Raid Reopens Medical Marijuana Debate
This week's raid at a Detroit-area medical marijuana dispensary has reignited local debate over who can legally grow and smoke pot.Seventeen people were arraigned Friday in connection with a police raid on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Three businesses in Ferndale and Waterford, along with several private homes were raided and $750,000 worth of marijuana and several guns were confiscated.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the action was taken because there is no rules or regulations on how to set up or operate a medical marijuana business.
James McCurtis of the Michigan Department of Health said, in their view, the clinics are illegal until some specific regulations are adopted.
WWJ spoke Thursday with Southfield Attorney Michael Komorn, who is on the board of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, an advocacy group representing patients and caregivers.Komorn said there's a great divide between law enforcement and the medical marijuana community."There's been no one coming forward from the law enforcement side to try to assist the patients and caregivers in a reasonable way," Kormorn said."They've identified these people who are participating in lawful acts of being patients and caregivers, and identifying them as drug dealers," he said.Kormorn said he was not surprised by this week's raid at a dispensary."It was just a matter of time before it happened. And, I know that their intent was to take it into the court system and let it be litigated there. And, I guess that's where its gonna go. But, I feel like there's a lot of other, more productive ways that this could have been accomplished, and it didn't have to be so adverse and so painful to the patients. That's what bothers me most," he said.Kormorn said that patients suffer, as well, when caregivers and growers are arrested. He said many in law enforcement have not been trained in dealing with Michigan's new medical marijuana law.
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