How Do We Save The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act?

Attention Michigan Medical Marijuana: Patients, Caregivers, Dispensaries, Compassionate Health Centers, and Compassion Clubs:

The time has come for all to put aside our personal feelings, emotions, and the painful past by joining together as one unified network.  Together a network of educated, well informed voices who speak in solidarity. We have come to the valley of death.  The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 was put into jeopardy and as we walked through the darkness indeed we have seen the errors of our ways. The time is now for us to come together.  We must put the past in back of us and together form new leadership with a commitment to change the way business is being handled inside the Michigan Medical Marijuana Community.

The problems with the lack of standards cannot be fixed without cooperation from everyone inside our community.  These changes can be made without additional legislation. We must continue to work together to fix these problems and it must start from inside the medical marijuana community.

Unlike past leadership inside the medical marijuana movement who failed to keep the people united. This was the failure that the government needed and the weakness the politicians used and gravitated to.  This led to near destruction of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008. This destruction was saved by an aggressive group of patients and caregivers who together decided that the only way to stop the legislation of these bills is to work together as a team.

We cast out and put all of our personal barriers, issues, and interference’s aside with one primary focus in mind. We must save the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008.  This is where “The Last Stand against the bad legislation threatening to destroy this act evolved.”

In August 2012, we welcomed the birth of the first patient and caregiver focused association of its kind. This organization is a non-profit organization, membership is voluntary. The only requirement is that valid medical marijuana certification for membership is necessary. The membership is made up of Michigan Registered Patients and Caregivers.

These patients protected under the existing Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008. This organization (MiPACU) is formed with clear representation, a loud voice, and a professional educated approach. This voice gives direction based on the needs of the community of registered patients, caregivers and not the needs of the special interest groups and organizations.

In the past special interest groups and profiteering organizations seized the opportunity to hi-jack the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act and tailor it to their own special needs.

These same organizations rely on patients and caregivers in order to obtain the natural medicine that allows these organizations to flourish. These businesses threatened the business model created under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act. These risks compromised the law by threatening extinction to the bill.  The intent and design of the original act would be compromised and therefore making all of us criminals at the expense, and greed of a corrupt self-absorbed few.

This patients and caregivers have united.  We have spoke out and we have let our voices be heard. The opportunity to gather for change, educate future leaders, create strong community organizations, build successful social networks is integral.

Letting our voices yell louder than those greed mongering, money sucking special interest groups is ultimately the biggest goal. A select number of these greed seeking profiteers made a series of back room deals with our politicians which ultimately threatened to destroy the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008.

The weeks leading up to the rally we were heckled, bullied, insulted, and we were told not to rally. They insisted that if we rally together in unison at the State Capitol in Lansing it would send a negative message.

These people actually told us that practicing our First Amendment Right to protest is a waste of time. We were told to keep trying to contact our friendly local neighborhood politicians because they will be happy to hear what we have to say.

The organization Michigan Patients and Caregivers United is responsible for sending out over seven thousand emails and letters. These letters sent requesting time to address our grievances. The group also petitioned and gathered signatures for time to address our grievances. The group together held several telethons that took place at The Jackson Farmers Market and our request was for time to address our grievances. These telethons produced upwards of 300 calls to local neighborhood politicians. The group was a major sponsor of the recent September 19, 2012 rally on the Capitol.

The Michigan Patients and Caregivers United, a persuasive group of well educated, compassionate, creative, patients and caregivers.  These non-profit volunteers have successfully obtained meetings with Senator Rick Jones, and Senator Steven Bieda.

We have had numerous phone conversations with these Senators, and we have taken it a step further.  These negative sayers were trying to break us down but instead they made us a lot stronger.  We have successfully rallied with the help of our small town communities.  We have recruited and joined organizations state wide.

We have gone door to door, calling on the dispensaries, growers, testers, caregivers, patients, compassion clubs, wellness centers, family, and friends to rally support for sick patients.

Supportive organizations donated money that paid for T-shirts that were sold to pay for buses.  These buses transported low income patient’s to the rally. We plastered Facebook and Twitter with rally spam for two months. As our ambitious history shows we will not back down.

The rally was successful in rounding up movement leaders from across the state of Michigan. These leaders are responsible for forming teams inside their own communities. These teams are responsible for making contact with as many patients, caregivers, dispensaries as possible. It is time for the self-appointed medical marijuana leadership to step aside. It is time for the ineffective errors of the last few months, and the shady dealings that led to adverse legislation to be looked at as a learning experience that was used to bounce back stronger than before.

