EDITORIAL: Schuette oversteps duties by trimming medical weed act
Recent court rulings and the continued efforts of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette threaten to limit the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act far beyond the scope voted for by Michigan’s residents.
The law, which allows patients of approved ailments to possess and use marijuana for treatment, has seen its purpose hindered by last month’s Michigan Appeals Court ruling that prevents the operation of marijuana dispensaries and patient-to-patient sales.
The Detroit News reported last week, “The ruling has effectively limited safe ways patients can get marijuana and has denied them doctor-prescribed medicine, supporters said Wednesday.”
Last week, the Petoskey News reported on a laboratory study which concluded marijuana bought illegally can be considerably more dangerous to the patients who are legally entitled to the substance. The report said street-bought pot “can harbor mold as well as pesticide at levels more than 60 times those allowed for store-bought spinach.”
Hilarious euphemism aside, we must remember these are not people trying to obtain illegal weed, but people who are prescribed by doctors and permitted by law to use marijuana as a treatment. Would Michigan government officials permit Grandma’s pain pills to be doused in pesticides?
Perhaps the law, as it was written, is not specific enough. Maybe the law needs to further restrict who can be given a medical marijuana card or restrict how the drug is distributed.
While it may be a hot-button issue, it is not the privilege of the attorney general or courts to tiptoe around laws specifically enacted by the people.
This move to neuter the majority of ways people could acquire legally prescribed pot is nothing more than an attempt to legislate morality behind the backs of voters.
It is also an example of government officials declaring war on a new and growing, no pun intended, segment of local business. Would Schuette rather dealers on the street with nebulous connections make their livings from people in need of pain relief, or law-abiding citizens who take pride in their products and role in the medical process?
Schuette and the courts should remedy this in a way that gives preferred consideration to the people determined to be patients by a popular vote, instead of to any political or moral interests.
