# Michigan medical marijuana



## BGrimey420 (Jun 25, 2009)

*LEGAL USER GUIDE: Basic Facts About Michigan's Prop 1*​ * Keys to Understanding the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law*​ 
Enacted by voters in a landslide election (63%) on November 4, 2008, Prop 1 is now to be cites as the "Michigan Medical Marihuana Act."
 
The law states, "The [FONT=&quot]medical use of marijuana is allowed under state law to the extent that it is carried out in accordance with the provisions of this act ."[/FONT]
 
The law takes effect 10 days after the official declaration of the vote, which is scheduled for November 24, 2008. Expect this law to take effect December 4, 2008.
 
The Department of Community Health has 120 days from the effective date of the new law to establish rules and commence issuing Registry ID cards. That's April 2, 2009.
 
The Act gives the Michigan         Department of Health the duty to issue Registry ID Cards, which will take a maximum 20 days to get. Registry information is strictly confidential, and cannot be used as probable cause or to target you or your primary care giver. If the Department gives out your identifying information inappropriately, it is a crime.
 
If Registry ID Card is not issued within 20 days after proper application, the qualifying patient may "self-issue" by executing a notarized statement, available the hXXp://medcannabis.googlepages.com/freeformbank"], and keeping it on hand. This is called an Affidiavit in lieu of  Registry Identification Card.
 
To get a Registry ID Card the patient must get a written certification from a doctor stating the patient's debilitating medical condition and stating that, in the physician's _professional             opinion_, the patient is_ likely _to receive _therapeutic or palliative             benefit_ from the medical use of marijuana _to treat or alleviate the             patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms_ associated with             the debilitating medical condition. The certificate is available at the hXXp://medcannabis.googlepages.com/freeformbank
 
Doctors are the unquestioned gatekeepers to access. No court can second guess their professional judgment. The law provides that the Physician (MD or Osteopath) is immunized against legal or professional sanctions.
 
Benefit of Participation in the Formal Registry: A registered "Qualifying Patient", and a designated "Primary Caregiver", who have in their possession Registry ID Cards, enjoy [FONT=&quot]rebuttable presumptions of legitimacy. This creates a prophylactic immunity from arrest.[/FONT]
 
A designated "Primary Caregiver" [FONT=&quot]must be at             least 21with no prior [/FONT][FONT=&quot]felony convictions involving illegal drugs[/FONT], and can cultivate 12 plants (kept in a locked facility), and possess 2.5 oz. of marijuana, for each of up to 5 patients.The law specifically bars arrest, prosecution, criminal or civil penalty, disciplinary action, and bars seizure or forfeiture of medical use marijuana. [FONT=&quot]Any incidental amount of seeds, stalks, and unusable roots shall also be allowed under state law and shall not be included in this amount[/FONT]
 
A registered primary caregiver _may receive compensation for costs             associated with assisting_ a registered qualifying patient in the medical use of marijuana. Any such compensation shall not constitute the sale of controlled substances.
 
A registered "Qualifying Patient" may             possess 2.5 oz. of marijuana for medical use, and can cultivate 12 plants (kept in a locked facility) unless a "primary caregiver" has been designated. The law specifically bars arrest, prosecution, criminal or civil penalty, disciplinary action, and bars seizure or forfeiture of medical use marijuana.
 
 [FONT=&quot]"Enclosed, locked facility" means a closet, room, or other enclosed area equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access only by a registered primary caregiver or registered qualifying patient.[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]_Bystanders __merely in the presence or vicinity_ of the medical use of marijuana in accordance             with the Act, or _assisting a             registered qualifying patient_ with using or administering marijuana, and suppliers of paraphernalia are legally protected under state law too.[/FONT]
 
 A stand alone "Medical Purpose Affirmative Defense" is established by the Act. It protects patients and primary caregivers, even if they do not have Registry ID Cards. Defendants with charges pending on December 4, 2008 may use this defense. This defense very liberal, easy to prove, and fully explained in "The Essentials of the Affirmative Defense", which is available, along with a model Motion to Dismiss and Affidavit in Support at the .
 
This umbrella Affirmative Defense is the key to the Act.[FONT=&quot] Using this defense, the specific limits give way to a reasonableness standard;not more than is reasonably necessary to ensure the uninterrupted availability of marijuana for the purpose of treating or alleviating the patient's serious or debilitating medical condition or symptoms of the patient's serious or debilitating medical condition[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]All other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act do not apply to the medical use of marijuana as provided for by this act. This protects driver's, not under the influence, from Michigan's OWI law (MCL 257.645), which makes it a crime for drivers to have _any amount _of a controlled substance in their body, even if it has been weeks or months since they used marijuana.[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]Parental Rights are protected. A person shall not be denied custody or visitation of a minor for acting in accordance with this act, unless the person's behavior is such that it creates an unreasonable danger to the minor that can be clearly articulated and substantiated.[/FONT]
 
Disqualifying Factors that preclude protections under the Act
 

[FONT=&quot]Smoking marijuana "in any public                 place";[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Smoking                 marijuana on any form of public transportation;[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Any                 use by a person who has no serious or debilitating medical condition;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Any                 conduct where being _under the influence _would constitute negligence or                 professional malpractice _per se_; [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Operating, navigating, or being in                 actual physical control of any motor vehicle, aircraft, or motorboat _while                 under the influence of marihuana._[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Any                 use or possession in a school bus; [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Any                 use or possession on the grounds of any preschool, primary, or secondary                 school; [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Any                 use or possession in any correctional facility 
 [/FONT]

 
 [FONT=&quot]Under the Act, Doctors are able to certify qualifying patients for an expansive list of specified debilitating medical conditions, plus any other[/FONT][FONT=&quot] "chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces..." symptoms or side effects like appetite loss, severe and chronic pain; severe nausea, seizures, severe and persitant spasms.[/FONT]
 
Doctors can also make statements (written or oral) that support asserting the Affirmative Defense for an unlimited number of other serious for debilitating medical conditions. The Affirmative Defense applies so long as [FONT=&quot]a physician has stated that, in the physician's professional opinion, after having completed a full assessment of the patient's medical history and current medical condition made in the course of a bona fide physician-patient relationship, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marihuana to treat or alleviate the patient's serious or debilitating medical condition or its symptoms.[/FONT]
 
List of [FONT=&quot]Some Debilitating Medical Conditions Specified in the Statute:[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]Cancer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Glaucoma[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Positive HIV[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]AIDS[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hepatitis             C[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Amyotrophic             lateral sclerosis (ALS is Lou Gehrig's Disease)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Crohn's             disease[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Agitation             of Alzheimer's disease[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Nail             patella[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Epileptic seizures[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Multiple Sclerosis (MS)[/FONT]


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