" is. sigh


With medical marijuana applications looming, state releases rules for cannabis business

With applications for medical marijuana licenses becoming available in less than two weeks, the state finally released the rules Monday that will govern the newest industry in the state.

Everything from how much medical marijuana a registered patient can buy to how and whether a cannabis business can advertise is covered under the 33 pages of rules from the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The department has been issuing individual rules since September, but the all-encompassing set of guidelines applying to marijuana business license holders were released a couple of weeks later than anticipated. The state had hoped to released the rules, which are greatly anticipated by people who hope to get a license, before Thanksgiving.

Andrew Brisbo, the director of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Licensing, said there wasn't anything big or different in the final set of rules.

"I think there’s just a lot more of fleshing out of the details," he said. "There is a lot more procedural details that we included today."

Some of the rules that have been released since September include capitalization requirements for medical marijuana businesses. They range from $150,000 for the smallest category of grower, which is up to 500 plants; to $300,000 for a dispensary; to $500,000 for the largest category of grower, which is 1,500 plants.

Other rules include allowing dispensaries that are operating with permission from their communities to continue to operate while they're waiting to get a license, and allowing the large growers to "stack" licenses and have as many of the large growing licenses concentrated at one facility as they want and can afford.


Among some of the new items:

• All applicants for one of the five categories of licenses — even those with as little as a 1% interest in a marijuana business — will have to be revealed and undergo a thorough background check. The categories are growers, processors, testing facilities, secure transporters and dispensaries.
• Any advertising of marijuana products, including billboards, that is visible from the sidewalk, street, park or other public place is prohibited.
• A registered patient can buy up 2½ ounces of medical marijuana a day from a dispensary.
• A person can do a pre-application for a license and go through background check before getting approval from a municipality or identifying a location for their business. The person won't get a license, though, until those items are supplied.
• Each business will have to carry insurance policies with proof of $100,000 in coverage for bodily injury and $100,000 for liability coverage.
• A current licensed caregiver — there are 42,359 in the state serving 264,932 patients — can use his or her inventory of up to 72 plants as proof of assets that are required in order to get a license. A marijuana plant can yield anywhere from 3 ounces to a pound depending on the method of growing, and the retail price is roughly $200 to $300 per ounce. So a person with 72 plants that produce 8 ounces each could report assets of $144,000.
• People who receive licenses must report any theft or criminal activity at their facility or an adverse reaction to the marijuana within 24 hours of any incident. "We want to make sure we’re made aware of that quickly so we can take quick action," Brisbo said.
• Impose civil fines of $5,000 a day for an individual or $10,000 a day, or the amount equal to a day's receipts, whichever is greater, for violations of the act.
• Mobile or drive-through medical marijuana operations are prohibited.
• A marijuana business must have surveillance cameras at the entrances and exits to all their buildings, both indoors and outdoors.
• Marijuana-infused products such as brownies, gummies or oils must comply with guidelines for levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the chemical compound in cannabis responsible for a marijuana high) in the product and package it in such a way that it would not be seen as being marketed to minors under the age of 18. The potency guidelines are 6% maximum concentration of THC for topical applications like lotions or balms; 1,000 mg for tinctures, which are an extract in an alcohol solution, and capsules, suppositories or transdermal patches, and 500 mg for beverages or edible substances.
• If an applicant is denied a license, he or she has 21 days to request a hearing on the matter.

The applications will become available from the state on Dec. 15 and the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board is expected to begin awarding licenses during the first quarter of 2018. The business is expected to explode into an industry with an estimated $711 million in sales and $21 million in tax revenues for the state.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol also has turned in more than 365,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State in an effort to get full legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use on the ballot for November 2018. If that passes, Michigan would become the second largest state behind California to legalize marijuana and sales are expected to exceed $1 billion a year.

 

[momofthegoons]

A friendlier face for pot in Detroit
by Larry Gabriel December 06, 2017

Get ready for the new "QLine." And I'm not talking about a train along Woodward.

I'm referring to the current endeavors of Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh, the former Fox 2 newswoman known as Q.

Sarfoh has used cannabis to treat the symptoms of her multiple sclerosis for some years, and since retiring from TV news she has become a spokesperson for some pro cannabis groups. She supports the MI Legalize effort and plans to speak at the 2018 Ann Arbor Hash Bash, but says she turned down the opportunity to speak for Proposals A and B because she only agreed with some of their provisions. (They passed.)

Last week, in the midst of denying permits to six other facilities, the Board of Zoning Appeals granted the request of one applicant located in the Corktown area. It may have helped that Q is one of the owners and spoke on its behalf along with a number of patients, as well as former Deputy Mayor and Chief of Police Isaiah McKinnon. Even the Corktown Business Association is on board. Q spent time obtaining signatures in the community and drumming up support from local groups. She was prepared.