Together as a team we stopped this legislation, or so it seems at least until after election. The fact is that this legislation was almost passed. This almost happened without opposition or collaboration. These so called leaders failed the people because they fell into their own self indulging special interests and let the patients of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 be led to the slaughter house. The People who want to assist in forming this new organization must bring an open mind and a willingness to work. Much work has already been done, but we have so much more to do. Please put the hard feelings aside and work with us as a community of leaders empowering and securing our future by looking out for each other.

Get involved! Ask me how!

Viv Takeit-Easy Breezy
President of Michigan Patients and Caregivers United

Rally Call for September 19, 2012

Attention:

Citizens of America

Citizens of Medical Marijuana States

Citizens of Michigan

United Medical Marijuana Patients and Caregivers

The Time Has Come To UNITE and defend our RIGHTS!

 

***************************PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT*****************************

Assembling of the People in Lansing, Michigan on September 19, 2012 at 12:00 PM, We will gather on the front steps of the State Capital Building on behalf of the Sick Patients in The State of Michigan.  Together we will join as one solid voice speaking as The Michigan Patients and Caregivers United (MiPACU), and supporters of the State of Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008.

We are uniting to protect the sick, condemned, criminalized people that continue to be persecuted without mercy by the State of Michigan and the corrupt government.  We are writing to inform the 63% of Michigan Citizens who voted Yes, in support of this act, that the bills have been hi-jacked from the original form, and turned into the bogus legislation being sent to the Senate.

We the sick people would like to inform you the compassionate people of the State of Michigan who voted yes to support this act, that our current political representation is doing a great disservice to the sick people of this great State.  The current State of Michigan House Representatives, and Senators that we elected to represent the people, have taken it upon themselves to support special interest.

It is our responsibility to inform the great citizens of the State of Michigan that they are starting with Marijuana.  If they can get away with this then what will they do next?

Patients are insulted and outraged about the changes that have been made to the original Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, and the evidence is clear that special interest prevails over the rights of the citizens and the sick.

These changes amazingly passed through the State of Michigan House of Representatives.  The reason they passed so easily is that the people were not aware of its existence.  We were warned at the last minute and could not prepare to alert the people to assemble.  It is ok we know who voted to pass these through.  We will remember these people at election time.  The trust that the people have in our government has depleted.  The truth will be revealed and a call to action is necessary if we are to fix these problems that we face that are now on their way to Senate for approval.

We as patients of the State of Michigan Medical Marijuana Act are publicly crying foul play.  The foul play is against the innocent sick people that this bill is supposed to represent.

We are not just upset but we are not willing to accept any of the suggested changes on the way to the Senate floor. There appears to a breakdown of communication and a serious disconnect between the lawmakers, and the people.

These changes were not made to protect, help, or assist the sick patients that this bill was created to help, and that the people of Michigan voted to become law.  These bills were changed to suit a niche of select corporate interest.  These changes are written with corporate interest’s best interest and not the best interest of the sick patients in the State of Michigan that this original law was designed to protect.

It is the disrespect of the patients, and the protecting of corporate Interest that make these issues intolerable.  That is why these changes must be stopped.  The detail provided explains why the patients of Michigan Medical Marijuana have a major problem with the bills on the way to Senate.

These changes only protect and benefit a select few, while making criminals out of the rest of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Patients.

These corporate interests represent a “select few” inside the Michigan Medical Marijuana Community.  These “select few” will continue to be called “CORPORATE INTERESTS” for now.  Please stay tuned as more information about these corporate interests will be detailed in the coming weeks.  The details continue to unfold daily.

These Corporate Interests sold out the patients of Michigan, and the rights of the sick.

Corporate Interests have met with a select few Republican Senators Rick Jones (primary),Michael Green, Mike Nofs, John Proos, Tory Rocca, Tonya Schuitmaker, John Pappageorge, James Marleau, Darwin Booher, Arlan Meekhof, Mark Jansenin the State of Michigan.  These corporate interests (Names revealed at a later date), and a series of back room deals were conjured up wheeling, and dealing with the State of Michigan Medical Marijuana Patient Rights.

These deals are the beginning of the end to the Medical Marijuana Act in the State of Michigan.

These corporate interests approved, supported, and agreed with these backroom politicians and together they chopped up the original bill into tiny bits and pieces.  These lawmakers made side deals with these corrupt corporate interests, who gives these people the right to speak for the majority?  These corporate interests claimed that they represent the people.  These corporate interests were told that they would be rewarded monetary if they were successful at keeping the patients, caregivers, and the 63% of the Michigan citizens uninformed about these changes.

