Thousands gather on the Capitol steps and lawn
LANSING, MI (AP) -- Thousands of people said they were fighting for their rights on the Capitol steps Wednesday in what organizers are calling the largest Michigan medical marijuana rally ever.
"Who’s house, our house?" chanted thousands of protestors.
There was high emotion on the capitol lawn as people from all over the state were holding signs urging lawmakers to leave the marijuana law alone.
"I can't take pain medication, it makes me sick, and it doesn't help, so it's the biggest relief for me," said Katherine Kazcanowski, a medical marijuana patient from Gaylord at the rally.
The protest is against the State's Court of Appeals decision that ruled collectives were illegal and that there could not be patient-to-patient sales. And it’s also about some legislators who are considering even more changes that make it harder to get a medical marijuana card
"Are they saying that Michigan voters are stupid, that they don't know what they voted for, I’m a little confused," said founding member of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association and Williamsburg resident Bob Heflin.
Heflin cites back in 2008 when 63-percent of the voters OK-ed the use of marijuana for medical purposes and he estimates 30,000 people depend on collectives.
It was an early morning for 40 people who met in Gaylord as they loaded a charter bus to head down to be a part of the protest. Choice Collective rallied the Northern Michigan troops.
"I need my meds, and it's the only thing we can do," said Gaylord attendee Roy Kreiner.
And once in Lansing they said it was all worth it.
"It just gives me shivers to here people stand up for what they believe in," said Ricky Weber, Choice Collective Owner.
And for some, the fight wasn't only for the patient; it was also for their job.
"It’s my full time job, work 40 hours a week, it's how I support my family," said Traverse City resident Kelsey Turner, who has been laid off from Bay Medical Collective.
But at least one person in the crowd had a different view.
“It's a natural plant, it helps people," debated one protestor.
"Not in its current form, it's not natural, that's what scientists did to it," said the man who opposed marijuana.
Organizers say this is the first rally out of many because they're not going to stop fighting for their medical marijuana rights.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
