Pubdate: Sat, 05 Jun 2010
Source: Lansing State Journal (MI)
Copyright: 2010 Lansing State Journal
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/uc45fODd
Website: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/232
Author: Susan Vela
Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.

'CANNABIS CARAVAN' TO STOP IN LANSING

Doctor's Referral 'Not Final Say' On Medical Marijuana

Expect a festive feel when an out-of-state "cannabis  caravan" settles
in Lansing this month so the seriously  ill can line up with their
medical records, $150 and  the hopes of being able to smoke marijuana
legally.

People may hear Bob Marley music when they visit the  caravan, which
will have at least two doctors to review  their records and assess
their pain, at The University  Quality Inn, 3121 E. Grand River Ave.,
on June 20.

After a 10- to 15-minute appointment, they will have a  doctor's
medical recommendation indicating whether they  should qualify for the
state's new medical marijuana  program.

"They will be issued a referral," said Tiffany Klang,  of the Montana
Caregivers Network, which planned stops  in Lansing, Detroit and
Kalamazoo. "However, the  doctor's referral is not the final say. The
state has  the right to deny or reject any applications."

Local authorities are irked the caravan is coming to  town,
however.

"We don't need people from outside Michigan coming here  to give
people questionable medical exams to certify  them as (medical
marijuana) patients," Lansing police  spokesman Lt. Noel Garcia said.

"We have plenty of doctors here and an established  process for
legitimate patients to get certified. If  they do show up in Lansing,
we will make sure they  follow the letter of the law and we won't
hesitate to  arrest them if they don't."

In Montana, the cannabis caravans are known as mobile  assembly-line
operations that have signed up thousands  of new patients across the
state over the past year.

The Michigan stops will be the first to happen outside  the western
state.

Montana's medical board has been trying to curtail the  clinics. The
board recently fined a physician who  participated in one. It's the
first disciplinary action  taken against a doctor in a Montana medical
marijuana  case.

Organizers say the clinics help patients who otherwise  might not have
access to a doctor who will prescribe  medical marijuana.

James McCurtis, spokesman for the state Department of  Community
Health, said he has some concerns about the  caravans welcoming people
from off the street and then  doctors giving their recommendations
after brief  visits.

"We want to maintain the integrity of the medical  marijuana program,"
he said, adding that the caravan  visit doesn't appear to be illegal.

Klang, who is trying to arrange a Michigan branch of  the Montana
Caregivers Network, said the network will  be willing to charge poor
and lower-income people less  than $150, with proper documentation of
disability or  food stamps.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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