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Can Police Use A ‘Borrowed’ Marijuana Card?


bobandtorey

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PORT HURON- Pretending to be a medical marijuana patient just got a lot easier for undercover narcotics officers in Michigan. A case from Port Huron features a unique twist; police just “borrowed” a medical marijuana card from a friend and made a marijuana purchase.

Or did the St. Clair County Sheriff’s undercover officer take the card out of the evidence file from another case? A hearing on Monday will reveal the details- and if the ill-gotten card will be allowed to remain a part of the case against Don and Diane Ferguson.

 

WHY USE A FAKE CARD ANYWAY?

Police pretend to be legitimate patients to trick- lawyers say, entrap- licensed and registered medical marijuana caregivers into transferring marijuana to someone they believe is sick for the purpose of alleviating their illness and symptoms. The trickery is mandatory, because the caregivers are not like drug dealers; these registered medical marijuana providers are so strict with their policies that, without proof that you are a patient, you won’t get anything from them.

“If people are so selective as to refuse to transfer marijuana to anyone not enrolled in the medical marijuana program, aren’t they behaving in a responsible way?” asked Genesee County activist and local elected official Eric Gunnels. “Shouldn’t police focus that effort on the people that sell hard drugs and don’t care who is buying it?”

Over the last five years police in Michigan have reportedly created their own fake medical marijuana cards, they have altered legally-obtained cards and they have lied to doctors and used false identities to have Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) issue bogus medical marijuana identification cards straight from the government press.

“A classic tale of wasted resources. Police spending the time and effort to entrap people who are selective and compassionate and demonstrably not posing a risk to the health and safety of the community,” observed Jamie Lowell of the Michigan chapter of Americans for Safe Access and Ypsilanti’s 3rd Coast Compassion.

“To create crimes by using another person’s card falsely is the opposite of what the voters intended when they passed the MMMA,” stated Southfield attorney Michael Komorn. Regarding patients and caregivers trapped by law enforcement over the years through the use of the misrepresentation of identity, he said, “This is a category of individual that is so different than those the law was intended to punish.”

 

THE ‘JOE  CARD’

In the Ferguson case, the undercover officer convinced Don Ferguson that he was a patient. After marijuana was allegedly transferred Don was arrested and search warrants were issued for his home, where Diane lay sleeping. It was the fraudulent representation of that card by the undercover that created Don’s belief in the legality of his alleged actions.

“(The undercover officer) has been on the stand testifying about the card twice,” said Diane Ferguson, in an exclusive interview with The Compassion Chronicles. The card was issued to a person whose first name is Joe, and the questionably-obtained card has been referred to as the ‘Joe card’ by the defendants.

“On the stand all he would say was, I borrowed it from a friend,” Diane said.  “He admitted twice on the stand that he used this card.”

The name on the card seems to match the name of a person who was ensnared in a drug raid executed by the same Sheriff’s office earlier that month. That case is being argued by Komorn.

“The St. Clair County Sheriff Deputy has been using this ‘Joe card’ to ensnare other patients and caregivers into doing transactions,” Komorn said.

“I think it’s fair to say that, if the undercover officer and the raid victim were “friends,” as he has indicated in court proceedings, their relationship may be hitting a rocky point just about now,” attorney Jeff Frazier observed.

 

PTSD AND PENDING COURT PROCEDURES

According to the Fergusons, the St. Clair Prosecutor’s Office sent a notice of in limne procedure for Monday to remove the use of the card from the court proceedings. The court has scheduled jury selection proceedings in the criminal case against the Fergusons for Tuesday, January 6th.

Having the questionable card removed from the evidence in the Ferguson case may halt the inquiries into how it was obtained and if its use in this manner is lawful, but Komorn questions this “manipulation of evidence.”

In an odd twist, Ann Arbor attorney Jim Wines informed the Fergusons that he intends to withdraw from the case over a money issue and that request may be brought before Judge Michael West during one of the two court dates.

Regardless of the decisions Judge West and the potential jury may arrive at, punishment has already been dealt to the Fergusons. They are selling everything precious to them to cover attorney’s fees, including a treasured motorcycle and a Ford truck.

Beyond the financial, the sting of being raided hits home even before charges are brought. Diane Ferguson told TCC that her opinion of law enforcement has been forever altered- and not for the better.

“I have had the police help me so much through my lifetime. I always trusted them before. Never again.”

Attorney Komorn has heard this many times from defendants. “The fears, the emotions, seeing your house ripped apart. These are images that will never go out of someone’s mind.”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is caused by shocking, traumatic events in one’s lifetime that leave them mentally scarred and physically responsive to situations of a similar nature. Diane Ferguson has all the classic symptoms of the ailment.

“Every night when it gets dark I get shaking attacks,” Ferguson said. “They busted in my house in the dark. They busted in with guns. They busted up the house right in front of me. ”

Her voice shook as she said, “How can you live with this every day, and still trust them? You can’t.”

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As a rule in being a caregiver I regularly call Lansing and verify each card is still valid and legit if one of my patients has a valid card mailed to my PO box with the approval letter exactly how can this be considered any type of illegal activity providing them medicine ?

 

Im not the doctor who gave them their recommendation nor do I have enough medical knowledge to determain if they need to use cannabis for their ailments and they posses a valid card processed and approved by LARA and sent to me their new caregiver I fail to see as long as you don't give them more than 2.5 ounces at any given time how the caregiver is breaking the law.

 

Bottom line is do not work outside of the patients assigned to you via the registry even if they are in possession of a medical marijuana card .

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same old story,, pigs is pigs.. dont ever forget it..

