Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Program Could Get Overhaul in 2016

One of the key advocates responsible for shaping Michigan’s medical marijuana program in 2008 would like to see it overhauled. In a recent interview, Tim Beck said the state’s medical marijuana program is outdated in comparison to others that have been established since its passage and needs to be amended.

Beck said, “the political climate was radically different” in 2008, and that the state’s medical marijuana initiative was created based on the federal government’s continued efforts to shakedown other states.

"That's why we created this caregiver system where you have thousands of small-time growers all over the state," he said. "It may not have been the most perfect method of distributing and providing medical marijuana to patients, but it was pretty much bullet proof in the sense that it would be impossible for the DEA to enforce federal law."

It is for this reason that he has joined forces with the Michigan Responsibility Council, a group working to improve the medical marijuana program. They have created a proposal that would modify the law by creating a state board that would oversee every facet of the program from growers to dispensaries – a subject that was not covered in the 2008 law.

The group is working towards launching a signature collecting campaign in order to put their medical marijuana overhaul on the ballot in 2016. Yet, they remain hopeful that the state legislature will make some necessary changes before that time.