We Interviewed The State of Michigan – MMMP
Posted on | March 2, 2013 | No Comments
The State of Michigan is still undecided on when they will implement the new 2-year renewal option. Amendments made to the act during the middle of December, 2012 indicated that the registry program would be implementing a new 2-year renewal mandate, but after a lengthy discussion with one of the representatives of the program it looks as though there is no definitive timeline for when they will actually make cards valid for 2 years. So now patients who are renewing around the April time-frame when the 2-year renewal was supposed to go into effect are left in the dark to guess if their cards will be selected for the 2-years or if they will join the many who will only be processed for a year. The state offers no guidance on these issues and said many times that they couldn’t discuss key changes in the program. Patient’s cards who expire in May will most likely be the first to get the 2-year renewal which the state says they will offer for the same rate as a 1-year renewal. John Reid, of Ann Arbor thinks the program is a joke. He has never received a card from the state within the 21 days that they are required to process them. “I think they are just delaying folks from getting their cards because they are unorganized and need more help. Where’s all this money going?” John has a good point. He also pointed out on his cashed check that the bank responsible for cashing the money is located in Indiana. “It’s a small bank. I looked it over,” he said in a telephone interview. John has his suspicions, and so do we. Until the state starts to get their act together they really shouldn’t be focused on targeting patients who they perceive as operating in so-called “gray” areas of the law. As John puts it, “They can’t even follow their own state law! What kind of example are they setting for the program? And then they target patients who are sick?”
Stay tuned as we provide you with updated information on the state registry program’s decisions and new implementations of the approved legislation.
Roman.
Michigan Medical Marihuana Program Updates & New Legislation
Posted on | March 2, 2013 | No Comments
Michigan Medical Marihuana Program
The Michigan Medical Marihuana Program (MMMP) is a state registry program within the Health Professions Division in the Bureau of Health Care Services at the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The program administers the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act as approved by Michigan voters on November 4, 2008. The program implements the statutory tenets of this act in such a manner that protects the public and assures the confidentiality of its participants.
NEW! Legislation was recently passed that amends the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. The Michigan Medical Marihuana Program is reviewing these recently passed legislative bills and is working to implement the changes in accordance to the bills. Please watch this website for further information.
Click on the links below to read the new legislation:
Public Act 460 of 2012 (House Bill 4856)
Public Act 512 of 2012 (House Bill 4851)
Public Act 514 of 2012 (House Bill 4834)
Helpful Information:
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Do not send duplicate applications. This slows down the application process and creates problems for our staff.
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If you submitted your application prior to the end of November 2012 and have not received your registry ID card, please call 517-373-0395 and select option #3.
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To assist our staff in expediting and processing a renewal application make sure you submit your application on a Renewal Application with your registry identification number on the form.
Program Statistics as of 1/31/2013:
- 355,398 original and renewal applications received since April 6, 2009.
- 126,739 active registered qualified patients.
- 26,404 active registered primary caregivers.
- 32,383 applications denied — most due to incomplete application or missing documentation.
- Applications are reviewed within 15 days of receipt. Incomplete applications are denied and applicants are then notified of denial by certified and regular mail.
- Complete applications, change forms and reapplications for previous denials are then processed in the date order in which they are received. If a denial letter is not received then the application is deemed valid. The statute currently allows for a copy of a valid application submitted to serve as a valid registry identification if the card is not issued within 20 days of its submission to the department.
- The Notice of Approval will be sent only with the registry ID card. If the registry ID card is not received within 12 weeks of the department’s receipt of a valid application, please call 517-373-0395 and select option #3.
- There is a reduced registration fee. For information on what documents must be submitted with the application click here for the Reduced Fee Eligibility Information
Michigan Supreme Court Medical Marijuana Ruling Reinforces Need For Definitive Dispensary Legislation
Posted on | March 2, 2013 | No Comments
DETROIT, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The National Patients’ Rights Association today said that the recent Michigan Supreme Court decision of People v. McQueen reinforces the desperate need for definitive laws related to medical marijuana provisioning centers in the state.
