Lame Duck: WIll Michigan Cut Caregivers

 

Lame Duck: WIll Michigan Cut Caregivers

 by Ben Horner

Lame duck session is the period of time directly after elections that lasts until that legislative cycle ends and a new one begins. As reposted widely in mainstream media, the biggest concern regarding cannabis is the plummeting prices due to overproduction of pot in the licensed market and the so-called illegal one. This encourages the question: “I thought we freed the weed?”

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), as defined by the people’s enacted law of 2008, allows a caregiver to grow for up to five patients. A caregiver can also be a patient, which allows a caregiver to grow up to 72 plants. Over the years, the MMMA has been amended several times, often to make non-substantive changes. A recent example is HB 5512, which only changes bits of language in the law that comports with legislative legalese and changes nothing substantive about the law. It is politically difficult to amend an initiative such as the MMMA because to do so requires a three-quarter majority vote of both house legislatures in Michigan. However, some amendments have been made to the MMMA; some miniscule and some with significant impacts. Here we examine two examples that are noteworthy.  

HB 4851 of 2011 was approved December 14, 2012, in lame duck session

Also known as the Cavanagh bills, this package of bills was an attempt by the legislature to “clean up” what some conservatives believed was a poorly crafted MMMA. Four tie-barred bills focused on doing things like requiring that patients travel with their cannabis in a secured location such as a locked box in the trunk of a vehicle. The greatest modification was an amendment to the MMMA that changed the definition of a caregiver that made it a requirement of a caregiver to not have been convicted of any felonies for ten years. 

The second major rewrite was due to concerns of people being approved to use medical marijuana who were not legitimate patients, but were milled through the program by incompetent or unscrupulous physicians. Thus, language was added to the MMMA requiring a bona fide patient–doctor relationship to be established before a physician could rightly approve a patient for medical marijuana. Activist groups exchanged this for their granted request for a board to review new qualifying conditions for approval to the medical marijuana program. 

HB 4210 of 2015 was approved September 14, 2016 

Medical marijuana dispensaries and compassion clubs sprouted up across the state shortly after the vote to legalize medical marijuana. Some were private clubs, while others were storefronts. All were supplied entirely by medical marijuana caregivers. Rep. Mike Callton was the main sponsor, and after years of negotiations, and many fundraisers, passed the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act and the Marihuana Tracking Act. Tie-barred was an amendment to MMMA that created new definitions of marijuana-infused products made by patients and caregivers, and restricted how those products should be distributed: that is, only via “provisioning centers.” 

Butane extractions, used to make shatter and wax, was also banned in this package, due to significant concerns from several home explosions caused by making “dabs.” This did little to stop the practice, however. Enforcement has its challenges.

Case Law and Prosecutorial Discretions 

Even more impactful on caregivers has been how enforcement varies widely by different county prosecutors. The first major precedent of medical marijuana case law came in 2013 from an appeals court decision pertaining to patient-to-patient transfer of medical marijuana. The McQueen decision created a narrow interpretation of the MMMA, which disallowed the exchange of medical marijuana except when directly assisting a patient with their medical use of marijuana. This case law closed many dispensaries and compassion clubs around the state. 

The “four prongs of a Section 8 defense” was next, forcing patients and caregivers to prove four separate and rather subjective things regarding the validity of being a “real” medical marijuana patient in order to use a medical marijuana defense in court. Failure to convince a judge of these four points prevented juries from being told of a defendant’s status as a medical marijuana patient or caregiver licensed by the state. This gave prosecutors and judges large degrees of latitude to convict patients and caregivers. In some counties, such as Genesee and Washtenaw, the prosecutors largely refused to charge medical marijuana patients and caregivers. In most other counties, “bad apples” were made examples of, particularly in places like Oakland County. The term “Green Zones” was used to describe where caregivers, dispensaries, and compassion clubs were tolerated by local law enforcement, becoming safe havens for people to acquire their medicine.     

Considerations

For the last two years, since cannabis has become legal and more widely available in Michigan for all adults over the age of twenty-one, the number of medical marijuana patients and caregivers registered with the state has decreased. For almost ten years, caregivers supplied dispensaries with their products. Now the commercial growers produce more cannabis than the medical and recreational pot markets require. Thousands of pounds are destroyed yearly and the prices are still falling, panicking investors in the new cannabis industry. 

