I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
An Isabella County Circuit Court judge has ruled that a medical marijuana dispensary in Mt. Pleasant is legal under the state’s Medical Marijuana Act, reports the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun.
The ruling came in a case where Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick tried to shut down the Compassionate Apothecary dispensary as a public nuisance. Burdick asked the court for a restraining order to halt the operations at the dispensary. But Circuit Court Judge Paul Chamberlain refused to issue the order, ruling the dispensary was operating within the act.
In the eight page ruling, Chamberlain wrote that he found the operation — which allowed registered patients and caregivers to pay a membership fee, rent lockers and sell medical marijuana — was legal under the state’s act. He said the owners, Brandon McQueen and Matt Taylor, were clearly assisting medical marijuana users in obtaining and using the drug and therefore could not be charged with.
Burdick tells the Morning Sun he will appeal the decision.
“We are disappointed in the ruling released today,” Burdick said. “We believe it significantly expands the parameters the Legislature placed in the (Michigan Medical Marijuana Act), limiting caregivers to having five patients and not recognizing ‘patient-to-patient’ distribution at all.
“The court’s opinion allows individuals to establish essentially a marijuana consignment shop by setting up a few lockers and getting signatures on some forms, to distribute marijuana to anyone with a patient card, while taking 20 percent commission off the top of the sale. We don’t believe the intent or language of the law, or the rules of statutory construction lead to this result.”
The ruling comes as more and more municipalities are implementing moratoriums on medical marijuana related businesses as they attempt to hash out rules and regulations within the existing planning code. Some municipalities have already passed laws restricting medical marijuana businesses, and the ACLU has filed suit against them. In Bloomfield Township, lawyers filed suit on behalf of two residents charging that the township’s ordinance, which prohibits the sale or growth of medical marijuana in the township and requires medical marijuana patients to register with the local police.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter