June 4, 2009
For immediate release

Bills to roll back voter approved ballot initiative introduced
into Michigan Senate

A three bill package has been introduced into the Michigan Senate that will effectively nullify Initiated Law 1 of 2008, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act. Michigan voters approved the Act by a nearly 2 to 1 margin and in every single Michigan House & Senate district across the state when it appeared on the Nov ’08 ballot as Proposal 1.

Sponsor Wayne Kuipers (R), Holland and co-sponsors Senators Ron Jelinek (R), Three Oaks; Mark Jansen (R), Cutlerville; Valde Garcia (R), Livingston County; Alan Cropsey (R), Clinton County; Gerald Van Woerkom (R), Mason County; and Roger Kahn, Saginaw (R), in a blatant attempt to thwart the clear will of the voters, are backing SB 616, 617 & 618 which would:

Require doctors to write prescriptions rather than recommendations for medical marijuana. Doctors may only write prescriptions for FDA approved drugs lest they imperil their license. This will have the practical effect of rendering patients unable to obtain doctor authorization to use the medicine.

Require medical marijuana to be dispensed only by pharmacies. Pharmacies may only dispense FDA approved drugs lest they imperil their own business license. This will have the practical effect of barring patient access to the medicine.

Prohibit any patient or caregiver from engaging in not for profit cultivation of medicine, instead handing over a cash cow monopoly to 10 large plant nurseries. Coincidentally Senator Kuiper’s family is in the nursery business. This amendment completely re-writes the cultivation provisions in Initiated Law 1 of 2008 as approved by the voters and calls into question Senator Kuiper’s true motivations.

Moves medical marijuana to Schedule 2 under MI law. It will however remain at Schedule 1 at the Federal level making this an entirely meaningless provision, essentially smoke & mirrors.

Patients will only be allowed to possess medicine dispensed from a pharmacy. Since pharmacies are barred by federal law from dispensing medical marijuana this effectively means it will be illegal to possess any medical marijuana at all.

Sets a $25,000 fine for any registered medical marijuana patient who obtains medical marijuana from a source other than a pharmacy despite the fact pharmacies will not be able to dispense the medicine. This creates a powerful incentive for patients not to register for the program but to instead take their chances in the black market where the penalties are much less severe.

SB 616, 617 & 618 backers have a high hurdle to clear to get these bills enacted. Article 2, section 9 of the Michigan Constitution requires a ¾ super majority of both the Michigan House and Senate to amend or repeal voter approved initiatives. Proposal 1 passed in every single Michigan House and Senate district. It is anticipated that it will be difficult to convince ¾ of the members of each chamber to turn their backs on the voters and pass bills to undo the will of the constituents in their home districts.

“This is clearly an attempt to eviscerate the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,” said Greg Francisco, Executive Director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. “If SB’s 616, 617 & 618 are enacted into law it will result in a situation where, while it is technically still legal to use medical marijuana, it will be illegal to either obtain or possess it. Returning to the bad old days of jailing cancer and AIDS patients may serve the interests of powerful pharmaceutical companies, law enforcement unions and those who profit handsomely by locking up terminally ill patients. But it is not in the best interest of the most vulnerable people in our state.”

Thoughts on Senate Bills 616, 617, 618

"This is obviously an attempt to destroy the program we voted for. These changes go against everything the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act stands for, as well as specific guidelines voted on and passed by 64% of Michigan's voters.  By growing our own we save money on healthcare. This money can instead be spent locally and this in turn helps our economy.  If these bills pass it would allow owners of 10 grow facilities to get rich at the expense of the patients that the MMMA was written to protect. "

Tree of Life Caregivers: Upper Peninsula

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We need all patients, caregivers and people who voted for and/or support the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act to get involved and get this thing shot down ASAP!! All you need to do to help will take only a moment of your time. Contact your district's senator, or ALL the state senators!! If you don't know who your senator is, you can find out by following this link: Who Is My District's Senator?. To get your senator's email address and phone number, you can following this link: Contact Info for Michigan State Senators. And finally, here's a link to a few sample letters you can use if you aren't the letter-writing type: Sample Letters to Senators.

Please get involved, get everyone you know involved!! These bills are very scary and will just take our program away from us. Some things may sound good about them but if the FDA doesn't approve marijuana as a medicine, there's no way we're going to be able to get it from pharmacies! And I'm sure we all know that there's no way in hell that the FDA is going to approve marijuana! Get involved!!!

Take care and have a good weekend,
Your friends at TLC