Michigan Public Radio (MPR) reporter Jake Neher broadcast a report on a House bill requiring suspicion-based testing for drug use among welfare recipients.
Jamie Lowell of the Third Coast Compassion Center in Ypsilanti spoke to Neher about the future of marijuana use among those on public welfare assistance. “We have elderly people and very young people who rely on this assistance and it becomes a very tough choice, particularly when this is the type of medicine or herbal remedy that has proven to be successful for them.”
Rep. Farrington sponsored the bill that may place patients in jeopardy. “It’s something I am quite honestly not proud of and in fact my intent was quite the opposite,” Farrington said. “I am getting answers from different groups some saying that they’ll be fine since it is a legal substance, other people saying they won’t be fine because it is not covered at a federal level.”
House Democrats tried several times to get an exemption placed in the bill for medical marijuana patients but those efforts failed, reported Neher. House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel says, “Given that we are talking about Michigan law here we’re passing it as a Michigan law and under Michigan law medical marijuana is not illegal.”
The state Department of Human Services would be responsible for administering the suspicion-based testing program, but Neher reports that there is no agreement within that Department as to the status of medical marijuana patients within this proposed law.
The absence of clear language exempting registered patients leaves a ‘grey area’ in the interpretation of the House bill’s language. The medical marijuana community has seen these undefined phrases exploited by overzealous prosecutors and the Attorney General. Neher comments during the broadcast that the only thing that is certain is that lawsuits will be filed if this legislation is passed as written.
Listen to the broadcast at the link below:
www.michiganradio.org/post/new-bill-could-be-bad-news-medical-marijuana-patients
Source: The Compassion Chronicles
