LAWMAKERS TO INTRODUCE BILLS TO CLOSE MARIJUANA 'LOOPHOLES'

Eaton County Sheriff Mike Raines worries medical marijuana growing
sites will spur violence in his community.

He says thieves are hijacking the drugs and some growers are arming
themselves in self-defense.

Clinton County Sheriff Wayne Kangas says he's alarmed at the sharp
rise in young people his officers are arresting for marijuana possession.

Both sheriffs believe the state's medical marijuana law is a poorly
drafted mess that has led to a rise in illegal growing operations and
illegal marijuana use. But they say a package of eight bills lawmakers
will introduce this fall will close loopholes in the 2008 ballot
measure and create laws that police can enforce.

"The law has been hijacked by drug dealers who want to make money,
line their pockets and make a huge profit," Attorney General Bill
Schuette said. "This law has as many holes as Swiss cheese. It's out
of control and we need to fix it."

Surrounded by police, prosecutors and lawmakers, Schuette unveiled a
package of bills he is supporting that bans felons from supplying
medical marijuana patients with the drug, makes it a crime for doctors
to falsely certify a patient, requires photos on medical marijuana
cards and allows communities to specifically zone for medical
marijuana dispensaries.

Police and prosecutors have complained about ambiguities since the law
was enacted in 2009 after voters approved it in 2008.

Communities, including Lansing, have struggled with how to regulate
and zone the medical marijuana dispensaries that have sprouted during
the past two years.

"We don't have a photo on the medical marijuana card, so we're off to
the races from the start," said Saginaw County Prosecutor Mike Thomas.
"Is this card legitimate?"

But medical marijuana advocates have been leery of any proposed
changes to the law, saying it is merely an attempt to make it harder
for them to acquire medical marijuana and would violate their civil
rights.

"I can guarantee that none of the people at that press conference
voted for this law in 2008," said Rick Thompson, editor of the Oak
Park-based Michigan Medical Marijuana Magazine. "To open the law to
legislative tinkering with the current composition of the Legislature
simply is unadvisable because they don't represent the true feelings
of Michigan's citizens."

Before the medical marijuana law was enacted, Kangas said his
department would arrest perhaps 110 people a year for marijuana possession.

Now, he said, his department is arresting about 150 annually. Very few
have medical marijuana cards.

Having medical marijuana dispensaries in many areas sends the wrong
message to young people, he said.

"It's made it so much more available," Kangas said. "There is a
perception that it's OK."

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What's next

This fall, state lawmakers will introduce a package of bills
designed to address what they see as loopholes in a medical marijuana
ballot initiative approved by Michigan voters in 2008.

Among other things, the bills would ban felons from supplying
medical marijuana patients with the drug, make it a crime for doctors
to falsely certify a patient and require photos on medical marijuana
cards.

Medical marijuana advocates say the bills are intended only to make
it harder for patients to legally acquire medical marijuana.