Pubdate: Mon, 06 Jun 2011
Source: Macomb Daily, The (MI)
Copyright: 2011 The Macomb Daily
Contact:  http://www.macombdaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2253
Author: Amanda Lee
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

STERLING HEIGHTS MAN'S MEDICAL POT RADIO SHOW A HIT

Medical Mike Taylor, an advocate, debates issues on 'Detroit Homegrown Show'

Mike Taylor has had a rough time lately - but he's not letting his 
own personal woes keep him down.

The longtime Sterling Heights resident is not only fighting cancer, 
but the condition has forced him to leave his job as a janitor 
because he can't keep up with the manual labor portion of the job.

Because of his illness, Taylor was introduced to medical marijuana as 
a therapy device to manage pain. He later became such a proponent of 
it that he went on the air at WDTW-1310 with another local radio 
personality where they discussed politics during the "High Noon Hour" 
and how it affected the medical marijuana debate in the state of Michigan.

"Ultimately, I realized that I was really interested in the political 
angle," he said. "I don't care about putting blame on someone or just 
arguing to argue. I want to actually accomplish something."

Taylor decided to branch out on his own and launch his own program.

Just this past weekend, "Detroit Homegrown Show" debuted at 8 a.m. 
Saturday on the radio station.

"I call it 'Wake and Bake with Medical Mike,'" Taylor said. "Instead 
of arguing I'm more interested in having knowledgeable guests come on 
and discuss what's going on with medical marijuana and growers."

Taylor's first guest was a rocket scientist - and even he agrees that 
will be hard to top going forward.

"It was amazing having my first show with a rocket scientist," Taylor 
said. "I couldn't believe it."

The hour-long show will also allow callers to phone in to ask 
questions and even argue about the merits of medical marijuana.

"I welcome people who don't believe in medical marijuana, if they 
want to call," said Taylor. "I want my show to be more about 
intelligent debate than just hurling insults and names at other people.

"There's no good way to raise awareness for people than to get our 
position out there," he continued. "I want people to know we're not 
thugs, we're not people just trying to get high, we're just trying to 
get some level of quality of life."

While Taylor does believe that pot should be decriminalized, he says 
that he doesn't want to the government to get involved in the 
situation and tax the product.

"I think it's an issue that has a lot of facets," he said. "That's 
why I think this show is great. People can talk about all those 
different facets."

In addition to his radio work, Taylor makes regular appearances on 
television and is hosting a special event on Sept. 24 at the Emerald 
Theater in downtown Mount Clemens.

"I think there's a real niche market here for a show like this," he 
said. "I'm not angry, I'm not beating anybody up, and I'm informative 
and rational.

"They say it takes a village to get anything done and I'm building 
one," Taylor said.

For more information, call (586) 883-3966 or visit www.homegrownshow.com .
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom