Michigan Supreme Court: Medical marijuana patients safe from prosecution
Source: Detroit Free Press
The Michigan Supreme Court, in its first major ruling on a case arising from the use of medical marijuana, said today that the state's voter-approved law on medicinal pot provides relatively broad legal protection from prosecution, even for patients who do not register for a state medical marijuana card.
In a pair of cases out of Oakland and Shiawassee counties, the court ruled unanimously that lower-court interpretations of the marijuana statute had been too restrictive.
In the Oakland County case, the court said the law allows a person arrested on a marijuana-related offense to assert a medical marijuana defense, as long as the use of marijuana was recommended by a doctor after the law was enacted in 2008 and before the arrest.
Unfortunately for the defendant in the case, Alexander Kolanek, the court said he could not avail himself of the defense because his doctors recommendation was post-arrest.
Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20120531/NEWS06/120531054/Michigan-Supreme-Court-Medical-marijuana-patients-safe-from-prosecution
What makes this ruling even more surprising the the MI court has a conservative 5-4 GOP majority.
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)truedelphi
(32,324 posts)conservative roots. That people themselves should decide what they will or won't put into their bodies.
I can't tell you how many times I am watching a broadcast out of our local PBS station here in Lake county Calif., and it is the conservative RW retired sheriff who is speaking sense on the issue.
He will be saying we should not keep marijuana criminalized, that it would be far better to use our police for real criminals than for someone smoking a doobie.
Democratic party leaders better get aboard the issue if they want to keep voters voting a "D" platform. Instead, far too many of them are sell outs to Big Pharma.
Dustlawyer
(10,497 posts)I suffer from small fiber sensory neuropathy which is extremely painful 24/7/365. Hell (Texas) will freeze over before these true believers take an honest look at the science behind medical pot and legalize it. Everything to these people is either political, or a sin. Meanwhile, I am forced to take medicines that do not work as well, have terrible side effects, are a hassle to get, expensive and, I have to be subjected to random piss tests, all because I have a disease. What is going wrong with this country!
totodeinhere
(13,059 posts)LiberalLovinLug
(14,176 posts)It won't be long before Obama's and Holder's anti-pot thugs raid and charge.
Personally I'd really like to hear Obama's defense of these actions. Maybe its because of his daughters? Maybe from his past experiences? I just want to hear from him a good explanation of why he insists on stepping up the War on Medical Marijuana even beyond where Bush took it.
Vidar
(18,335 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)in several states, and the DOJ won't life a finger about it. Pot, on the other hand...
Pathwalker
(6,599 posts)I must admit, I had no faith whatsoever in this court's willingness to honor what we Michiganain/ganders voted to establish - the legal right to the medicine WE choose. Now, can we count on them to deliver the knockout blow to AG SchItee and rule that the dispenseries were legal? I'm not holding my breath....any longer than I can hold a toke
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)That there isn't a war on women.