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.
In an editorial Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Press called on state lawmakers to fix holes and ambiguities in the state’s medical marijuana law.
“This legal patchwork serves no one well. The Legislature should do what it frequently must when voters approve new statutes — pass enabling laws that respect the will of voters and set in place reasonable safeguards against illegal activity. Newly inaugurated lawmakers, along with Gov. Rick Snyder, have the opportunity to clear away the confusing haze surrounding the law and provide the needed guidance. The absence of legislative action has left a morass that will ultimately be sorted out by courts — not a smart or democratic way to cement public policy.”
Various localities have come up with sundry responses to medical marijuana within their jurisdictions. From banning the weed to creating zoning laws to regulate where and when it’s sold, to doing nothing at all.
That patchwork response, as the Press notes, has resulted in a series of lawsuits filed by private attorneys as well as the ACLU. Ultimately those court cases will assist in defining the edges of the law. In one such case, an Isabella County Circuit Court judge has ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries are legal under the Medical Marihuana Act passed by 63 percent of Michigan voters in 2008.
The law was supposed to make it clear that people with certain conditions — HIV/AIDS, back injuries, cancer and more — could access the weed for medical purposes. Under the law, patients would register in a confidential database run by the Michigan Department of Community Health, as would patient caregivers — the term given to persons who grow the marijuana for others. Already, however, the state has seen federal action in Ingham and Saginaw counties.
Federal authorities from the Drug Enforcement Agency have conducted raids in both counties. And the MDCH is currently resisting a subpoena for the files on seven unnamed medical marijuana users or caregivers. The subpoena was issued in June by federal authorities, but the MDCH still has not turned over the requested information. Doing so could open MDCH officials up to charges under the act.
As Michigan Messenger reported Monday, incoming Senate Judiciary Chair Rick Jones has said he plans to introduce legislation that will clear up any ambiguities in the law and its implementation. He also says care givers should be declaring the income on medical marijuana program as income and pay taxes on it accordingly. Advocates support the idea of paying state income taxes on the marijuana, but challenge filing federal claims on the income, noting that it is still illegal under federal law.
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