These changes have not been approved by the majority of the people in fact they go against the originally established Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008.  These interests (Names revealed at a later date) were told by the politicians mentioned above to keep the sick people and supporting citizens out of Lansing and away from the media until after the elections.  They do not want this information in the public eye before elections. 

Why are they punishing patients for choosing a natural health alternative?

August 30, 2012

Diagnosed with bi-polar manic-2 at the age of 30 years old  I did not realize that the countless toxic prescriptions that were supposed to give me my life back actually made my life much worse.  They even said I would have to take these medications for the rest of my life.  These medications such as Depakote, Lithium, Lamictal, Prozac, Zoloft, Ambien, Xanax, Buspar, Wellbutrin, never even worked, in fact the prescriptions kept getting stronger, and stronger the drugs got the less life I lived, and the worse I felt.

My weight began increasing, my energy was all but none existent, and living was like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.  The side effects from these harmful synthetics caused tremendous amounts of internal and irreversible stomach problems.

When I turned Forty three years of age the Doctors diagnosed me with two bleeding stomach ulcers, chronic migraines.  Stage four pre-cancer cists on my ovaries and side effects from years of toxic sludge tearing through my body.  This damage unleashing a world wind of free radicals and now my entire life altered.  Changed because of the extreme nausea that kept me at home, close to the bed, and always far away from people.

What I learned is that Years of continuous exposure to synthetically prescribed drugs made even the simplest pain a full body experience.  I learned that taking something as light as an aspirin would cause enormous discomfort inside my stomach, made me sick and extremely nauseas, nothing ever worked for me.  It was miserable.

In 2008 the State of Michigan voted an overwhelming support of 63% voting in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.  Weary at first but I eventually bought into the medical marijuana certification.  I found a caregiver that actually supplies me with a half of an ounce of extremely good medicine every month.  He is very reliable. I have witnessed what my friends, family and neighbors have gone through in their search for a caregiver.  I am one of the fortunate patients.  It is rare that I have to visit a Compassion Center because my caregiver is looking out for me always.

You cannot imagine how infuriating it is to find out that our Government is planning on altering the existing Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.  Why are they altering it? Because a group of 12 compassion centers stepped in claimed that they were running the show said that they spoke for the majority of patients and that this gave them the authority to make decisions on our behalf.

Essentially what these changes mean is that someone like me, that does not have health insurance, and is not paying for marijuana, will be forced to spend more money on doctors’ visits, and getting my medication from a local neighborhood compassion club, for a monetary donation of $10 or more per gram.

How is this fair?

Patients have a right to grow their own medicine and if they cannot grow their own medicine they have a right to hire someone to grow it for them, or go to a compassion center if they so choose.  However, we the people were given the right to choose.  They do not have authority to speak on our behalf.

Then we have Tyrants like Rick Jones, Senator in Michigan, who says that because I look healthy that I should not be a marijuana patient.  Rick said that people who are medical marijuana patients should not be parents, and he said that he never has taken anything stronger than aspirin in his entire life.  Why does Senator Rick Jones think it is ok to tell me what the best way to medicate my body and treat my condition with? Why is it being given to the government to decide??  What really confuses me is that Rick Jones voted NO for the OBAMA CARE, then why does he care about my healthcare?  When good OLD BOY Rick Jones voted NO he essentially said that GOVERNMENT DOES NOT BELONG IN HEALTH CARE???

Then why does he think he belongs in MEDICAL MARIJUANA?

Isn’t MEDICAL considered HEALTH??

Why does the government want to punish people for trying to get healthy?  Since I have been taking medical marijuana, I have been able to completely remove myself from the exposure of dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, secure a successful career, edge closer to the completion of my college education, and improve my general way of life.

Illustration provided by Graphic Designer Chris Collins

Changing this bill from its original form is called HYPOCRISY and this is not acceptable in any way shape or form, and continuing forward will be a violation of my civil rights.  I have a right to have a caregiver to provide quality medicine to me to treat my chronic condition that my health care provider said I qualify for according to the State of Michigan Medical Marijuana Certification qualifications.  Just because I don’t look sick, doesn’t mean that I am not qualified to be a patient.

Unite with patients, caregivers, compassion centers, lawyers, civil rights leaders, as we tell the government in the State of Michigan to back off of our Medical Marijuana Act.

September 19, 2012 at 12:00pm we will gather at the steps of the State Capital Building in Lansing Michigan and demand that the State of Michigan back down, and leave our law alone.  We will not continue to be bullied.

Sincerely,

 

Viv Rockoflove Breezemund

President of Michigan Patients and Caregivers United