(In response to, ‘Medical marijuana,? The Citizen, Sept. 11, page 1)
Dear Editor,
A very interesting article.
Now would someone please tell the planning commission in Atlas Township that Michigan medical marijuana laws do not allow dispensaries.
Michigan medical marijuana law only allows for a patient to grow marijuana for themselves or a caregiver to grow and provide marijuana to the one-five patients they are licensed to grow for.
Caretakers cannot sell to anyone else except the patients they are licensed to provide marijuana to. If they sell marijuana to anyone else or give marijuana to anyone else or smoke the marijuana they produce for their patients, they are in violation of the Michigan marijuana law and can be prosecuted just like an illegal drug pusher on a street corner to the full extent of the law. Places can be provided privately for patients to smoke marijuana but marijuana may never, ever be sold in public. It is illegal to sell, give, provide seeds, plants buds or any other part of a marijuana plant to anyone but the patient a caretaker is licensed to provide for. The caretaker is only allowed to charge fees to cover the cost of growing the marijuana and time used to grow, harvest, and cure plants for use. Caregivers may only grow 12 plants for each of their patients up to a maximum of 60 plants for five patients and may process only 2 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana per patient at any time. A patient is restricted to the same rules as a provider if they grow their own and 2 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana for themselves and each patient they provide for up to a maximum of five patients including themselves.
Dispensaries are illegal under Michigan marijuana laws and if one pops up in your community, your public officials and private citizens should call their local police to have that facility shut down and the persons running it arrested and prosecuted as a drug pusher. Michigan marijuana law was made to help those suffering from disease and pain. This law was not created to line the pockets of cities, townships, counties, or states. It is for the sick. As with any good law passed there will always be those that try to take advantage and make a profit, and even try to convince others of their version of what the law says instead of what the law actually says and was meant to include.
Robert Therrien
Brandon Township