News » “This is Michigan, not some Cheech and Chong movie” Sheriff Says





Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard gave the line when meeting the press to explain the raid of a dispensaries in Ferndale and Waterford Township by the Oakland County Narcotic Enforcement Team. The lawn enforcement group claims that the dispensaries were run like “organized crime” and that the employees and owners of the the two establishments were selling marijuana to persons without state-issued medical marijuana cards (including undercover narcotics officers).

The two dispensaries, Clinical Relief and Everybody’s Cafe, were said to have over $750,000 (street value) worth of marijuana including plants taken from the homes of employees and owners of the businesses.

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper says that some people in Michigan seem to think that the medical marijuana laws there are like California rather than being the specific laws that Michigan has set. The raid comes two days after Ferndale city authorities lifted the moratorium on MMJ businesses. The Ferndale Police Department was not included in the raid.

The owner of the Clinical Relief dispensary says that police raided the business, putting cancer patients, elderly people, and workers “on the ground” and raiding employee’s homes in front of their children, confiscating non-drug items like televisions and computers. They also took HIPAA-protected medical records from the facility.

One of the dispensary’s employees claims that detectives were overheard saying the “wanted a test case.”

Was this raid political or were their real crimes being committed? A good question and with November elections coming up, it’s going to be great publicity for everyone but marijuana advocates.

[source Detroit News]

Tags: Ferndale, medical, Michigan, Oakland County