“The team at the MRA has always been committed to transparency and forward thinking and this was once again the case regarding delta-8.”
- MRA Director Andrew Brisbo
Submitting a Freedom of Information Act request is rather simple. It is something any one of us can do, as long as we have patience, and of course, money. The MM Reports recent FOIA release is an effort on our part to pull back the veil on what is essentially a tiny cult-like group of lobbyists, lawyers, and lawmakers who manipulate the marijuana industry here in Michigan to their benefit using misinformation and lies. Tim Beck’s excellent, and fair, assessment of the correspondence provided by the MRA (available for all to see on our website) does a wonderful job of explaining the underhanded process that took place to regulate Delta 8 in our state. I, however, prefer a more bare knuckles summary.
It is a fact that the idea that delta 8 was harmful or dangerous to the people of Michigan in any way was, and is, a complete lie. The powers that be had to dig, hunt, ask without success, and finally settle on a couple maybe incidents from other states. There were no problems with it here in Michigan, the state in which they are regulating. The only problem was they were not in control of it. Not the ones making all the money from the sale of delta 8. Andrew Brisbo and the “Stakeholders” spread misinformation about delta 8 in order to get their way. That is not a government for the people by the people. That is a gang of elitist liars using their positions to steal from the people and control what should be a free market with nothing but false safety rhetoric based on non-evidence.
Unsafe is the latest version of sin. Rather than manipulating information, making up lies, controlling narratives, and taking rights and products from the people because they are “sinful”, the powers that be now claim these things to be “harmful” or “unsafe”. Same playbook, same manipulation, new lie. A lie for a godless modern era where math magic and data manipulation masquerade as the new religion of ‘science’. A religion that demands faith, uses censorship, and oppresses anyone who disagrees. Same as the old religions.
Fighting those in power who sit behind closed doors spreading falsehoods in order to control the populace is an age old issue, but at least we have a way to try and find the truth. While the FOIA process has its flaws (for example, you will never know what they say in phone conversations or in-person meetings) it is a great tool for peeling back the curtain, even if just a little.
It begins at a typically ridiculous and impossible to remember government URL full of strings of characters:
Creating an account on that page will allow the user to submit a request for information. The next step is determining exactly what you want to know and how to word your request, including the method by which you wish to receive the information. For example, in the case of the Delta 8 FOIA our request read as follows:
“Hello, we would like to make a formal FOIA request. We would like all communications between the MRA and legislators and industry stakeholders in regards to moving Delta-8 into the regulated system. Electronic copies will suffice, but I would also like any communications between the MRA and legislators and industry stakeholders in regards to moving Delta-8 into the regulated system that were not electronic communications. To clarify, by ‘in regards to moving Delta-8 to the regulated system’ I mean communications between the MRA and legislators, and the MRA and any industry stakeholders, that lead to the decision to include Delta-8 in the regulatory system. To further clarify, by ‘stakeholder’ I mean the same individuals and groups that Director Andrew Brisbo is referring to when referencing the MRA having worked with legislators and industry stakeholders when moving Delta-8 THC into the MRA regulatory system.”
From there the waiting game begins. How long you will have to wait seems to depend in part on the information you seek, and whether or not you are a mainstream media source, such as MLive. Our initial request was filed on August 17, we did not receive a response until September 8. Whereas MLive was able to fully complete a FOIA request in December regarding the Viridis mold test conspiracy, receiving the information in less time than our initial response. But I digress, the point here is to plan ahead. They may have to give you the info, but they do not have to be timely.
The first response will include an estimated cost for your request. A “good faith” deposit of half the total fees will be required in order for the process to even begin. That is correct, a “good faith” deposit paid to a den of liars in order to make them reveal the truth.
This fee varies greatly, but expect to pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Freedom of information is not free, there is a paywall. Labor costs involved in searching and compiling the information, as well as labor costs for the removal of any information they deem exempt (there is a laundry list of exemptions), will be charged to the requestor. If you are an individual and can not afford your request, it may be a good idea to contact organizations who might be interested in the information themselves, such as activist groups or the press, or perhaps pooling your money together with other concerned citizens could work. Do not let their paywall discourage your quest for truth, there is always a way.
Round two of the waiting game begins once the deposit has been paid. In time you will receive notification that your information request is complete, or that the agency needs more time to gather the information. Once the request is finished you will be required to pay the remainder of the fees, which could increase beyond the initial estimate, before they will finally release the files.
Finding out what goes on behind closed doors is possible, and hopefully, armed with the knowledge of how easy a Freedom of Information Act request really is, more people and organizations will FOIA the MRA. The people of Michigan clearly can not trust the false words and sentiments of manipulators like Brisbo and his stakeholders, who speak of commitments to transparency while spreading misinformation from the shadows. False narratives, like delta 8 being harmful, which result in the theft of profits and rights from the people at large, placing them in the hands of the few.
We have the power to force true transparency on the MRA, so let’s use it.
