Looking up patients, caregivers

Proposed legislation would allow law enforcement to search medical marijuana patients and caregivers by name and address

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A necessary improvement to the state’s Medical Marihuana Act or an infringement upon civil liberties?

That question has surfaced over proposed legislation in the state Senate that would require the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which processes medical marijuana program applications, to give the Michigan State Police the names and addresses of registered patients and caregivers. Right now, law enforcement authorities can only check registrations by obtaining a patient or caregiver’s personal identification number.

The measure, a substitute for Senate Bill 377, was unanimously voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday with support from the State Police, the Michigan Municipal League, the state Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Eaton County prosecutor and the state Attorney General’s Office.

The original version of the bill required the licensing department to disclose "information concerning issuance of the card" for new patients and caregivers to the State Police, which would keep track of the information and disseminate it to local law enforcement.

One Republican sponsor of Senate Bill 377 said the bill would solve a problem law enforcement officials are having out in the field: identifying who is a legitimate patient or caregiver. 

“It ensures that the police know who is a legitimate medical marijuana card holder,” said state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge and a co-sponsor of the bill. “Police need to know quickly (who is a patient and caregiver) so they don’t take inappropriate action.”

The bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, did not return multiple calls for comment.

Sergeant Chris Hawkins, legislative liaison with the State Police, said law enforcement can already access information on who is a patient or caregiver through the Law Enforcement Information Network, or LEIN, with that person’s medical marijuana identification number. But he said it’s not always easy to identify who is a legitimate patient or caregiver.

Hawkins said “occasionally” someone is in possession of marijuana but not a card or paperwork. Because police can’t access medical marijuana information by name or address, the only way to identify those people is if they have their PIN memorized. Hawkins also said the roughly four-month backlog in issuing cards is making it “problematic” to identify who is a patient, even though the act says a patient’s application serves as a card in the meantime if the application wasn’t rejected within 20 days.

“Do you take the person’s word? Do you seize the marijuana and investigate further? It is problematic,” Hawkins said, adding that the department does not track incidents where officers have difficulty obtaining medical marijuana information.

Ingham County Undersheriff Allan Spyke said the information could be useful if someone called in a tip that someone else is suspected of growing marijuana illegally. “We could cross-check it before we go over to the house,” he said.

Spyke confirmed anecdotal cases in which someone was pulled over with marijuana in the car and said they were a medical marijuana patient but couldn’t prove it.

“I could see how (the bill) would clarify who is legitimately able to possess the marijuana as opposed to those who are just trying to scam the police,” he said.

Lansing Police Lt. Noel Garcia said city police have had “some difficulty” identifying legitimate patients and caregivers if they haven’t been issued their physical card from the state yet. However, if someone does have a card, Garcia said “it’s pretty straightforward” identifying patients and caregivers. 

Samantha Harkins, a legislative associate at the Michigan Municipal League, said the league  supports the substitute bill.

“I think the intent of the legislation is to protect both patients and law enforcement,” she said. “If I see my neighbor has a bunch of pot plants, (police) can look up (their information by name and address) before doing a raid.”

Harkins said the original version of the bill was “vague” and that the substitute is “helpful for caregivers” and “more protective of patients.”

Harkins said “there have been complaints” by the medical marijuana community about law enforcement knowing whether certain individuals are patients and if that information could be abused. “I hope that’s something that’s not a common problem.”

But some medical marijuana advocates wonder if police accessing this information poses serious privacy questions.

Shekina Peña, owner of Your Healthy Choice Clinic, 628 E. Michigan Ave., advised new patients and caregivers the potential dangers of allowing law enforcment to access personal information like names and date of birth.

“It should be someone’s option (to give that information),” she said. “It definitely brings up patient privacy.”

Peña said information about what medicine people take is “very private information.”

The proposed bill is now on the floor of the Senate for consideration. It would take a three-fourths majority of the House and Senate to amend the Medical Marihuana Act.

Rich Carl, owner of Green Cross compassion club in Lansing, said the proposed bill does not offer “due process” because it presumes patients and caregivers are not valid.

“That’s an unfair presumption,” he said. “We have a law — the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act — which provides for patient legality and safety that is sufficient to protect patients who are certified by a physician. It has public safety protections worked into it. I don’t think we should change one word of it.”

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