Higher Ground
Darth Schuette
Attorney General Bill Schuette leads his stormtroopers against medical marijuana
Published: September 7, 2011
"Our city attorney was quoted in some media saying he wanted to see what the Supreme Court does before taking any action," says Jamie Lowell, co-founder of the nonprofit Third Coast. "I don't really think that our model is affected by this ruling. The ruling should be looked at a lot more narrowly than it is. It really doesn't affect all dispensaries. It's great fuel for people who are in opposition. If there is a prosecutor, or someone in opposition to these places, it gives them fuel to hurt those places. We're still really trying to figure out what it means, trying to digest the implications."
So is everybody else in the state. The folks at Michigan Association of Compassion Centers (MACC), and other support organizations, are considering where to go from here. Some suggest an appeal to the state Supreme Court, although a unanimous 3-0 Court of Appeals ruling makes it less likely that the Supreme Court would accept the case. Some call for activists to lobby their state representatives. And some say ballot initiatives to clarify the law or to flat out decriminalize marijuana are in order. Regardless of where things go, the fight is on.
"We're experiencing backlash; this is drug policy reform backlash," says Charmie Gholson, of Mothers Against Prohibition. "I don't think our attorney general and these legislators have public support. The people are far ahead of the politicians on this issue. We passed a law that says you can't arrest us."
But the law, apparently, is up to interpretation. And with the stormtroopers all on Darth Schuette's Death Star, it may take a legal Jedi master to hold off the onslaught.
> Email Larry Gabriel
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