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Wensdy Noeme 30 201 // The Statement0 .-
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 // The Statement . E3
statement
Magazine Editor:
Carolyn Klarecki
Editor in Chief:
Stephanie Steinberg
Managing Editor.
Nick Spar
Deputy Editors:
Stephen Ostrowski
Devon Thorsby
Elyana Twiggs
Designers:
Maya Friedman
Arjun Manhati
Hermes Risien
Photos:
Jed Moch
Copy Editor:
Hannah Poindexter
The Statement is The
Michigan Daily's news
magazine, distributed every
Wednesday during the
academic year
To contact The Statement
e-mail klarecki@
michigandaily.com.
THEJUNKDRAWER
random student interview by laura rgintar
Welcome to the Random
student Interview where
we find our new best
friends. Hey there, you look like
you just went through a serious
monsoon. Doesn't it suck to be
cold and wet?
Depends who you ask. I'd rather be
walking in the rain than walking in
the snow.
How was your Thanksgiving
break?
outstanding. I cooked for my entire
family and then ate myself into a
food coma. Then I woke up and
raged at the tailgate and then went
to Bassnectar.
Wow. Sounds like you really had
an indulgent weekend. Bassnec-
tar probably didn't help that
hangover.
Didn't make it worse. I think every
hangover needs another party to
cure it.
So you were the one cooking?
What did you make? Anything
special?
You can doctor up any responses ... I
have no dignity, so it's all up to you.
That's a really nice offer, but
unfortunately we like to stick to
the truth at the Daily so I'll leave
that up to my editor. Anyway,
so what'd you make? Any secret
recipes?
I made a lemon and rosemary dry-
brined turkey from a grass-fed tur-
key that I got in Chelsea, Michigan
and then hells side dishes like apple
and rosemary stuffing ... farro with
mushrooms, white bean mashed
potatoes, quinoa-stuffed squash
and the best banana cake with
chocolate frosting you'll seriously
ever eat. My great grandma would
roll over in her grave if I told you it
though. I don't mess with ghosts so
I'll keep my mouth shut.
That sounds like a professional
menu. I'm impressed. And I wish
you had some leftovers right
about now.
You should come over for leftovers.
Last night I got really high and
made biscuits and gravy to go with
them.
Long Pause.
What up, I did!
Well nothing better than a blaze
session and great grub after.
Hope they keep this, maybe read-
ers will assume you're talking
about medical marijuana ... Did
you storm the field Saturday?
I mean, does the Pope wear a hat?
I don't know, I'm Jewish. Does
he?
Haha. Touche! All right then, does a
bear shit in the woods?
Not if you shoot it first.
Oh! She's on fire! As an environ-
mentalist, I'm practically required
to say we can't be friends after that
comment.
Sorry, all in good fun. I like to
recycle my water bottles if that
helps. So I'm taking it you did
rush the field. Let me ask you this
- how did you get out of the sta-
dium?
We waited until the last minute
when they kicked us off. You basi-
cally had to pry me from the turf.
Last game as a senior, real hard to
leave the big house. But on the way
out, I actually- spotted Lloyd Carr
taking a picture with someone, and
we bombarded him for a senior pic-
ture.
Shut up. That's really cool.
It was so legendary. I thinktI deserve
a Michigan Legends card - for free!
Some shameless promotion I see.
Did you register for classes yet?
I backpacked them. Still waiting to
register. Tomorrow, 10:30 am.
Rough for a senior.
Tell me about it. I'm trying to fight
Mary Sue.
That probably won't go over well.
You should beat her to The Cube
one morning. Anything special
you're planning on taking? Any-
thing easy you want to share for
the rest of us?
Built Environment, which is all
about how humans reshape the
environments that they put them-
selves into.
Truth. That last one sounds
pretty philosophical and kind
of cool. Also, stats blows.
The messed up thing about stats is
that I took AP stats in high school
and got a 5 on the AP, and I'm still
not exempt from the class. Some
bogus stuff if you ask me.
Agreed ... there's all those fun
things to put in your graphing
calculator, though.
Hopefully my calculator still has
all those programs that Ican cheat
with.
