Auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff. The Michigan Department of Corrections said Thursday it may take disciplinary action after auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff at a women's prison. Auditor General Doug Ringler said during two five-day periods last year, the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti did not conduct or document nearly a quarter of the required cell searches and prisoner shakedowns. Using surveillance video, auditors also found that 58 of 170 required cell searches were not backed up by the footage -- meaning they were potentially falsified. [continues 272 words]
Lansing (AP) - Confusion surrounding the legality of marijuana dispensaries and non-smokable forms of the drug are prompting lawmakers to propose changes related to Michigan's voter-approved law that legalized marijuana for medical use. Bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday would allow for "provisioning centers," businesses where patients with a state-issued medical marijuana card could buy surplus marijuana that suppliers produce for other patients. Advocates say the bill is needed because the state Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that qualified patients and caregivers cannot transfer marijuana to another patient or anyone else, and dispensaries that facilitate such transactions can be shut down as a public nuisance. Some municipalities have let the dispensaries continue to operate while others have not. [continues 509 words]
LANSING, MI - Alcohol-related crashes may be down in Michigan, but there is another equally serious threat to contend with on the road: drugs. Though alcohol-related crashes have dropped 25 percent from 2006 to 2011, drug-related accidents in the state are up 22 percent , according to an MLive Media Group analysis. Traffic fatalities involving drugs were up 30 percent over a five-year period before dipping by almost 17 percent, or 26 deaths, last year. Authorities say they may only be scratching the surface in identifying the extent of the "drugged driving" problem - one that is harder to detect because there is no equivalent roadside breath test for cocaine, morphine, Zanax and the like. [continues 803 words]
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to consider if the state's medical marijuana law lets patients and caregivers store and grow marijuana together. In their order released Friday, justices set oral arguments to decide if it should grant an appeal from a Grand Rapids man busted in 2010 for growing too many marijuana plants. Ryan Michael Bylsma's case likely will be heard in October, the second medical marijuana case to be considered by the high court that month. The other deals with whether the 2008 voter-approved law permits patient-to-patient sales of marijuana. [continues 168 words]
LANSING, Mich. -- After passing laws to fight the illegal production of methamphetamine, state lawmakers are turning to the drug's devastating aftermath. Legislators will outline bills Monday that would establish statewide criteria for cleaning up meth labs and allow meth offenses to be used in determining child custody cases. Meth labs in homes and vehicles often are hazardous waste sites. Meth users are more prone than other drug abusers to neglect and abuse their children, experts say. Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said children live in about 80 percent of meth labs found in homes, where they can inhale or swallow toxic ingredients. [continues 303 words]
Drug Czar Sees Threat To U.S. Health In Canada Proposal DETROIT -- The U.S. drug czar on Thursday criticized a movement to legalize marijuana use in Canada, saying it would threaten public health in this country and reverse recent efforts to streamline border security. "I don't think there's any mistake about it: We intend to protect our citizens. We would have no choice," said John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. His comments came a week after a Canadian parliamentary committee called for legalizing marijuana use among adults, increasing pressure to shift drug laws away from zero-tolerance policies in the United States. [continues 331 words]
California Studies Will Try to Determine Reputed Benefits Washington -- Researchers next month will begin the first study since the 1980s of the reputed medical benefits of marijuana, signaling that the long debate over the drug's merits could be settled in hospitals and labs rather than in courts and Congress. Scientists at the University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research will conduct tests to determine whether smoking marijuana -- dubbed "medipot" -- can help HIV-infected patients and those with multiple sclerosis by easing pain or treating nausea. [continues 580 words]
