This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on February 28, 2013.
While HB 4271, the dispensary bill, introduced by Michigan House Republican Mike Callton sounds great, does it actually help patients or rather help to limit the sale of the medicine?
Currently the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act works great and allows for dispensary operations.
Given the State’s resistance to any acknowledgement of the medicine, our politicians lack of courage on the issue, and the obvious lawsuits that restrictive and unconstitutional legislation like HB 4271 always brings, it is highly unlikely HB 4271 will pass both houses and Governor Snyder’s approval. Not to mention, similar bills introduced in other medical marijuana State’s went no where, perhaps they too were unconstitutional.
HB 4271 is insulting to patients. It gives the power to city officials to say “yes or no” to the sale of the medicine. Voters did this already in 2008 when the majority of Michiganders signed off on the legality of marijuana as medicine.
Let’s guess what cities would say yes and what cities say nay.
The bills chief architect Rep. Mike Callton (R) states that all dispensaries should pass the “grandma test”, meaning would you want your grandma to go in the dispensary? This sounds great, but Mike you are now limiting my grandma’s access to the medicine, limiting it to areas where my grandma nor I feel very safe. I would be less concerned about the cleanliness of the facility if Grandma was to get mugged in the parking lot.
This legislation is not good for patients, their access or their current rights afforded by the voters. We have a medical marijuana law in place, a law that works, a law that allows for sale of marijuana as affirmed by the Michigan Appeals and Supreme Courts. We need to work harder defending the Act and expanding upon it than further restricting it with goofball legislation that will go nowhere. At least that is how I see things.
Dan
[box ]View the proposed bill here >>[/box]
This legislation is trash.
If they just leave things like they are then no one has problems. It is scarey for caregivers and dispinsery owners right now but it is still not legal federally. So I think we should leave things alone and agree with Dan that this bill is nonsense that will not go anywhere. Called my legislators to tell them exactly what you wrote here weeks ago. VOTE NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow….I don’t think your review of HB4271 and our current status could be any more wrong….1st you state that dispensaries are operating fine in Michigan, where have you been? The AG has mounted an all out assault on dispensaries since the MSC decision re McQueen which has made it so your grandma can only get her med from her caregiver and no one else. Read the syllabus re docket No. 143824 and then tell the truth. If they leave things the way they are, the MMMA is all but dead and we are all subject to arrest and prosecution. The AG wins!
Only the strong shall survive. The AG is attacking the weak. When the bill does not pass what will you do then? Stand up for your rights. BTW my dispensary is still open and many I know are still open with no worries.
Tom D
The SC did not say that dispensaries were OK no where in that opinion did it say that.It actually said just the opposite. But I will have to agree with some of you say..
With 4271 there will be lots of areas of this state that will not have access. If city counsels have to approve them they will not exist in many areas here on the west side of the state. Rural areas will not have them as there would not be enough money with a small percentage of patients to keep the lights on. What happens to the patients who don’t have a provisioning center in their area? This was not a problem before the SC cut off access from other caregivers. I know the patient still has section 4 defense they always do. But the caregiver does not so it is risky for us to help patients or other caregivers who we are not connected to. Even if its defensible in court under section 8 of the law you still get arrested and have to go to court. For this law to be truly helpful it needs this added ALL transfers that take place between ANY patient or caregiver IS protected. This bill will give them the right to regulate it in the retail setting but let the ones helping patients in private stay out of the courts and that’s what this law was all about.
The cool aid is easier to swallow than the truth. Lets stop pushing the issues for a little while.
Tom you are one of the lucky ones. The AG has asked all prosecutors to close the dispensaries in their counties. Some have done what the AG asked and others told him to spend his own time and money closing shops and prosecuting in civil court those that don’t. 4271 will leave it up to municipalities to allow or not allow, I think that’s better than leaving it up to PA’s and the AG. No bill will be perfect, this one is not bad. Ask your state Rep to support this bill and get through as quickly as possible.
The AG and prosecutirs are asking operations where patients are selling to other patients. If you are a caregiver then it is not applicable and keep selling. No one like farmers markets or felons selling marijuana. Never did and never will. You are pushing law that hurts every one else to allow a few drug felons to own dispenseries or farmers markets. The voters and politicians want something like a cvs or walgreens. Society to and your prosecutor wants these to close as well. If you run a market change it to a dispensaey hire caregivers and if you are a felon get out of business
Are felon’s allow to work in the place that sells alcohol ? Can they be a bartender or waitress that serves drinks, if so why if they can not sell M.M. Surely a drug that you can overdose on should be control more tightly.
The alcohol companies learned with Prohibition never to get pushed around again. When I toured the Budweiser plant in St Louie they had a full display about prohibition and the repeal of it. They had how harmful it was, how people got ill from bad alcohol. They seem ready to declare war just about if prohibition talk ever happens again. They are now very powerful and so ready to defend their products. Look how many places you can buy Budweiser, even at baseball ballparks where kids are all around.
Yes, M.M is just getting started, maybe in 80 years time it become like alcohol. We need people to fight for the rights. Sadly we got drugs like Meth that gives all drugs a bad rap. How that came about during this so called war on drugs I have no idea.