SAGINAW DOCTOR FACING ADDITIONAL DRUG CHARGES

Authorities Allege She Certified Medical Marijuana Patients From Motel

BAY CITY - A Saginaw Township doctor certified medical marijuana
patients from various locations throughout the state, including an
Oscoda motel room, federal investigators allege.

Dr. Ruth A. Buck, charged in June with three counts of unlawfully
distributing controlled substances, was indicted last week on one
count of aiding and abetting the distribution of marijuana.

The charges were levied just days after Drug Enforcement
Administration agents asked a federal judge to revoke Buck's bond.

The bond was predicated on a number of conditions, including that Buck
not break any federal, state or county law.

Marijuana use and distribution remain illegal under federal law
although President Barack Obama has said federal authorities would not
enforce the law in states, such as Michigan, that allow marijuana use
for medical purposes.

Authorities say Buck authorized 1,870 medical marijuana certificates
from Mid-Michigan Medical Marijuana clinic, 2137 Warwick in Saginaw,
until March 17 when the DEA and Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team
raided the office and Buck's home.

Buck certified patients at locations throughout the state, including
the Lake Trail Resort in Oscoda, authorities allege in affidavits on
file in U.S. District Court in Bay City.

The original charges stemmed from allegations that, between January
2006 and July 2009, Buck prescribed more than 1.5 million dosage units
of pain killers like Vicodin, OxyContin, Xanax, morphine, methadone
and Dilaudid, authorities have said.

A hearing on the motion to revoke bond is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Thursday before U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington.

Buck remains in the custody of federal marshals.