Some new medical marijuana rules took effect earlier this week in Michigan, rules that lawmakers hope will further clarify the state’s medical cannabis law.
Among the new rules are provisions that: 1) extend the life of medical marijuana cards from 1 year to 2 years; 2) say those with felonies on their records in the last ten years are no longer allowed to be caregivers; 3) require face-to-face doctor visits with medical marijuana patients, as well as follow-up visits.
“A lot of patients with long-standing relationships with their caregivers are going to have to look elsewhere,” said Michael Komorn, president of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Association, about the new felony provision. “So why pick on existing caregivers when there’s been seemingly no reason to do so?”
“There’s no question this gives us some direction,” Komorn said about the doctor provisions. “My real concern is that anytime you start allowing the government to judge what takes place inside the doctor’s office, it becomes slippery slope for disaster.
“No other physicians are being held to the type of scrutiny that medical marijuana physicians are,” he said.
One of the drawbacks of medical marijuana laws – and the same will be true for recreational legalization laws – is the tendency of politicians to constantly tinker with the law. While this is a great mechanism for improving existing laws, it is also a recipe for constant upheaval for patients.
Hopefully things get easier for patients in Michigan instead of more difficult.
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( Do New Medical Marijuana Laws In Michigan Clear Up Any Confusion?)
-Article via Joe Klare for The 420 Times