Pubdate: Fri, 20 Sep 2013
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Copyright: 2013 Detroit Free Press
Contact: http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/opinion04/50926009
Website: http://www.freep.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125
Author: Bill Laitner

PETITION LEADER'S ARREST MIGHT VOID FERNDALE MARIJUANA VOTE

A man lauded by supporters of marijuana legalization for going 
door-to-door in Ferndale this summer on behalf of a ballot question 
to legalize pot faces felony charges of selling the drug.

The arrest of Andrew Cissell, 25, on five counts of marijuana 
delivery could invalidate the election results this fall, Ferndale 
City Clerk Cherilynn Brown said.

"It's going to be on the ballots - they've already been printed," 
Brown said today.

Whether the votes count will depend on rulings by county election 
authorities and county prosecutors, Brown said. The issue, she said, 
is that officials don't know whether Cissell was a Ferndale resident 
when he circulated and filed the petitions.

Brown said Cissell registered a Ferndale address at a Secretary of 
State branch June 10 and started collecting signatures two days 
later. Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins said evidence in the 
marijuana delivery investigation showed Cissell lived mainly in an 
Oak Park home that he owns.

Cissell, who was released Wednesday from the Oakland County Jail 
following his arrest Sept. 9, said only that he'd hired an attorney.

"To be honest with you, at this current point in time, me and my 
lawyer can't say anything," he said today.

The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office deferred questions about the 
election to the Oakland County Clerk's Office, where an election 
official said he was unable to comment.

The Ferndale ballot proposal would amend the city code to allow 
anyone 21 or older "to possess, use or transfer" up to an ounce of 
marijuana on private property, according to the ballot language. 
Cissell had turned in enough signed petitions July 30 to get the 
issue on the ballot.

At the time, he said he planned to run for state representative next 
year in the district that covers Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge and 
Huntington Woods, aiming to make marijuana legalization a statewide issue.

Cissell's arrest followed an investigation by OAKNET - the Oakland 
County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Collins said.

An informant made three purchases of marijuana from Cissell's Oak 
Park home, Collins said. Police raided that home, another Oak Park 
home where Cissell had belongings and his Ferndale address, finding 
marijuana growing outside and inside the Oak Park homes, Collins said.

Cissell faces up to five years in prison for each of the charges. He 
is a state-registered medical-marijuana user and caregiver, but when 
arrested, he had more marijuana in his possession than the state 
medical marijuana act allows, Collins said.

Cissell's arrest was called disappointing but not a setback for those 
who want to see an end to marijuana arrests and investigative raids.

"This issue is going to win overwhelmingly" among Ferndale voters, 
said Tim Beck, 61, of Detroit, who helped fund the petition campaign 
on behalf of the Safer Michigan Coalition. The group has put 
identical proposals on ballots in Jackson and Lansing.

"Oakland County never would've investigated this young man if he 
hadn't been the one to get this on the ballot," Beck said. "I think 
the voters of Ferndale are going to reject this kind of bullying by 
the Oakland County sheriff."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom