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
![By brian0918™ (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AADN_animation.gif "By brian0918™ (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons")
