Supporters In County Courthouse For Medical Marijuana Case

[bobandtorey]

ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN- Michigan’s medical marijuana community showed strong support for a defendant in the tiny west Michigan town of St. Joseph by bringing 60 people to the Berrien County Courthouse on April 25.

 

 

The effort was organized by the Michigan chapters of The Human Solution, a national organization that supports those imprisoned for marijuana crimes and those trapped in the judicial system for similar offenses. The case being heard involved Jeffrey Miller, accused of transferring medical marijuana to an undercover officer posing as a sick person with a real medical marijuana card.

 

The case was originally ruled on using the Van Sickle legal ruling, which has since been overturned. Attorney Daniel Grow argued that the ruling had to be revisited because of the reliance on bad law; the judge refused to reconsider the issue. He imposed new requirements on the caregiver, per recent court rulings in Tuttle and Hartwick, indicating that since the police officer had lied to the doctor in order to obtain his medical marijuana card through fraud that all transactions performed with the fake patient were illegal in nature.

 

The case raises issues of entrapment and explores the limits of the government’s ability to lie and deceive its citizens in the blind pursuit of drug arrests. Although the decision in the case went against Mr. Miller, who will now stand trial for the transfer without the ability to mention his medical marijuana status to a jury, the showing of support in the court will be remembered for months and years to come.

 

 The Impact

The impact of that single day’s event went beyond the courtroom attendance record. People were shocked to hear the pot leaf-embellished Cannabus was taken through the heart of the county and was never pulled over or harassed by police. The people that saw the bus were inspired to talk about marijuana law reform. The pictures they took will float around in social media circles for years.  

 

Media is a big part of the effort to change minds. Cannabus owner and operator Stacey Theis appears on a pair of radio shows featured on Blogtalk Radio, an Internet radio station: she does a regular spot on ‘The Human Solution Live‘ show on Sundays and appears on ‘The Planet Green Trees Show‘ on Thursday evenings when court actions are pending in Michigan. During their April 27 broadcast, Theis told listeners of The Human Solution Show, “It was a packed courthouse. I’m out of (THS) ribbons again.” 

 

“60 people, wow,’” agreed national THS organizer Joe Grumbine. “That’s incredible.”

 

“It was another hard court support,” Theis added. “We had to listen to a judge not really say anything that had any value or any common sense to it as he justified police being able to manipulate people.”

 

“Those 60 people that came to court got to see what really happens, they got to experience it,” Grumbine observed.

 

Theis related an incident from the courtroom proceedings. “The (defense) lawyer really started making some good valid arguments on why we could reopen this case,” she said, “the judge decides to act like we are misbehaving. The judge stops the lawyer from finishing his good point, looks out into the crowd and decides to pick two people to kick out of the courtroom. He picked Steve Green and Rick Thompson.”

 

That revelation caught Grumbine and the on air staff off guard, bringing laughter and disbelief from the show participants. “That’s the two people that teach people how to behave in court,” Theis laughed. Green has fought marijuana charges and court battles on his own and as the father of Baby Bree; he’s also a founding member of Michigan’s The Human Solution initial chapter.

 

http://thecompassionchronicles.com/2014/04/27/60-supporters-in-county-courthouse-for-medical-marijuana-case/

[pic book]

nice to hear what's happening a world away out west

[t-pain]

everyone gets a sec8 hearing. no matter what CoA says in those two cases.

[GregS]

Fukheads anyhow.

[bobandtorey]

The world famous CannaBUS was parked in front of the Jackson County Courthouse on Monday to show support for Maria and Steve Green as they go to court once again. Since her return in October 2013, “Baby Bree” still has not had contact with her older brother. Supporters question the validity of Green’s supervised parenting reasons.

Brielle “Free Bree” Green was returned to her home on October 25, 2013 by Child Protective Services personnel. Now, six months later, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Susan Beebe still has not allowed Maria Green’s older son to return to her home. Court record shows that the reason for this is because the child needs time to reacquaint himself with his mother.

“My son was kept from me illegally in the first place," said Maria Green, 32. "I don’t understand why we need to be reacquainted. A kidnapped child doesn’t spend months getting reacquainted with his family when he’s been found.”

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act was passed with overwhelming 63 percent voter support statewide in 2008. Specific protections were written into that voter-initiated law to protect parents from being denied custody or visitation of children due to caregivers and/or patients status with the State. (MMMA: (4) © “A person shall not be denied custody or visitation of a minor for acting in accordance with this act, unless the person's behavior is such that it creates an unreasonable danger to the minor that can be clearly articulated and substantiated.”)

Green had initially filed for a change in custody in December 2012. After a history of alleged domestic abuse, the child’s father, Ronald Ferguson, 32, continues to use the court system and CPS as a way of retaliating against Green. Sixteen months later, the Greens said they still do not see an end in sight.

- See more at: http://hemp.org/news/content/michigan-activists-decry-discrimination-against-medical-marijuana-patients-and-caregivers#sthash.IqFQZJw8.dpuf