MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE FILES SECOND RECALL PETITION TO REMOVE
MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL SCHUETTE FROM OFFICE

MIDLAND -- Undeterred by a first recall attempt that struck out, a
medical marijuana advocate will try a second time to remove Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette from the state's top law enforcement
post.

Richard C. Clement Sr., 54, of Lansing, added new contentions in a
four-point recall petition with claims the Midland Republican has
battled Michigan's voter-endorsed medical marijuana law, but also
affirmative action and federal health care reform in the legal arena.

"I picked affirmative action because that's kind of hypocrisy that he
can talk about state's rights in one issue and talk about federal law
on another issue," said Clement, who identified himself as a medical
marijuana patient and member of Michigan NORML, a marijuana advocacy
group.

The former state government computer programmer said the attorney
general has cited federal law as a tool against following Michigan's
medical marijuana law. The medical use of marijuana remains illegal
under federal law.

Rusty Hills, a spokesman for Schuette, dismissed the latest recall
attempt.

"We plan to vigorously contest this," Hills said. "We believe there
are a number of deficiencies (in the petition) and we plan to bring
those to light. We'll wait to bring them before the Elections
Commission. Until then Bill was elected to do a job and he's going to
continue to do that job."

Among other claims, the petition said last month Schuette filed an
appeal to a federal court decision supporting affirmative action in
Michigan because it violated an amendment to the state constitution
banning race or ethnicity in admission to public colleges and
universities.

The recall language added Schuette "issued an ambiguous opinion from
his office stating that the sharing of medical marijuana is illegal"
under state law and filed a challenge in U.S. District Court in
Florida against "a federally mandated healthcare law designed for
people who do not have ANY health insurance."

The last of the four claims contended Schuette filed a legal brief in
a Michigan Supreme Court case to support county prosecutors "arguing
that unregistered users of marihuana are not entitled to assert a
defense under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act against drug
possession charges."

Petition language noted specific dates for each claim.

The Midland County Election Commission will determine the clarity of
the petition language at a 2 p.m. Aug. 17 hearing at the Midland
County Courthouse in Midland, said County Clerk Ann Manary. The
three-member panel has to OK petition language as understandable to
voters prior to Clement and his supporters attempts to gather 807,000
signatures to demand a recall election.

In Clement's first attempt Monday, the commission rejected a
three-point recall petition, focused on Schuette's handling of the
state's medical marijuana law, as unclear.

"My original intent was to file and the first time I went there it was
uncharted waters for me," Clement said. "You can't find out until you
make the effort. Now that I kind of figured out the process a little
bit I made the next filing very specific. I had all the intention of
refiling."

An attorney general spokesman dismissed Clement's first attempt in an
email response to The Saginaw News last month.

"It is an effort by a fringe element to make the attorney general a
poster boy in its fight against local police and prosecutors who are
working overtime to do their jobs in the wake of this poorly drafted
law," a statement said.