[420 Girl]

Michigan - The department in charge of administering the state’s medical marijuana program has come out in opposition to a package of bills that would change the program adopted via ballot measure in 2008.

Under the current program, people with qualifying medical conditions can register with the state and receive authorization to possess and grow a limited amount of marijuana for personal use. Legislation taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week would change the public health code to reclassify medical marijuana as a schedule 2 controlled substance and require that it be dispensed exclusively by pharmacists.
The plan presents some legal problems, Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis said in an e-mailed statement detailing concerns about the legislation, “Marijuana is a schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law. States do not have the authority to reschedule controlled substances to a lower level.”

The Senate bills could also create unwelcome new responsibilities for MDCH, he said.

“Requiring physicians and pharmacies to prescribe and dispense marihuana would put their licenses at risk, something DCH would be in a position to have to discipline them for.”

McCurtis said that MDCH also opposes provisions that would require intensive regulation and expensive new permits for growers of medical marijuana, though he added, “We do recognize the problems with having more than 10,000 individual growers throughout the state that neither state or local government can regulate in any way.”

According to a blogged transcript of the hearing by Michigan Medical Marijuana Association director Greg Francisco, several medical marijuana users testified at the hearing and over 120 people attended.

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