'CANNABIS CARAVAN' TO STOP IN LANSING

Doctor's Referral 'Not Final Say' On Medical Marijuana

Expect a festive feel when an out-of-state "cannabis caravan" settles
in Lansing this month so the seriously ill can line up with their
medical records, $150 and the hopes of being able to smoke marijuana
legally.

People may hear Bob Marley music when they visit the caravan, which
will have at least two doctors to review their records and assess
their pain, at The University Quality Inn, 3121 E. Grand River Ave.,
on June 20.

After a 10- to 15-minute appointment, they will have a doctor's
medical recommendation indicating whether they should qualify for the
state's new medical marijuana program.

"They will be issued a referral," said Tiffany Klang, of the Montana
Caregivers Network, which planned stops in Lansing, Detroit and
Kalamazoo. "However, the doctor's referral is not the final say. The
state has the right to deny or reject any applications."

Local authorities are irked the caravan is coming to town,
however.

"We don't need people from outside Michigan coming here to give
people questionable medical exams to certify them as (medical
marijuana) patients," Lansing police spokesman Lt. Noel Garcia said.

"We have plenty of doctors here and an established process for
legitimate patients to get certified. If they do show up in Lansing,
we will make sure they follow the letter of the law and we won't
hesitate to arrest them if they don't."

In Montana, the cannabis caravans are known as mobile assembly-line
operations that have signed up thousands of new patients across the
state over the past year.

The Michigan stops will be the first to happen outside the western
state.

Montana's medical board has been trying to curtail the clinics. The
board recently fined a physician who participated in one. It's the
first disciplinary action taken against a doctor in a Montana medical
marijuana case.

Organizers say the clinics help patients who otherwise might not have
access to a doctor who will prescribe medical marijuana.

James McCurtis, spokesman for the state Department of Community
Health, said he has some concerns about the caravans welcoming people
from off the street and then doctors giving their recommendations
after brief visits.

"We want to maintain the integrity of the medical marijuana program,"
he said, adding that the caravan visit doesn't appear to be illegal.

Klang, who is trying to arrange a Michigan branch of the Montana
Caregivers Network, said the network will be willing to charge poor
and lower-income people less than $150, with proper documentation of
disability or food stamps.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.