LANSING MARIJUANA RALLY: LOCAL DISPENSARY OWNERS MEET WITH AREA LEGISLATORS

LANSING -- Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin, said he's in agreement with
local supporters of medical marijuana he met with during a rally in
Lansing Wednesday and said new legislation has to address
"inconsistencies" with the current law.

During the rally, MacMaster met with Choice Collective owner Drew
Driver and Northern Lab Services owner Dan Tomaski to discuss proposed
changes to the Michigan Medical Marihauna Act. It was his second such
meeting with Driver.

"We're open minded to see this legislation move forward in a way that
is responsibly governed, so we can best serve the public and their
needs without abusing the system," MacMaster said. "We recognize the
legislation drafted by the previous administration didn't cover
everything and had inconsistencies. We want to work it to the best
interests of the patients."

Choice Collective is a dispensary in Gaylord, which has stopped
selling medical marijuana following an August judgment by the state
court of appeals which ruled such facilities are illegal.

"It's a business, and we have to respect it as such," MacMaster said.
"It has to be regulated, where any amount of drugs prescribed have to
be in strict accordance with the law and maintained in a way like
prescription drugs."

MacMaster said he does not like seeing billboards or large signs
advertising the service and would favor more discreet signage by
dispensaries.

"The patients who need it know where the business is," MacMaster
said.

Tomaski, whose business tests marijuana for quality and purity,
estimated 3,000 people attended the rally, including some from
Gaylord. He described the three-hour event as "peaceful and well
organized," and was happy to meet with both MacMaster and Sen. John
Moolenaar, R-Midland.

"I think they heard us," Tomaski said. "We opened their eyes a bit and
they're interested in having some legislation coming from our side of
the issue."

Moolenaar was not immediately available for comment.

Karen Sides, owner of Natural Remedies, a collective in Gaylord, said
the rally was "very positive and very emotional at the same time,"
describing patients as upset at last month's ruling which prohibited
patient-to-patient transfers of marijuana -- the activity on which her
business was based.

"They've made it basically impossible for this law to work now," she
said, noting speakers included attorneys, members of collectives,
patients and dispensary owners. "We hope we were heard."