So far, enforcement against “illegal” caregivers and other home cultivation operations has been minimal, but the cannabis industry is lobbying to reduce the number of patients that a caregiver can grow for and asking the state to start going after caregivers that are growing for more than personal use and use by their patients.

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Biden’s Campaign Promises Kept or Blowing More Smoke?

 

Biden’s Campaign Promises Kept or Blowing More Smoke?

by Amy Wilding-Fox

Two years ago, our nation was facing a choice. A heated and contentious election cycle, Americans found themselves even more polarized than ever, choosing yet again who would be president for the next four years. The Republicans had their man in Trump, but the Democrats had to find the person who would run against the incumbent. 

Cannabis legislation and legalization had been gaining momentum the previous decade or so, but 2020 found cannabis issues to be front and center. With many states having legalized or decriminalized cannabis, several democrats on the debate stage vying for the nomination were asked their stance. Early on a question was asked by show of hand, who would support de-scheduling cannabis, in other words removing it from The Controlled Substance Act completely like cigarettes and alcohol. All prospective nominees raised their hand except for Joe Biden.

When asked why he was the only one who did not support the idea, Biden responded by saying that he supports the rescheduling (not de-scheduling) to a Schedule II Narcotic or lower, thus removing it as a Schedule I. In other words, Cannabis use would still be illegal at a federal level, but it is also shown to have medical purposes. As it stands, the Schedule I placement calls marijuana highly addictive with no medicinal purpose, lies created a century ago as Reefer Madness spread across the country. It would also open the flood gates of federal funding for testing cannabis for medicinal purposes. Along with the plan to reschedule, Biden also appealed to the cannabis vote and young vote at the time by promising to end federal prosecution and expunge previous offenders of simple possession. 

Two years later, Americans are finding themselves in a heated mid-term election. Yet again, the cannabis voters are being wooed by those yielding power or vying for their votes. From that perspective, it is not very surprising that now President Biden is mentioning his promises from the last presidential election and his plans to keep them. 

Exactly a month before the November Mid-terms, Biden announced that he is using his presidential powers granted to him by the US Constitution to pardon and expunge any Americans that have or have had simple possession charges at the federal level. From there, he urged all states and governors to follow suit, regardless of partisan lines. He stated that too many American lives have been negatively impacted by archaic marijuana laws, some of which he had previously helped to enact at the height of the War on Drugs, and this is one step in righting those who have been wronged by them. According to the White House, over six thousand people will be impacted by this decision. This does not include anyone found trafficking or those with other felony charges attached. 

Biden did not stop there. He then went on to discuss his fast tract plan to have cannabis rescheduled from a Schedule I to a Schedule II. While this does not make cannabis legal at the federal level, it is a crack in the door to the ultimate prize of removing marijuana completely from the Substance Abuse Act. He is asking the Department of Health and Human Service and the Attorney General to “initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” This announcement immediately prompted a bi partisan bill to re-schedule marijuana to regain its momentum in the Senate.

Some advocates feel that this step is not enough to fulfill the promises. They feel Biden is simply blowing smoke to win votes during this important mid-term election, yet this election will determine who will have control of the House and Senate for the remainder of Biden’s first four-year tenure.

The timing of his announcement is not by chance. The is a strategic play made by the democrats, there is no doubt. While it may be a plea to win votes, this announcement at the federal level is the grandest example yet of the change in basic assumptions revolving around cannabis use and cultivation. Cannabis use and its benefits are now spanning generations. Grandparents are now educating their grandchildren about the history of this fight to “legalize it”. All of whom are now at voting age.

 Instead of a counterculture once looked down upon, politicians see the opportunity in the numbers of those who are now a sub-culture. There is a new green thread that is now woven tightly within the fabric of the United States. Politicians can no longer ignore such a large population of voters.

Of course, Biden is taking this moment to seize the opportunity to remind voters that he is the first president to truly attempt to change federal laws surrounding marijuana. While previous administration on both sides have had opportunity to do so, the most that they did was tell their AGs not to prosecute or focus on marijuana crimes in states where laws had already been changed. 

