A lot of people in Michigan are not too happy with the proposal by retired Michigan State Police trooper Donald Bailey. Bailey is a member of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board and has suggested the dispensaries be shut down by Sept. 5 and that any outlets still open should not be able to apply for licenses when Michigan makes the applications available starting December 15th.
“Every dispensary out there is open in violation of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,” Bailey said. “It’s a felony for every sale that occurs from a dispensary.”
Dozens of patients who use medical marijuana spoke their cases and the board fortunately tabled Bailey’s proposal.
Mark Gibson of Detroit explained, “I have a degenerative bone disorder and discovering medical marijuana was a game changer for me. Before you make a rash decision, the financial cost for people who rely on dispensaries for product will be significant. You will complicate their life so much that they may not be able to get treatment.”
The fear that some patients would have to go to the black market was a reality.
Tim Beck, who helped get the medical marijuana constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot remarked, “This comes across to me as petty, vindictive and authoritarian.”