“Never has the timing been more urgent to get a definitive law in place as it relates to medical marijuana provisioning centers,” said National Patients’ Rights Association spokesman Drew Driver. “The real losers in the recent ruling are the patients. All this has done is created even more confusion to an already complicated and complex system. Many patients rely on dispensaries for safe access to medicine and do not possess the knowledge to either grow their own or access the most appropriate variety from others. An increasing number of patients have limited access to medical marijuana and now are in an even more precarious situation.”
The Michigan Supreme Court case is a civil injunction case—not a criminal case. According to attorney Paul Tylenda, the central focus of the case was whether the dispensary was a public nuisance and could be shut down. “This ruling clarified the protections available to patients and caregivers under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,” Tylenda said. “It does not, however, provide immunity for a patient to transfer marijuana to another patient. What should be noted is that the Court said ‘sales’ are included in the Act under the definition of ‘medical use’ and that the affirmative defense can be asserted in any criminal case involving marijuana. Patient transfers that are not immune under Section 4 of the Act are still eligible for a hearing to claim protection under the affirmative defense of Section 8.”
As pharmacies and doctors are not permitted to provide medical marijuana to their patients, many turn to medical marijuana provisioning centers simply because they lack the knowledge to grow their own. At a provisioning center, patients can secure a variety of medical marijuana, including cannabis hybrids and other medical marijuana strains, as well as alternative ways to consume it.
Michigan Representative Mike Callton (R-Nashville) said: “I am concerned cancer patients and others won’t have access to the drug without dispensaries. A vast number of the state’s 125,000 medical-marijuana users can’t grow their own medicine and there aren’t enough caregivers to grow it for them. Patients will be forced to go underground to find medical marijuana, or they go without their medicine.”
The NPRA is backed by patients, caregivers, businesses and a range of other supporters. Collectively, the coalition is working to broaden awareness, reach legislators in a targeted manner, and help mobilize patients and caregivers who are affected by current and proposed medical marijuana laws. A key objective of the coalition is a push for definitive regulation in terms of standardization — ranging from safety and storage needs, document management requirements, privacy, and overall industry standards and procedures.
For more information please visit: www.nprausa.com.
Michigan’s Most Trusted Medical Marijuana Certification Clinic Since 2009
Posted on | February 2, 2013 | No Comments
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Need more convincing on why you should obtain your certification? The penalty in Michigan for those that are not part of the Marijuana Program are harsh and severe. You can be sentenced up to a year in prison. You can be put on probation for up to 18 months and have over $2,000 in fines for less than half a gram of usable medicine. Don’t take the risk. Call us at 866-649-9034 and make your appointment to get legal today!
Governor Rick Snyder Approves Unecessary Changes to Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Act
Posted on | January 5, 2013 | 1 Comment
LANSING, MI – Changes related to Michigan’s medical marijuana law have been signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Some of the changes in measures signed Friday by the Republican governor alter the state’s voter-approved law from 2008. Others are related to that law.
House Bill 4851 tightens the definition of what will now be considered a “bona fide” physician-patient relationship in cases where medical marijuana is prescribed. Critics of the voter-approved law say it left too much room for abuse in allowing prescriptions for the drug. But medical marijuana supporters worry requiring a stricter doctor-patient relationship is among the provisions that could make the drug harder to get for legitimate patients.
House Bill 4834 makes multiple changes related to the issuing of medical marijuana registry identification cards, including some ID requirements.
House Bill 4853 relates to penalties for patients and caregivers who sell marijuana to people not legally allowed to have medical marijuana.
Employers would not be responsible for paying for their employees’ medical marijuana treatments under Senate Bill 933. The measure relates to worker’s compensation law.
There are other changes as well. Many of the bills were approved in the waning hours of the Michigan Legislature’s 2011-12 session earlier this month.