Michigan medical marijuana panel looks to add PTSD to law but rejects autism, other conditions

Marijuana (AP File Photo)

 A state panel appointed to review Michigan's medical marijuana law gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a citizen petition seeking to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of debilitating conditions that can qualify a patient for participation in the program.

The Michigan Marihuana Act Review Panel, in a 7-2 vote, recommended adding PTSD to the list. The preliminary vote will be followed by a public hearing, which must be scheduled within 60 days under state rules, before the panel reconvenes to make a formal recommendation.

The head of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, the state agency responsible for appointing the panel and administering the medical marijuana program, will have final say on whether to add PTSD to the list of debilitating conditions.

LARA disbanded a previous iteration of the panel in April after acknowledging failure to appoint members in a manner consistent with administrative rules. The original panel had recommended adding PTSD, and the new-look group, whose members were appointed in June, followed suit in Tuesday's preliminary vote.

"In my opinion, marijuana is one of the best medications for people with PTSD," said appointee David Crocker, a medical doctor from Kalamazoo who serves as president of Michigan Holistic Health. "…We have a lot of veterans with PTSD in our clinics. Many of them will tell you they think marijuana saved their lives, and many of their families will tell you the same thing."

Jeanne Lewandowski of Detroit, a panel member who works as director of palliative medicine at St. John Hospital and Medical Center, spoke out against the petition and was one of two appointees to vote against it. She argued that marijuana could impair the ability of military veterans to reintegrate into society and said she was concerned about social isolation.

PTSD petitioner John EvansJohn Evans of Ann Arbor, a military veteran and medical marijuana user, explains why he filed a petition seeking to add PTSD to Michigan's law.

In a series of separate votes, the panel rejected petitions seeking to add insomnia, asthma and autism to the list of debilitating conditions under the law. The insomnia vote was preliminary, meaning it will also be subject to a public hearing followed by another vote.

The asthma and autism votes, however, were considered final because the previous iteration of the panel had already considered the petitions and LARA had organized public hearings, frustrating some members who felt the agency was employing a double standard.

"I didn't feel it was appropriate," said David Brogren of Bloomfield Hills, a non-physician panelist who serves as president of Cannabis Patients United. "They disbanded the original panel because it was put together in error. I don't believe the errors were malicious or anything like that -- it wasn't a conspiracy, they just made a mistake -- but I think what they should do was go back to square one on all (the petitions). That would be the most fair thing."

During a public comment section of Tuesday's panel meeting, several marijuana advocates criticized the state for its handling of the review panel, which was envisioned in the 2008 law, mandated by administrative rules established in 2009, but did not meet for the first time until 2012.

A number of advocates questioned whether LARA had again violated the administrative rules by appointing only six members to the panel who also serve on the state's Advisory Committee on Symptom Management. Seven are required.

But Carole Engle, director of LARA's bureau of health care services, expressed confidence that the panel was properly constituted and convened, noting that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to appoint another member to the committee who would then serve on the panel moving forward.

"We are convinced that we are not wasting our time," Engle said in response to a question from a panel member. "…We're still missing one member from the advisory committee, but we do have a quorum of appropriately appointed members here today, and that should not impede the panel's ability to make decisions at all."

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Michigan State Representative Calls for Marijuana Decriminalization

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Michigan State Representative Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) called for action on House Bill 4623 to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The bill would make possession of an ounce or less a civil infraction, punishable by a fine that would be based on whether the violation is a first, second, or third offense. Current law currently classifies possession as a misdemeanor with jail time or heavy fines as the penalty.

State Representative Mike Shirkey (R-Clark Lake) is a co-sponsor of the bill who says he wanted to participate to show bi-partisan support for having the debate on decriminalizing marijuana.

"Much as we did with the failed prohibition of alcohol, I feel we have reached a crossroads where we need to readdress how the state will enforce some aspects of marijuana law, especially for adult use," said Shirkey. "I would need to see some of the language in this bill changed before I could vote for it, especially in regards to minors. But it is abundantly clear that the status quo regarding our laws and recreational adult use needs to be robustly analyzed, debated, and changed where prudent."

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Mayor Asks City Attorney to Research Marijuana Decriminalization

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero is asking the city attorney to look into the impact and legalities of decriminalizing marijuana. He told wilx.com it's just a matter of time until there's a referendum on the issue, so he wants to know how cities like Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo have implemented it and how they're complying with state law.

 "It's there, it's available in our community. I think we're better off dealing with it as a civil infraction and dealing with the reality of it."

The Mayor doesn't think decriminalization would be a huge change in Lansing because police don't treat simple possession as a priority right now. "We don't have the manpower to go after individual cases, so turning it into a civil infraction in many ways is just recognizing what already is, but would also stop the criminalization of a lot of our young people."

Decriminalization means people caught with marijuana, assuming they aren't complying with the state's medical marijuana law, would be given a ticket instead of being arrested. The Mayor calls it a rational approach to a drug that's readily available in the community. In fact, he says it's been pushed into neighborhoods since the state asked the courts to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Mayor thinks a referendum would be the best way to decide if Lansing should decriminalize marijuana, but he won't be leading the charge for it and he isn't supporting legalization.

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