While his plan is not perfect, this serves voters, in particular the cannabis vote, a reminder. Cannabis voters are no longer seen as “the lazy American.” There is a power in our multi-generational votes that we did not have just a couple of generations ago. Therefore, it is time to show them their changes in assumptions are correct. The Cannabis vote is not the lazy American vote, but a pro-active one. 

Cannabis voters need to be mindful and research where each candidate truly stands. It is no longer simply red or blue, but which candidates understand the power that the once demonized plant will have in reshaping our lives and world moving forward? Which candidates best understand not only the positive economic impact in selling weed for consumption, but the benefits cannabis legalization has on our environment as a renewable resource? Which candidates are going to fight to ensure the cannabis industry will be equitable and not benefit only those with the most dollars? 

These are just some of the questions that need to be asked when filling out ballots. Now more than ever it is important to be an educated voter. While presidential elections get the best turnouts, mid-terms truly affect your local municipalities and day-to-day lives of Americans more. The choices made this November across the country will determine just what will be accomplished in your hometown and nation. Will the door to federal change be opened, or at the very least cracked? Or when the smoke settles, will the nation remain stagnant because of bickering between partisan lines? 

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Clarkston Cares 2022 Wins Appeal

 

Clarkston Cares 2022 Wins Appeal

by Ben Horner 

A three-judge panel from the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the Oakland County Circuit decision to allow the question on medicinal marijuana to be on the ballot for the Village of Clarkston in November.

Advocate Clarkston Cares 2022 had gone through the necessary steps to get the question to amend the city charter to authorize and regulate marijuana “provisioning centers” on the ballot. Upon getting the wording approved, Clarkston Cares 2022 canvassed the city to attain the needed petition signatures. 

Having turned in the signatures forty-five days prior to the deadline, the petition was in the hands of the village clerk, Jennifer Speagle, to certify the signatures. Speagle argued that she was not given enough time to do the necessary steps to certify the signatures, among other steps that end at the governor’s desk for final approval, to get the question on the November ballot. 

Clarkston Cares 2022 responded to her argument stating that forty-five days gave Speagle enough time, and the county clerk simply chose to purposely procrastinate to keep the question off the ballot.

With the unanimous decision, the order takes immediate effect, thus allowing the people of Clarkston to vote in November on whether they will allow medical marijuana provisioning centers in their community. 

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Where Have All the Hippies Gone?

Where Have All the Hippies Gone?

by Amy Wilding-Fox

As a proud Gen Xer, second-generation activist, and fellow victim of the War on Drugs as I watched my mother held at gunpoint over possession of weed by multiple Flushing, Michigan, police in July 1988, like she was modern-day Ma Barker and given two years’ state time, my life’s mission has been to help end the negative Euro-American stigma attached to marijuana and its users. The ties run so deep in my connection to this fight that I was even conceived as a direct result of the War on Drugs (a longer story for another day, perhaps), and my dad, like so many of my generation’s dads, attributed marijuana to keeping him sane and alive while fighting in Vietnam.

Nestled between the boomers and millennials, our smaller-than-average generation had a unique perspective on cannabis. It was a tool for our boomer hippie parents to promote peace and self-care, yet still a teen rebellion act for us prior to the technological boom of the millennials where a camera is pointed toward your person at any given time. Therefore, for many like me, we seemed to innately take on the challenge that so many of the boomer legends began ahead of us to “Legalize It!” and “Free the Weed!” We were the 1980s-early 2000s counterculture of hippies, stoners, black sheep, geeks; but most of all “they” liked to label us “slackers,” mainly because of our love for Mary Jane. 

While on the outside it may have seemed as such, little did they know that we were busy internally carrying on the movement that would lead to the legalization of cannabis that we are seeing today. We were taking that baton handed to us and running with it. With anthems like “Hits from the Bong” and “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” we were networking in our own ways. Slowly the winds started to change, and medical states began to emerge beginning with California in 1996. Our home state of Michigan finally approved marijuana for medicinal use in 2008 and more have followed since, reaching nearly 75 percent of the country.

