This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on April 4, 2011.
Guns. To some, they represent safety and security. To others, they represent pure unbridled power. While there will always be vigorous discussion on the proper role of these weapons in a society that holds dear both civil liberties and the right to bear arms, there is little debate that they have no place in a doctor/ patient relationship. Sick people who, on the advice of their physicians, are seeking out medication should not have to fear police raids and SWAT teams as part of the process. Yet, police departments throughout the State of Michigan think this sort of harassment is a necessary ingredient to ensure the state’s medicinal marijuana initiative is properly implemented.
The relationship between a doctor and a patient is one that has always demanded special protection. American jurisprudence holds that bond between physician and his/her charges is one that is so sacred that even the legal system cannot breach it. Even opponents in the contentious health care debate during the last two years have agreed that government should not intrude on a doctor’s ability to decide what is best for a given patient. Sadly, this cornerstone of American society has been lost on many of Michigan‘s law enforcement agencies as they feel they are better than medical practitioners in determining the best course of treatment for the state’s chronically ill.
While we can certainly sympathize with the fact that Michigan’s medical marijuana initiative lacks clarity, this does not give police permission to interfere with a sick individual’s right to obtain needed medication. In an ideal world, legislators or the Michigan Department of Community Health would have outlined exactly what is and is not permissible under the ordinance. Unfortunately, after two and a half years, this has not occurred. Does this administrative incompetence give local law enforcement the right to insert itself in the middle of the doctor/patient relationship? We think not. We actually fear such actions might make communities less safe as they may have the untended consequence of forcing the chronically ill to obtain their medication via underground sources.
We suggest a better alternative is for caregivers, growers, dispensary owners, patients, government agencies, politicians and other players to sit down together and hammer out what the initiative does and does not permit. A lot of unnecessary angst for all parties could be eliminated through this one simple step. Arresting patients and seizing the supply of needed medicine and property accomplishes nothing.
The Medical Marijuana Dispensary Association (MMDA), a collection of dispensaries and caregiving operations in Michigan, hopes to start that dialogue through their soon to be released white paper that was commissioned to most accurately describe the medical marijuana market in Michigan, explain conflicts with the current system and help to provide a framework that will aid decison makers in the State.