(Newswire.net — September 26, 2013) ELKO, NEVADA — Can a patient or caregiver growing medical marijuana at home lose custody of their child because of cannabis exposure? In the state of Michigan, the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act says they can’t. And yet, an Ingham County Family Court referee deliberately broke this law and ordered Children’s Protective Services to take six-month-old Brielle “Bree” Green from the care of her parents for the reason that their growing medical marijuana poses a threat to her well-being.
Therein lies the outrage of medical marijuana advocates in Lansing, Michigan who are demanding that baby Bree be returned home.
“CPS and the Family Court judge clearly violated the rights of the Green family and the protection they get under the Medical Marihuana Act,” said Robert Stone, editor of HempCultureCollective.com. “There is no proof that Bree’s parents have neglected her or put her in direct harm’s way because of their growing medical marijuana. It’s just wrong.”
Bree’s parents, Gordon “Steve” Green and Maria Green, are registered medical marijuana growers. They cultivated cannabis as a way of treating Steve’s epilepsy before they were ordered by the courts to stop doing so. Drug test results on the Greens have yielded no indications of marijuana use, thereby disproving Bree’s cannabis exposure.
Bree’s case sprung from a previous custody case involving one of her siblings from her mother’s previous marriage. Maria’s ex-husband had claimed Maria’s home to be an unfit environment for raising children. When caseworkers from CPS came to inspect the Greens’ home, they requested entry into the cannabis growing room. The Greens denied the request, citing law that limits access to the room to only one person.
As a result, CPS has petitioned the removal of Bree, which the courts granted on September 13, 2013. Bree currently stays with her grandmother, and her parents are not allowed any contact.
“This is the kind of ignorance and abuse that we’re trying to prevent,” said Robert Stone. “People growing medical marijuana have their protections.”
According to Stone, Bree’s case is just one of 20 cases in Michigan in the past year where a child was taken from their parents because the parents are registered medical marijuana users. His site, HempCultureCollective.com, hopes to educate everyone about safe and legal marijuana usage and remind them that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act was passed with 63% majority. Thus, government workers should not be the ones breaking that law.
HempCultureCollective.com is a resource on growing medical marijuana. It aims to educate the public on safe and legal methods of cultivating cannabis for medical purposes in one’s home through its blog. For more information, please visit www.hempculturecollective.com.