Part of what I like to think of as “the golden years” of legalization were the events that took place to protest the criminalization of a plant that grows freely and had so many promising uses beyond just getting high. Prior to legalization for medicinal use, there was common knowledge that there was some risk involved, yet we would meet by thousands at festivals, concerts, events, and protests at local state and national levels. We would smoke tons of weed. We truly felt that we were making the change we wanted to see, though by some it was still perceived as slacking.

Then, as we created the caregiver systems for patients who needed the medicinal benefits of cannabis, the events naturally morphed into even larger events where patients and caregivers could meet. Thousands of hippies would be in attendance. Patients had the luxury of finding their perfect caregiver who could grow the medicine best suited for them. The caregivers could survive because they had the patients to help offset costs to grow. The event sponsors would find even more consumers. It was a win-win for all involved. 

Next came the competitions. I can somewhat understand this concept because we had grown up idolizing the “High Times Cup” in Amsterdam, yet I never really participated. It was then this activist could see the greed creeping in. Local events turned grower against grower. Those little trophies would allow the grower to sell their products at the highest market price possible. Nepotism and cronyism prevailed. Which vendor donated the most as a sponsor became a prominent factor. The brotherhood and sisterhood we had built during those golden years began to dismantle themselves.

With the greed of the caregiver system setting in quietly like a cancer, Michigan pushed ahead with legalizing marijuana recreationally. While some still had the original goal to simply free the weed once and for all, the dark money that was piling up behind the initiative was really looking to capitalize on the greed and infighting of caregivers. Some of the same people who were involved in creating the caregiver policy Michigan has in place today are fighting to dismantle the caregiver program altogether. 

As licensed and even national brands have popped up in communities all over the state, the market has intentionally become flooded with less-expensive, mass-produced cannabis. Large commercial growers are offering pounds to recreational dispensaries at prices as low as $500 a pound to admittedly put the caregivers out of business. While some can argue quality, at a time when inflation is on the rise, cheap buds from licensed dispensaries are becoming more and more appealing than the craft cannabis of caregivers, even to the older generations like me and the boomers.

With these licensed dispensaries come actual state-sanctioned events full of big-name sponsors. Younger generations see the shiny new signs and packaging, and like moths to fire, they flock to the sanctioned events featuring celebrities and lots of free swag. That actual feeling of change and having purpose no longer seems to be needed. 

Over the weekend of August 26-27, Michigan Marijuana Report was invited to two simultaneously planned caregiver events, the 7th Annual Clio Cultivation Cup, in Clio, and Gems n Genetics in Morley. Both were beautifully organized with vendors offering products ranging from metaphysical crystals to some of the most sparkly buds you will see. Music filled the air as live bands played at each event. The smells from the food trucks wafted by just in time to kick in the munchies from the last joint smoked. Most importantly, plenty of marijuana was being smoked. 

There was one notable difference, it seemed, in both events. Attendance was at a low. “Where had all the hippies gone?” I thought. Gone are the shoulder-to-shoulder vibes from events of a decade ago. Don’t get me wrong. There was a decent turnout, but when compared to previous years or events we have attended, the count was just not there. Why could that be? 

Well, though by no means am I an expert, my best guess after discussing this with the staff, is that the biggest factor is simply “We won!” At least here in the state of Michigan we have. Though we got our wish to free the weed, we failed to foresee the commodity cannabis would become once that big, dark money started to roll in. Our market has become so saturated with mass-produced weed, events for caregivers and patients almost seem obsolete. 

When observing the attendees at the events, they were mainly the diehards. For those of us, like me, who fought for so many decades, it is saddening to see the shift. Yet in so many ways this shift was inevitable as the Cookies and Skymints moved in, just as Walmart killed so many local mom-and-pop stores.

Where will this leave the locally sponsored events in the future? I like to ask myself, “WWJGD?” What would Jerry Garcia, an OG of our counterculture, do? My hope is the shiny newness of the commercial brands will eventually wear down, and the nostalgic appeal of the local events will never completely fade away. I would hope that instead of letting these wonderfully unique and inspiring events full of small artisans and hippies fade away, they can withstand the shift into this next era. Jerry, I believe, would have embraced the commercial but never would have forgotten his roots. Plus, like mentioned at the Gems n Genetics event, our fight to end this war on drugs is not over, but rather refocused. So come, hippies of all ages, sizes and genders, we still need you! Next on the agenda: psilocybin!