 

There issue is that she/he sold to someone that wasn't connected thru the registry directly to them as a patient, and the apparent common use of a fraudulent card to entrap CG's.. IMHO.. 

Edited by Willy
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Wow, he must've sold the cop a lot or is known for selling outside his own patient group. I'm curious about the details on that, it's hard to imagine LEO going through all that trouble for a one or two ounce controlled purchase. Coming from Wisconsin, a non legal state, you need pounds to get set up usually, they have more problems with coke/meth/heroin.

However they obviously busted some "Joe" and convinced his dumb donkey that if he helps them they'll let him off the hook or whatever. I'm used to hearing how they send "Joe" in for the buy with photocopied money, not marked like the movies but Xerox of serial numbers, and then they come in 5 minutes after "Joe" leaves and game over. The fact the cop did the buy himself creeps me out personally.

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Wow, he must've sold the cop a lot or is known for selling outside his own patient group. I'm curious about the details on that, it's hard to imagine LEO going through all that trouble for a one or two ounce controlled purchase. Coming from Wisconsin, a non legal state, you need pounds to get set up usually, they have more problems with coke/meth/heroin.

However they obviously busted some "Joe" and convinced his dumb donkey that if he helps them they'll let him off the hook or whatever. I'm used to hearing how they send "Joe" in for the buy with photocopied money, not marked like the movies but Xerox of serial numbers, and then they come in 5 minutes after "Joe" leaves and game over. The fact the cop did the buy himself creeps me out personally.

Or they are just out to get him because of a totally unrelated problem. They are always looking for an 'in' when they can't get you for something they think you got away with. 

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If a dispensary is doing it correctly - and every one that I've been to has done so - they're going to check the name, address & dob on the mmmp card against a driver's license or state id. So it isn't enough to simply "borrow" a card from a patient with the same name. Of course, using forged documents is another matter altogether.

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If a dispensary is doing it correctly - and every one that I've been to has done so - they're going to check the name, address & dob on the mmmp card against a driver's license or state id. So it isn't enough to simply "borrow" a card from a patient with the same name. Of course, using forged documents is another matter altogether.

Dispensary 'doing it correctly'?  LOL Seriously, most cops with cards have the drivers license to back it up. I've seen seven of them so far. 

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As a rule in being a caregiver I regularly call Lansing and verify each card is still valid and legit

 

 

 

you call lara and lara verifies a card is active? over the phone?

 

if so, lara is breaking the law.

 

 

 

(3) The department shall verify to law enforcement personnel whether a registry identification card is valid, without disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary to verify the authenticity of the registry identification card.
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Borrowing a card would be illegal for the cop to do?  It'd be like using fake ID.  So cops can impersonate us but it's a federal offense to impersonate a cop?  What a load of bunny muffin.  We are not living under the constitution.  American citizens are the ENEMY?

I don't think they can use a card like that. Having said that, you have to expect them to try and uphold the constitution by stopping blatant rule breakers, right out in public, running a store that's main purpose is to break rules set up by the legislators and defined by the highest court. 

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thats crazy if they think they can surpress the use of the card in that case.

 

it is evidence in the case, its a part of the case.

 

its like if the cops borrowed a prescription, took it to the drug store, got it filled, then arrested the pharmacist for dispensing to the wrong person, then tried to have the prescription paper sealed from evidence.

 

komorn has a fight on its hands with this one!

Edited by t-pain
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This would only work for the cardholder, either the patient or the caregiver.

 

you mean, only a patient could call about his caregiver, likewise a caregiver could only call about his connected patient?

ok, that makes more sense.

 

the way i was thinking is that you could call on any card presented to you in the guise of seeing if it were valid before sending in a change form?

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I don't think they can use a card like that. Having said that, you have to expect them to try and uphold the constitution by stopping blatant rule breakers, right out in public, running a store that's main purpose is to break rules set up by the legislators and defined by the highest court. 

Unless of course they have compassion, since those stores are serving sick people.  When you allow sick people to buy from anyone and then use those cards to bust people you are breaking the integrity of the law.

  What good does being able to buy from anyone do if no one will sell to you unless it's your caregiver?

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I don't think they can use a card like that. Having said that, you have to expect them to try and uphold the constitution by stopping blatant rule breakers, right out in public, running a store that's main purpose is to break rules set up by the legislators and defined by the highest court.

As much as I hate agreeing to this its spot on regardless of compassion for other sick patients and those with no easy access the law is what it is at the current moment .

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Dispensary 'doing it correctly'?  LOL Seriously, most cops with cards have the drivers license to back it up. I've seen seven of them so far. 

 

Not sure what you mean. Are you actually saying that you've seen seven cases of cops with both "borrowed" (or forged) cards and licenses that match?  Seriously??

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Borrowing a card would be illegal for the cop to do?  It'd be like using fake ID.  So cops can impersonate us but it's a federal offense to impersonate a cop?  What a load of bunny muffin.  We are not living under the constitution.  American citizens are the ENEMY?

Yes we our 

 

Some days i feel like the Law is working Great and theirs only a few of the sick getting arrested i do know these people ( nice people ) did they know it wasn't legal to sell cannabis to just anyone ? I do not know but  they where following the Law as they knew it to be i guess 

 

But Leo has been out of hand using fake cards right off the bat back in 2009 imho i think everyone knows that if you are a patient or caregiver even if you just got a card ? 

 

i will post somethings about the case when i get back if they say it's OK to do so

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Yes of course

 

I will apologize if credible evidence is supplied to the contrary, but for now I say BS.

 

(Clarification: BS that cops use matching fake cards & licenses to bust an otherwise legit transaction under current MMMP laws.)

Edited by zachw
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