[420 Girl]

Approximately 6,000 people in Michigan are using or growing medical marijuana since the program began in April.

As of Oct. 1, Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Act received 7,060 applications since April 6, and 925 were denied, leaving a success rate of 88.4 percent, said James McCurtis, Michigan Department of Community Health public information officer. He said denied applications were for typical reasons, such as insufficient medical need.On average, the MDCH receives 59 applications daily, McCurtis said, and the number of applications seem to increase as the program continues.

No major problems

The MDCH has not seen any major problems in relation to marijuana laws. “There’s a lot of grey areas, but we don’t (deal with them),” McCurtis said.

The city of Mount Pleasant follows all rules enacted by the act, said Director of Public Safety Anthony Gomez-Mesquita. The city makes initial inquiries into the situation as it would with any other controlled substance, he said. A couple of city residents have came in to alert the department of their marijuana cards, which is very helpful, he said. The city has not had any problems with the act and few cases have come to the department’s attention, Gomez-Mesquita said.

Michigan State Police Inspector Greg Zarotney said as police get used to new policies, the system moves better.“For the most part, it’s been pretty smooth,” he said. “It’s a learning process (and) the law’s the law.”

Problems for participants

Matthew Abel, a Detroit criminal defense attorney specializing in marijuana cases and Central Michigan University alumnus, said there are problems for those in the program. He sees cases where patients or caregivers are prosecuted before the police look into the person’s rights under the act.

“(The police) start foaming at the mouth,” Abel said.

In one of Abel’s cases, the police did not look into the person’s medical marijuana card, subpoenaed his utility bills and did a flyover on his home with a thermal imaging helicopter. Abel successfully won the case in court. “Talk about a waste of time and money,” he said.

In order to participate in the medicinal marijuana program, patients must have a “debilitating medical condition,” according to the act. Diseases include cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, HIV and AIDS. Patients and caregivers are not allowed to possess more than 2.5 usable ounces of marijuana and more than 12 plants. The plants must be in a secure and locked facility.

In the future, Abel said he would like to see quality control in regards to medicinal marijuana. “The biggest complaint I hear is the distribution system,” Abel said. “Right now, it is still very much like the black market.”

Abel said it would be useful to create dispensaries such as in California, so patients can have more control and choice over what they purchase.


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