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Grand Rapids passes medical marijuana regulations

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March 10, 2010 8:00 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - The Grand Rapids City Commission has passed new regulations for medical marijuana caregivers.

They voted Tuesday to require those caregivers to register as a home occupation.

The ordinance also requires them to be at least 1,000 feet from any school and that all marijuana be locked away.

It also limits the number of patients getting pot from a caregiver to five a week.

So far the state has approved just over 10,000 patients and more than 4,300 caregivers since medical marijuana became legal last April.

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6:36 AM on March 10, 2010

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doctork

6:50 AM on March 10, 2010

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As a physician I see no medical, scientific, moral or philosophic reasons to keep medical marijuana away from patients who can benefit from it. As opposed to many other "legal" remedies, medical marijuana does not have one single case of a fatal overdose, and it also lacks withdrawal syndrome unlike opiates that are famous for it. Sure, there will be some isolated cases of abuse, but I do not believe that such abuse will be more serious or dangerous than what we see with tranquilizers, anti-anxiety medications, muscle relaxants, opiates, sleeping pills, etc. In fact, I am sure that as the medical marijuana gains ground, the abuse of those other substances may well go down. The so-called "gateway" drug hypothesis is a pure fantasy and has already been discredited by science, marijuana's addiction potential is only 3% (compared with 10% for alcohol, for example), and violent crime tends to be suppressed by marijuana instead of being caused by it, according to the prestigious Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, 4-th Edition. Just look at Canada, where medical marijuana has been legal for some time, and where the crime rate is lower than in the United States.

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dhurley

8:08 AM on March 10, 2010

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The people voted for it! They didn’t vote to have a commission or a committee pass additional regulations. If you want regulations let the PEOPLE vote on it. It is ridiculous to me that, after an initiative has passed, there is always some commission or committee to then restrict the will of the people. The Doc is 100% right. Put it to a Vote of the People. Not some commission who thinks they know what is best for everyone else. Please.

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kaptainkooper

9:06 AM on March 10, 2010

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good luck enforcing that, state law trumps local ordinance

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dhurley

9:06 AM on March 10, 2010

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Here’s 2 more cents. Who gives a crap if it is close to a school? I know of a pharmacy directly across the street from an elementary school. Everyday they are “dealing” oxycontin, vicodin, etc. Do the commissions or committees think that somehow people who have a prescription for med marjun. are somehow in a different category than people who have a prescription for opiates. That’s ridiculous.

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theweedblog

10:21 AM on March 10, 2010

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Does it cost more money to register with the city, in addition to paying to register with the state? Because if so, that would be an undue burden for medical marijuana patients/caretakers. This is a burden that other medical patients, who consume pharm meds, won't have to bear. That is grounds for a due process lawsuit if that is the case.

I'm totally fine with the 'lock it up' requirement, so long as the requirements don't require the purchasing of anything new by the caretaker. A locked room should be sufficient, not an expensive/brand new safe. I am not OK with the 1,000ft school zone requirement. I haven't seen a map of Grand Rapids, but if it is like my hometown, it will effectively abolish the ability to grow in city limits. With private schools, public schools, home schools, etc, such a requirement amounts to a de facto ban on medical marijuana grows in Grand Rapids.

Limiting the number of patients a caretaker can supply in a week is going to be nearly impossible to regulate. One of two things are going to happen; either it will have no effect because it is impossible to oversee, or the cops will use it as an excuse to bust anyone they feel is not worthy of a medical card.

Johnny Green
http://www.theweedblog.com

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jway86

11:48 AM on March 10, 2010

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7,000 people were murdered by the Mexican drug cartels last year because we in the US kept marijuana illegal, many of the victims were children, police officers and politicians. This year the cartels are on track to kill at least 9,000 more. Who supports keeping it illegal?

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Grand Rapids passes medical marijuana regulations

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