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Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana Grower's Punishment Doesn't Match His Crime (Editorial)
The Denver Post's editorial board opines that Christopher Bartkowicz, a medical marijuana grower who bragged about all the money he would make in Colorado's booming dispensary market, simply said the wrong thing at the wrong time and is now bearing the brunt of overzealous federal prosecution.
Medical Marijuana Patient Sues Royal Oak, Michigan
The city is being sued by a cancer patient who claims the zoning restrictions on medical marijuana violate the Michigan Constitution and state law. Adam Leslie Brook of Royal Oak filed a lawsuit against the city, city clerk, building official and mayor in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Medical Marijuana: Lawsuits Likely If New Denver Regs Shut Down Grows, Attorney Says
Could a compromise agreement about medical marijuana grows that passed through the Denver City Council's special issues committee this week still close a huge number of operations? Looks that way, says attorney Christian Sederberg -- and if the measure is enacted as presently written, he's confident litigation will follow.
Man Smokes Medical Marijuana at Taxpayers' Expense
On a recent chilly morning, Fort Lauderdale stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld interrupted his client calls for a quick medical marijuana cigarette in the company parking lot. Then he went back to work. The cigarette perfectly legal for him was one of about 120,000 the federal government has provided to him at taxpayer expense for the past 29 years. He's one of only four people who remain in a now-closed compassionate drug program.
Oakland Could Have A New Medical Marijuana Policy in Two Weeks
The Oakland City Council is talking about sanctioned medical marijuana cultivation again after some legal scares put the issue on ice late last year, and a new policy could be in place within two weeks. The council voted in December to hold off implementing its program to permit and tax industrial-sized medical marijuana cultivation businesses. The proposal, which would also double the number of permitted dispensaries, was delayed until the new cultivation law could be revised to address some legal concerns that local prosecutors said could land the council members in jail.
New Jersey DHSS Mum About Medicinal Marijuana Program Conflicts (Press Release)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2011
CONTACT: Ken Wolski at (609) 394-2137
DHSS Mum About Medicinal Marijuana Program Conflicts
WHO: New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
WHAT: Refuses repeated attempts to clarify conflicting Medicinal Marijuana Program statements
WHEN: January and February 2011
WHERE: Trenton, New Jersey
WHY: DHSS has not responded to requests for clarification
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has published conflicting statements about its Request for Applications (RFA) by which non-profit entities may become Alternative Treatment Centers as part of the Medicinal Marijuana Program. The DHSS has refused repeated attempts to clarify the issue.
The RFA to become medical marijuana providers in the state was published on the official DHSS web site: http://www.state.nj.us/health/med_marijuana.shtml. This RFA has an announced closing date of 2/14/11. However, the proposed regulations, published on the very same web site, at "8:64-6.1 Notice of request for applications" note that the DHSS "shall announce a request for applications…for a permit to operate an alternative treatment center by publishing a notice of request for applications in the New Jersey Register." The soonest this notice of RFA could be published in the Register is 2/22/11, or after the final day of open application period noted on the DHSS web site.
It is an expensive and cumbersome process to apply to become an ATC and applicants do not want to submit an application for a process that was given improper notification. On the other hand, they do not want to be excluded either because they misinterpreted the rules or because the DHSS changed the rules when it publishes the official version. Yet the DHSS refuses to clarify whether the RFA deadline is appropriate as noted on its web site or whether a new, initial application period will be forthcoming in an upcoming New Jersey Register announcement.
For more information, contact:
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618
609.394.2137 [email protected]
CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.
Advocates for Michigan's Medical Marijuana Law Fear Disclosure of Records Will Hurt Patients
As founder of Michigan Association of Compassion Clubs, Jamie Lowell thinks the federal government's request for records on the state's medical marijuana registry will discourage legal use. He knows of a teacher who could use marijuana, but she is terrified of being identified. "When you get the application, you are under the impression all of the information will remain confidential," he said.
Medical Marijuana Proponent Files Ethics Complaint Against Iowa Representative
A Des Moines man filed an ethics complaint against a state legislator who admitted he lied about having hemorrhoids and depression to obtain a medical marijuana recommendation in California last year. Mike Pesce said he brought the complaint against Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, because the representative said he knowingly provided false information to obtain a California medical marijuana card as a way to demonstrate why a similar program should not be adopted in Iowa.
Canadian Patients Ask Ottawa to Fix Flawed Medical Marijuana Program
A group of medical marijuana patients traveled to Parliament Hill to draw attention to the government's "wildly dysfunctional and onerous medical marijuana regulations" and the effects they are having on sick Canadians. "Ten years ago, we put in place a government program, a legal government program, that would allow sick patients to have access to a medicine that worked for them," said Member of Parliament Dr. Carolyn Bennett. "We now are seeing a perfect storm of administrative delays that have these patients with a licence waiting four to six months till the point that it expires â and then they are criminalized because they don't have a licence because the government's backlogs and lack of resources have put them there."