Marijuana Policy Project

The legislation has been passed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, but now the problem facing many legal users is where do they get it? The answer isn't black and white. For the first time a group of people in Lansing came together for a compassion club meeting for those who have medical ailments.

RD Winthrop, Michigan Marijuana Association: "I have osteo arthritis, degenerative joint disease, bone spurs, malformed joints."

Brandon McQueen, legal patient: "I get migraines where I'm throwing up in excruciating pain for four or five hours."

Legal patients like Brandon McQueen depend on marijuana to take away their chronic pain. Now that legislation has been passed to allow people to become legal patients, the problem still remains of where to get their supply.

RD Winthrop: "If you are a registered patient, you still might have to buy off the black market, but you are protected, the person you're buying from is not protected."

Which the patients say makes it harder to get the relief they need, but compassion groups across the state have taken charge and are on a mission to make it easier to ease their suffering.

RD Winthrop: "If they go through the process and come to us, we'll help them find an appropriate care giver."

Still, for caregivers who distribute it and for patients who depend on it, acquiring marijuana for many means walking a legal tightrope, one they will have to walk until the herbal medical community finds a solution. A new rule was implemented two weeks ago that says legal patients must either grow marijuana themselves or find someone to grow it for them. A spokesperson from the Department of Community hHalth says, since the new regulation, the department has received hundreds of applications from people looking to become legal users.

James McCurtis, MI Dept. of Health: "We have 683 applications as of today and we're hoping to send out cards by the end of this week."

The department says it usually takes up to 15 days to review an application. Once the application is accepted, it takes up to five days to distribute the cards.