It also helped that the location is compliant with all of the strict city zoning codes set up in 2016. In fact, marijuana fighter Winifred Blackmon and a couple of his associates who showed up at the hearing to speak against any zoning appeals didn't have much fodder on this one. Other places were denied permits because they were closer than the required 1,000 feet from liquor stores, and one place was denied because it is 990 feet (as the crow flies) from a park. Regarding Q's location, Blackmon wrote in an email to supporters, "This proposed location was not in violation of any 1,000-foot spacing but is near the new site of the PAL's facility at Michigan and Trumbull. My opposition was that young children would see this facility if their parents drove home north on Rosa Parks."


Neither Blackmon nor the few others from his group who showed up at the hearing live in the neighborhood.

"I thought it was advantageous to be seen from the highway," says Sarfoh. "It's a good way to keep excess traffic out of the neighborhood."

So now Q and her business partners are in business in Detroit. The Qs (if I may be so bold as to call them that) intend to apply for licenses to grow, process, and sell marijuana when the state guidelines are released this month.

"We want to grow our own flowers, and make our own edibles and concentrates," says Sarfoh.

‘Cannabis is food. When you’re dealing with chronic illness, cannabis should be just one component of that. You need a more balanced diet.’click to tweet
The Qs have already lined up a growing location in Warren and intend to have a dispensary named BotaniQ at the Rosa Parks location. Sarfoh envisions a place like none other in Detroit.

"We want to help people incorporate cannabis into a more healthy lifestyle," Sarfoh explains.

To that end Sarfoh has lined up participation with doctors, cooks, and other health experts.

"Cannabis is food," says Sarfoh. "When you're dealing with chronic illness, cannabis should be just one component of that. You need a more balanced, plant-based diet."

In other words, let's face it — all the sugar in those brownies aren't doing you any good.

To that end another stop on the Q cannabis line is the array of edibles she is developing — from gummies to granola bars. They will be marketed under the BaQed nametag.

"They're going to be delicious and rich," she says. "But they're going to be more natural, minimally processed items. I'm narrowing down my products and finalizing my packaging."

Sarfoh hopes BotaniQ will be able to open its doors in April and expects to have BaQed products there too.

Could Q become the friendly face of cannabis in Detroit? Will we see her face on billboards encouraging us to get BaQed?

"I don't know if I will put my image on advertising," she says. "My husband has floated the idea."

But all kidding aside, as a medical marijuana patient Sarfoh seems sincere in trying to help other patients develop healthier lifestyles.

"Since my retirement when I told people what I was doing to treat my illness, people with all sorts of illnesses have reached out to me," she says. "They've told me, 'My doctor says I should try this but I don't want to get high.' We've talked about their options. I've helped people get high for the first time."

This is the softer, friendlier face of cannabis. We've seen plenty of the ugly. Maybe it's time to get a little balance here.

Since Proposals A and B passed nobody really knows what is going on with dispensaries in Detroit. And nobody from the city has come out to clarify the situation.

All that huffing and puffing and screaming "I'll sue you" that came from the Planning Commission and City Council is just that — a lot of chest thumping.

Winifred Blackmon sent a revealing little note out to supporters a day after the BZA hearings.

"I had an [in-depth] conversation with Councilperson Tate today while I was at BZA," Blackmon wrote. "Duggan is not going to let the law department file suit based on the Michigan Enable Zoning Act. There will have to be a citizen's lawsuit to have it in court.""

If this little nugget is true, then there will be no city lawsuit against the proposals. So the city needs to get busy reconciling a lot of things, although folks there should wait until state rules come out before writing anything in stone.

But nobody knows what is what. For instance, according to Proposal B the dispensary that is 990 feet from a park is in compliance with the law. But which law is being applied? Does a place that was denied licensing based on a distance that is no longer illegal get to appeal again?

Also, Proposal A opts the city in with the state medical marijuana system. The state system — with growers, testing facilities, and dispensaries — is a next-step system of distribution from the original Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008. It says that licensed entities can sell marijuana to patients who are not the patient's specific caregiver. The Detroit ordinance is very strictly tied to the caregiver system wherein the only marijuana transfers allowed are between patients and caregivers.

There is a big difference. The state is going one way, and Detroit isn't.

Now that it seems the immediate trauma of having the rug pulled from under you is over, the city needs to get busy reconciling things. There are plenty of empty buildings in Detroit, but Warren is the place that has stepped up when it comes to setting up permits for growing facilities. The state will allow them but the city needs to accommodate how they are run.