Posts Tagged "custody"

New State Profile: Florida

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New State Profile: Florida

Our newest state profile is the sunshine state of Florida.  Unsurprisingly, Florida has some of the harshest policies we’ve come across so far.  These policies as well as the laws and regulations are extensive and complicated.  We break it down for you to only what is relevant for a parent who uses cannabis or a child who is being treated with medical marijuana. As always, we welcome your feedback!  Please share this with your friends so all Floridians can benefit!

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New State Profile: Tennessee

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New State Profile: Tennessee

FLCA’s newest state profile is Tennessee, as voted on in our state profile poll by our Facebook fans and Twitter followers!  It is a particularly complicated state with a surprising amount of  laws, regulations, and policies on CPS and family court.  Did you know that if you use marijuana while pregnant in Tennessee and your infant tests positive, it is considered physical abuse? Read about this and more on our Tennessee state profile!  We welcome your feedback.  Please share...

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New State Profile: New Jersey

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New State Profile: New Jersey

FLCA is pleased to announce a new state profile: the garden state of New Jersey!  This state has some of most favorable case law for parents who use medical marijuana — and a particularly unfavorable law for people who sell cannabis to pregnant women.  Check it out!  We welcome your feedback.  Of course, please share with your friends and colleagues! Please note that our Massachusetts profile has also received an update. Remember, the next state will be decided by you via our...

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Bree Green is Home!

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Bree Green is Home!

On Friday, November 22, eight-month-old Brielle “Bree” Green was returned to the home of her loving parents, Steve and Maria Green.  Bree was removed from her family home in Lansing six weeks earlier by Michigan DHS for the ” danger” of her parents’ medical marijuana use.  The Greens were (and are) legal medical cannabis patients for Steve’s epilepsy and Maria’s multiple sclerosis, and Maria was a legally registered caregiver allowed to cultivate at home for her husband and five cancer patients.  Maria was still breastfeeding her baby girl. In Michigan, a parent  who is also a patient cannot be denied custody of their children “unless the person’s behavior is such that it creates an unreasonable danger to the minor that can be clearly articulated and substantiated.”  According to state attorney referee Rob Porter,  any marijuana in the home is dangerous to children.  He emoted, “It is reasonable to assume that marijuana is being grown in that home with children being present, and that is dangerous for children to be involved in that situation.  We have homes being robbed at gunpoint – by individuals who know that children are at home.”  Mr. Porter did not mention nor comment on the parent-protective provision in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act nor that homes are also robbed at gunpoint for flat-screen televisions, computers, and fine jewelry. Steve and Maria Green have been through a traumatic ordeal that was arguably illegal under state law.  They have faced criminal charges for legal cultivation activity, dirty tricks and lies over their medical marijuana use in a custody battle regarding an older child that led to Bree being taken into state custody, late notice of family court proceedings, court-required cessation of their legal medication resulting in the symptomatic return of their medical conditions including requiring Maria to need the use of a walker, and the high cost of both criminal and civil court. This family did nothing wrong, and as such, all criminal charges were dropped on October 3.  In a special hearing on October 22nd, the Greens agreed to attend parenting classes for thirty days and allow both themselves and Bree to be drug tested at regular intervals for the next month in return for Bree coming home with them.  If they meet all the parts of their agreement, some of which was not disclosed, Bree will be able to remain permanently in her family home.  They can also resume cultivating marijuana for patient use. Michigan did not prove there was a “danger” to Bree Green because such a danger never existed.  “I would die for Bree, but I don’t think I should have to choose that,” said Steve Green in an interview after court on October 22nd.  Nor should he.  The Green family is understandably just glad to have their daughter home, but under Michigan law — and simply what is right and just — Bree Green should have never been removed from her parents in the first place.   Let’s hope Michigan has learned from what they needlessly put the Green family...

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NORML Partners with Family Law & Cannabis Alliance (FLCA)

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NORML Partners with Family Law & Cannabis Alliance (FLCA)

Press release originally posted October 24, 2013 on the NORML Blog.  Written by Sabrina Fendrick, NORML Director of Women’s Outreach.  Thank you, Sabrina! It’s no secret that there has been a proliferation government agencies across the country removing minors and infants from their home, based solely on the fact that a parent is a cannabis consumer, and the false presumption that the presence of marijuana poses a danger.  This even occurs in states with a legal medical marijuana program, or where marijuana possession is no longer a criminal offense.  Some of these experiences can be incredibly traumatic to the child, as well as the parents, as officers have a tendency to use aggressive and sometimes militaristic tactics while engaging with these families. NORML receives dozens of calls and emails every month from devastated parents who have lost custody of their children to state agencies, and we remain committed to providing support and resources to those forced into these unfortunate circumstances.  In light of such efforts, we are pleased to announce that NORML has recently partnered with the newly formed Family Law and Cannabis Alliance (FLCA), founded by longtime drug reform activists Jess Cochrane and Sara Arnold.  The FLCA is an informational clearinghouse that provides educational resources, advocacy information and legal referrals geared  toward reformers & affected families on the crossover of marijuana laws & the child protection system. Sabrina Fendrick, Director of Women’s Outreach said, she is “looking forward to working with the Family Law and Cannabis Alliance to raise awareness about the devastating effects, and sometimes dangerous practice, of child services in removing children from their safe and loving homes for the mere fact a parent is a cannabis consumer.  It is time to end this destructive policy, and put an end to marijuana prohibition once and for all.” Click here for more information on the Family Law and Cannabis...

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