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Detroit Starts Taking Recreational Applications

Detroit Starts Taking Recreational Applications

by Ben Horner

After two years of uncertainty, Detroit has finally begun the license application process for those seeking to open a recreational marijuana dispensary within the city. 

From September 1 to October 1, those hoping to be among the first to open a recreational facility in Michigan’s largest city will be allowed to apply for the first phase of Detroit’s recreational marijuana licenses.

Of the 160 licenses to be awarded in three phases, the first phase will approve a total of 60, at least half of which will be awarded to social equity applicants. To qualify as a social equity applicant, the applicant must be a qualified resident of Detroit, or another community deemed disproportionately impacted by the prohibition of marijuana. If co-owned, at least 51 percent of the business must be owned by a person who qualifies as a social equity applicant. 

Of the first 60 licenses issued, 40 will be for retail, or businesses that sell marijuana and marijuana-related products. Ten will be for micro-business licenses, or small businesses that will be vertically integrated by growing, processing, and selling the resulting products of 150 plants. The final 10 will be for consumption lounges, or commercial locations that will allow adults to consume cannabis on the premises for recreational purposes. 

Each category in each phase will be given an equal number of general and social equity licenses. 

Phases 2 and 3 will each have 30 retail, 10 micro-businesses, and 10 consumption lounge licenses up for grabs using the same rules as those of Phase 1. Dates have yet to be announced for the next two phases.

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Smoke Shop Busted

 

Smoke Shop Busted 

by Amy Wilding-Fox

ARIZONA, — According to a press release, police discovered an illegal “cannabis dispensary” in Maricopa County, Arizona. Early August, the sheriff’s office stated that they had stumbled upon the illegal operation on Phoenix’s south side.

Disguised as a smoke accessories retail store, Korporate Smoke is said to have been the cover for the illegal drug ring. Hidden beyond the glass pipes, bongs, and rolling paper, police claim that there was a secret room used to commit the alleged crimes.

Along with marijuana, police stated that they confiscated mushrooms, four guns, and “other drugs.” Two men, James McCoy and Corey Cashman, were also found hidden in the room and taken into custody, along with $35,000 in cash.

Also in custody is one female, Alisa Simpson, who the police claim was the mastermind behind the whole thing. A public records search shows Ms. Simpson as the registered agent, and one of the male alleged perpetrators, James McCoy, is listed as a manager. The business itself has been active only since April 2021. 

While this is an ongoing case, all parties are assumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Got Munchies? How About Some Snoop Loopz?

 

Got Munchies? How About Some Snoop Loopz? 

by Amy Wilding-Fox

 CALIFORNIA, — What does a chart-topping, hip-hop artist known for claiming to smoke 81 blunts a day do when looking for a change of pace? If you are Snoop Dogg, the answer is to invest in making munchies, of course.

Partnering with fellow rapper and friend Percy Miller, aka Master P, Snoop, or Calvin Broadus, Snoop has founded Broadus Foods. According to their website, Snoop Dogg’s family-owned business was founded “to continue Mama Snoop’s legacy of her generous love and passion for feeding families in our communities.”

The two, who some are calling the “Kings of Breakfast Foods,” are committed to bringing diversity to grocery aisles near you. The line will include Mama Snoop’s grits, pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, and, of course, everyone’s favorite Saturday morning tradition, breakfast cereals. 

The first cereal that will be released under the Broadus Foods label is fittingly called Snoop Loopz. Described as a nutritious fruit-flavored cereal with marshmallows, it is both multigrain and gluten-free. With its premium quality “Made in the USA” stamp, Snoop Loopz is 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed, so there is nothing to lose. Also, with each purchase, a percentage of the sale will go to charities that support families facing homelessness and food insecurity, like Doors of Hope. 

So, the next time you find yourself with the munchies, mindlessly wandering down the aisles, grab yourself some Snoop Loopz to try. Not only might you find your next go-to munchie, but you will also be helping others while curbing that cannabis-induced craving!

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