- Julianne is an LSA Senior
Chock Ream was not happy when the Michi-
gan State Police's Livingston and Washt-
enaw Narcotics Enforcement Team raided
his Arborside medical marijuana dispen-
sary on Aug. 25.
"They've come into our dispensary ... and taken - sto-
len - all of our medicine, all of our records," said Ream,
president of the dispensary, located on 1818 Packard
Street, at the time.
The raid came one day after a state appellate court in
Isabella County ruled that dispensaries are not autho-
rized to sell marijuana under the Michigan Medical
Marihuana Act, which voters passed in 2008. Lt. Jerry
Cooley, a spokesman for LAWNET, denied that the raids
were connected to the appellate court's ruling, saying
that the raids were related to "previous investigations"
of dispensaries in Ann Arbor.
Some dispensaries in the city shut down for a brief
period after the court's ruling. Since the raid on Arbor-
side, new owners have taken over the dispensary, which
was previously called MedMar.
"The last owner was wiped out by a theft. A raid by
masked gunmen wiped him out," Ream said. "He is a
family man, with a wife and kids, and he has been really
hurt by these outrageous attacks."
State Attorney General Bill Schuette supported the
Isabella County prosecutors, and he released a statement
following the ruling that said his office would assist
other municipalities in shutting down dispensaries in
their area.
Ream criticized Schuette for his actions regarding
the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, calling his role in
enforcing and implementing the act an "atrocity."
"His goal is to defeat the voters," Ream said. "He has
no respect for the voters, no respect for medical canna-
bis, and even though the voters voted 63 percent for it, it
makes no difference to him."
Several interview requests for this article were not
returned by Schuette's office.
Ream said that Schuette wants the state's medical
marijuana act to be "invalidated as unconstitutional."
"If you don't have dispensaries, you can't have the
range of products to take care of the needs of (medi-
cal marijuana) patients that are out there," Ream said.
"Schuette is supposed to enforce and implement the law,
and in this case, he is trying to destroy (it)."
Ann Arbor City Council member Sabra Briere (D-
Ward 1) recently attended a seminar led by Schuette
that was intended to educate law enforcement agencies
and local government officials on how to implement and
enforce the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. However,
she said the seminar didn't serve its purpose.
"The presentation I went to didn't deal with imple-
mentation at all," Briere said. "(It) didn't provide infor-
mation to me that would help with understanding the
impact of the medical marijuana act on local govern-
ments."
She said the session focused on how to deal with citi-
zens who were not abiding by the terms of the medical
marijuana act.
When asked whether she thought Schuette had the
best interests of Michigan citizens in mind, Briere said
that was a question for the attorney general himself.
"I think he thinks he does," Briere said. "People can
only act on what they believe to be right."
Briere noted that Schuette is advising municipal pros-
ecutors and law enforcement agencies with a legal opin-
ion that may be inconclusive.
"At this point, prosecutors and the attorney general
are all interpreting the court's decisions in the most
broad, rather than most narrow, way possible," Briere
said.
She said she thinks it's an issue that officials interpret
the court ruling to deem the sale of medical marijuana
illegal. According to section 4 (e) of the Michigan Medi-
cal Marihuana Act, registered caregivers "may receive
compensation for costs associated with assisting a reg-
istered qualifying patient in the medical use of mari-
juana."
This section of the law gave prospective dispensary
owners enough leeway to open their businesses after the
"He has no respect
for the voters,
no respect for
medical cannabis,
and even though
the voters voted
63 percent for
it, it makes no
difference. "
-Chuck Ream, president of
Arborside dispensary
act was passed. However, the act goes on to say that a
transaction does not constitute the sale of the substance.
The apparent conflict was the center of the Isa-
bella County ruling, which ultimately upheld
the latter section of the law.
Briere agreed with Ream that Schuette's
interpretation of the ruling is at conflict
with the results of the November 2008 bal
lot initiative that passed referendum that
passed to become state law.
"I feel that it is in some people's best
interest to interpret everything very,
narrowly, and that best interest is not ..4
necessarily the best interest of the
large majority of Michigan residents
who said 'allow medical marijuana,' "
Briere said. /g
Stephen Postema, the city attor-
ney for Ann Arbor, has offered to
assist in pushing for a local control
law at the state level.
