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High Priority: Medical Marijuana, Patients Rights Debated At Capitol With Msp


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LANSING, Mich. – Medical marijuana can be a sticky issue when it comes to what’s legal and what’s not in the state. Thursday morning safe access for medical marijuana was the topic of a House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearing in Lansing.

Medical marijuana patients, caregivers, and their families lined the hearing room to give public testimony alongside the Michigan State Police. The committee debated two pending bills.

First House Bill 4209 proposes the Provisioning Center Regulation Act, which would essentially legalize dispensaries. The second, House Bill 4210, or the smoking-alternative medical marijuana bill, would expand the definition of legal “usable marijuana,” and include additional products like extract, plant resins, and oils.

Speaking at the hearing was the Powers Family. Ryan Powers is a kindergartener who is full of life; but not too long ago, this was not the case.

Ryan’s parents, Jim and Erin Powers, told FOX 17 News that Ryan has an auto-immune condition called minimal change disease, which used to cause him a lot of pain.

“He had pain in his legs: his top was very heavy, his legs were very small, so he couldn’t even run around after all the other kids,” said Erin Powers. “You’d see him waddling after them.”

Ryan takes a medical marijuana oil orally twice per day. The oil is high in cannabidiol, or CBD, which is a marijuana plant extract that has medical implications but does not get him high. His parents said Ryan was able to get off of a few prescriptions that were actually hurting his kidneys, and now he’s in remission.

“Once we were able to add cannabis oil to his treatment, he immediately came to long-term remission: before cannabis oil he maintained a remission of approximately 14 days, and today he’s been in remission for about 330,” said Jim Powers.

The Powers spoke to the benefits of medical marijuana in hopes of pushing the two bills into law, which the National Patient Rights Association spearheaded. Alongside them was the Michigan State Police.

“We have to be able to ensure that whatever the consumers are using, that it’s safe,” said Sgt. Amy Dehner, MSP legislative liaison.

An emotionally charged issue with many sides, Dehner said at this point, this is a complex issue and they are not taking a stance. However, Dehner did say once they address all concerns with consumer and food safety issues, then they will be a good position to move forward with the legislation.

“It’s not going to be solved overnight,” said Dehner. “Do I think there are solutions out there? Absolutely, but when you have an issue this complex, you have to make sure that you take your time, that you address what needs to be addressed.”

NPRA Legislative Liaison Robin Schneider said the organization is working to make medical marijuana patients’ rights a top priority in Michigan.

“Right now they can smoke [marijuana], but the real medicine, the capsules, the tinctures, the topical oils, those are the medications that are going to help somebody with cancer,” said Schneider. “Those are the medications that can go into a feeding tube. Those are the medications that will stop a child’s seizures.”

Meanwhile, Jim Powers said he wants to fight for his son’s access to the medication he believes works, and be protected under the law.

“This is all about protecting sick people, protecting families, keeping them safe from arrest, and making sure that they’re able to maintain custody of their children,” said Jim Powers.

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will continue its hearings on this potential medical marijuana legislation next week.

 

 

http://fox17online.com/2015/04/30/medical-marijuana-high-priority-to-patients-debated-at-capital-with-msp/

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Real medicine?  When I smoke it's not real medicine? 

If they want to protect patients, just stop arresting people for MJ.  Every supplier of MJ has patients in their repertiore. How can you protect patients if they can legally buy from anyone but the cops use cards and take away access by arresting the people supplying MJ to patients.  I thought the law had to be interpretted to make sense?  How does it make sense to say that MJ patients can get from anywhere legally but cops use the same law and credentials to bust people?  Fukking unreal.  I hate "laws".  It's all double talk to interpret in a way to jail the people the law is supposed to protect.  Fuk laws, why not try to install compassion for the people you are supposed to protect?  Laws have turned into a legal way to enslave the people they were meant to protect and drain the wealth from the american economy while giving all teh wealth to the ones in power.

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Real medicine?  When I smoke it's not real medicine? 

If they want to protect patients, just stop arresting people for MJ.  Every supplier of MJ has patients in their repertiore. How can you protect patients if they can legally buy from anyone but the cops use cards and take away access by arresting the people supplying MJ to patients.  I thought the law had to be interpretted to make sense?  How does it make sense to say that MJ patients can get from anywhere legally but cops use the same law and credentials to bust people?  Fukking unreal.  I hate "laws".  It's all double talk to interpret in a way to jail the people the law is supposed to protect.  Fuk laws, why not try to install compassion for the people you are supposed to protect?  Laws have turned into a legal way to enslave the people they were meant to protect and drain the wealth from the american economy while giving all teh wealth to the ones in power.

 

Thanks

 

All they want is More Bars ,Walls, and Guards .

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After failing to gain enough support at the end of last year, a pair of bills aimed at clarifying and updating Michigan's medical marijuana law are back and creeping forward in the Legislature.

House Bills 4209 and 4210 mirror proposals introduced in 2013. If they become law, the bills would legalize and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and allow for "medibles," marijuana products that are edible and used by many who can't or prefer not to smoke the drug.

The bills were discussed Thursday morning in a state House Judiciary Committee meeting in Lansing. State House Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, is a member of the committee and said afterward the Legislature should be careful in crafting any new medical marijuana policies.

"I'm very critical of medical marijuana," Cole said. "I have concerns with how and why it's being used."

Cole, who represents a district that includes Charlevoix and Otsego counties, said the risks to public safety have to be weighed against the therapeutic benefits marijuana provides to patients.

"I'm not disputing that there are medicinal qualities in the cannabinoids, however I have a lot of hesitation with the way that they're currently produced and distributed and how dosages are laid out," he said.

Approved by voters in 2008, Michigan's medical marijuana law allows card-holding patients to avoid facing arrest, prosecution or other penalties for possessing marijuana for a medical purpose. State law limits the amount a patient or caregiver may possess at any one time to 2.5 ounces and also restricts the number of plants that may be cultivated, but it is silent on the topics of dispensaries and edible products.

In the years after the law was passed, dispensaries were widespread throughout the state and edible marijuana products were widely available, too. But separate Michigan Supreme Court rulings in 2013 made dispensaries and any "medibles" illegal. The state's attorney general told local county prosecutors at that point dispensaries may be shut down.

Lawmakers soon after began working on changes to ensure safe and proper access to medical marijuana for all patients.

"We're not here to sell you on medicinal marijuana," said state Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, R-Alto, who is sponsoring the medibles bill. "We're here because the voters spoke years ago on allowing medicinal marijuana for patients and what we have, what this has created, are some issues that need to be addressed legally."

David Kelly, a section commander with the Michigan State Police in the narcotics investigation unit, said during Thursday's hearing production of non-smokable marijuana products is dangerous, especially in a residential setting where it has led to numerous explosions in recent years.

Kelly described an emerging process through which the drug is reduced down into an oil that requires butane and has led to a number of reported explosions inside homes in recent years.

Cole said all law enforcement officers he has talked to oppose medical marijuana because they don't know how to police it and are concerned about the criminal element tied to it.

"It is a nightmare from a law enforcement standpoint," he said.

Before deciding how to vote on the bills, Cole said he will seek out opinions from growers, patients, law enforcement officials and other members of his district.

The dispensary legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, refers to dispensaries as medical marijuana provisioning centers and allows municipalities to enact additional zoning restrictions on them, as well as place a cap on the number that may exist within their borders.

 

http://www.petoskeynews.com/featured-pnr/cole-medical-marijuana-a-nightmare-for-law-enforcement/article_ba8957ce-ef33-53f0-bd82-702f79740e68.html

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