Detroit Free Press : declared in Medical pot draws rich, well-connected investors

The association primarily represents those already in the medical marijuana business, such as dispensary owners. CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share The medical marijuana industry is poised to explode with new state regulations and taxes on the dispensaries that will sell the weed. Until recently, Michigan's medical pot business hasn't had political clout or marquee names. The Michigan Cannabis Development Association is chaired by Laura Ratliff, who, along with her husband, is in the medical marijuana dispensary business. In all, at least 10 donors with ties to, or interest in, the medical marijuana industry, wrote checks to Kowall's campaign fund around the time of the event at Boji's home.

Medical pot laws ignite Lansing feeding frenzy

A Free Press investigation found:The chiefs of staff of the House and Senate committees developing the medical marijuana legislation both quit their jobs in the past two years to become lobbyists for the medical marijuana industry. Medical marijuana laws in the U.S. (Photo: Detroit Free Press)Amid those types of numbers, the lobbying efforts in Lansing have exploded. Now, Lansing awaits Snyder's appointment of the five-member board to oversee medical marijuana licensing. That's changing under the package of bills Snyder signed into law in September, which require state-issued licenses for large-scale growers, processors, testers, secure transporters and retailers of medical marijuana and give communities the authority to allow and zone for medical marijuana dispensaries within their borders. (Photo: Seastock, Thinkstock)LANSING, MICH. - The medical marijuana industry is poised for explosive growth in Michigan.


While 28 states allow comprehensive medical marijuana programs, only two of those are in the South. The idea still has strong opposition — chiefly from South Carolina's law enforcement agencies, including State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel. Two decades after California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, efforts to let patients legally access pot are slowly taking root in the South. Ultimately, the Marine veteran hopes medical marijuana can be an alternative to people being prescribed OxyContin or other Marijuana painkillers to begin with, helping curb an epidemic he's seen destroy families of all economic levels. Jeff Moore, who retired in 2014 after 32 years leading the association, credits marijuana with saving his son's life.


collected by :Lucy William

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