At an Oct. 26 meeting of Ann
Arbor's Medical Marijuana Licensing
Board, Postema said the ambiguities in state law make
it difficult for the city to issue licensing ordinances with
legal authority.
"The city is in a difficult position, because when you
think about it, the act of licensing and using the gov-
ernment to license something raises some problematic
issues for us," he said. "I know it is a disappointment,
and I am not here to apologize for the law.
"The law is imperfect, and the law can be changed
and I would encourage the law to be changed."
In June, the Ann Arbor City Council passed two ordi-
nances focusing on medical marijuana zoning and cul-
tivation regulations to be implemented citywide. The
passage came after the two ordinances were repeatedly
postponed over a period of seven months.
F
Ann Arbor resident Ben Ogren, a medical marijuana
cardholder, said he grows his own marijuana and finds
dispensaries "expensive."
Ogren uses medical marijuana to alleviate symptoms
he experiences from sinus infections. Ogren said dispen- K
saries have an important role in aiding patients who may
need guidance in deciding what products are appropri-
ate for their specific condition.
He said they also are an attractive model for munici-
palities because they have been suggested to alleviate
crime by removing some drug dealers from city streets.
Dispensaries offer a safe, clean, secluded area where
patients who don't grow their own cannabis can get the
help they need and be assured they are buying products
that are safe and of appropriate potency, he explained.
"Plain and simple, they're bringing money into their
town," Ogren said. "People are driving from all over the
state to come to dispensaries that are here."
Ogren said marijuana users have always used the
drug to deal with problems such as anxiety or stress,
even though the idea of legalizing medical marijuana is
relatively new.
"The doctors are just kind of ushering it in as, like,
being socially acceptable, I guess," Ogren said.
Though members of Ann Arbor's Medical Marijuana
Licensing Board will continue to meet, the future of the
city's dispensaries is unclear. Ream said state lawmakers
are working to draft a local control law that will help cit-
ies implement the state law, but no legislation has been
voted on as of yet. Further action by the attorney general
could complicate the already convoluted legal conflict.
CROSSWORD
By Nate Gallant
2 n -
Ba Q
1" 5 so
Across:
1. State of emotion
5. NIH subsidiary
9. "Tough ___ Tinactin"
14. Against
15. SWAT team action
16. Jersey ___
17. Cigarette brand
19. New Bronco frontman
20. Pinch hit for: _- place
of...
21. S. ___Edwards, artist
22. Like Ponzi schemers
26. Al enders?
27. Famous farming sur-
name
28. Even, on the links
30. Actor Damon
31. "___ home," or dunk
34. "___/Tuck"
37. Bodily hormone that
regulates glucose
38. Washington city
39. Bruins legend Bobby
40. Yes vote
41. Off the mark
42. ___D2 of Star Wars
43. ___ Golem
45. Open the door for
46. Opera element
48. A delicious utensil
52. Poor (performance)
54. Kingdom in Caracas
55. Martial arts star
56. The finishers of 11 and
24 down
60. Rapper Roth
61. Dosage, briefly
62. Express anger, with
"out"
63. Sees
64. Sutherland and Gould
film
65. Remain in place
Down:
1. Item of topography, per-
haps
2. "I'm -..boat..."
3. ESPN show after SC
4. Comic of business?
5. Barbie competitor
6. Evidence in Egypt
7. Author of Pooh
8. Commercials
9. Star study abbr.
10. Coa finisher
11. 44 down
12. Like a drowned fish
13. Like Gingrich and
Loken
18. Corn field set up, on
occasion
21. "Do __ in jail"
22. Detroit 22 across-er
23. Gettysburg general
24. See 44 down
25. Noodle maker
29. Language exam for
USA
31. Lay casually
32. TV and novel character
Doone
33. Wanted poster abbr.
35. Deceased reptilian
enthusiast Steve
36. Like a sniper ready to
fire
38. To be in Tijuana
42. What a gun does
44. Soliloquizer of 11 and
24 down
45. Let someone borrow
46. House of Blues event
47. Cultish SyFy TV show
49. Homely lady
50. Boy Meets World
teacher, to Eric
51. etc. locales
53. Says aloud
56. Software co.
57. Bit of horse food
58. Hush hush government
gp.
59. Not outgoing