Ottawa Compassionate Care

Michigan’s Senate Judiciary Committee to take testimony on bills impacting Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Act this Teusday in Lansing.

As you no doubt are aware, 63% of Michigan voters — and at least 50% of voters in every Michigan county — approved the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) in 2008. That kind of resounding support should send a clear message to politicians in Lansing that the people of Michigan support compassionate care for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. We need to make sure Lansing got the message.

A package of bills have been introduced by Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-30), Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, (R-34), and Sen. Roger Kahn (R-32) that could render the MMMA ineffective. The bills are scheduled for a hearing this Tuesday, January 19, at 1:00 p.m. before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sen. Kuipers chairs.

[For members in Senate districts 30, 33, 1, 7, 36, 23, and 8: Your senator is a member of the Judiciary Committee. Please click here (https://ssl.capwiz.com/mpp/issues/alert/?alertid=14552191 ) to contact him or her and ask them to oppose this legislation.]

If you live in the Lansing area, or are able to attend this hearing, please join fellow supporters of medical marijuana by showing up to express your support for the MMMA. Remember that committee hearings are formal proceedings, so please dress and conduct yourself accordingly.

What: Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to consider Senate bills 616-18.
When: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Room 210, Farnum Building, 125 W. Allegan Street, Lansing, MI 48933

So how does this legislation unravel the MMMA? At first glance, the idea seems innocent. The proposals, Senate Bills 616-18, would reclassify medical marijuana (not marijuana generally) as a “Schedule II” substance in Michigan and change the distribution system to
require it to be dispensed through pharmacies. The problem is that under federal law doctors cannot prescribe and pharmacists cannot dispense marijuana. However, doctors do have a First Amendment right to recommend marijuana, which is how the MMMA works. If this bill passes, no doctor or pharmacist would risk losing their license — or worse, going to prison — by violating federal law. In other words, passage of this bill would mean patients would be denied the medicine their doctor has recommended. As if that weren’t enough, the bills would prohibit home cultivation, preventing patients and their caregivers from growing their own medicine.

Don’t let your vote be ignored. You passed this law just a little over a year ago, and we now need to defend it. Make your voice heard by showing your support for the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act you helped pass. And don’t forget to forward this on to a friend!

Thank you,

Dan Riffle
Legislative Analyst
Marijuana Policy Project