State Roundup

Lansing 44 children in Michigan have marijuana cards LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan has issued medical marijuana cards for 44 children, including three who are under 10 years old. It's a tiny fraction of the 131,483 people who have received medical marijuana cards since Michigan's voter-approved program started in 2009, according to a state website. The program is run by the Bureau of Health Professions in the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Of the 44 minors with cards, 21 are 17 years old, 11 are 16 and five are 15. A 7-year-old and two 9-year-olds also have received the cards, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday. Two others are 14 years old, and a 13-year-old and 11-year-old also hold the cards. Medical marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Most of the 17 states that allow medical use don't restrict it to adults, according to Morgan Fox of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. She said Delaware and Connecticut have adults-only rules. The American Academy of Pediatrics has no policy on medical cannabis, though it's working on developing one, the newspaper said. Cooper Brown, 14, has Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. His mother, Rebecca Brown, said she turned to medical marijuana after trying every prescription medication to control her son's frequent seizures. "This isn't something we entered into lightly," said the mother, who lives in Oakland County, north of Detroit. "I've done a lot of reading and a lot of research. I have everything tested. I am not a pot smoker and never in a million years thought of trying this. But when your child is suffering and you feel desperate, you consider things you may not have before. "To me, it's not a drug issue, it's a compassion issue," she said. Cooper does not smoke the drug, but instead consumes it in food his mother prepares. The state won't disclose the medical conditions for which the children are authorized to use marijuana. They say it's not known how the children take the drug, though there are many options: in food, such as baked goods, a liquid extract called a tincture, a vaporizer or smoking. Newberry Crews work to protect structures in Mich. wildfire NEWBERRY, Mich. (AP) -- Crews are working to ensure that no more structures are damaged by a wildfire burning across more than 30 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday says 97 structures have been destroyed, including 34 homes or cabins. The latest estimate adds two sheds or outbuildings to a total released a day earlier. No injuries have been reported. Homes and cabins make up a third of the structures destroyed. The lost property includes Pike Lake Resort near Pike Lake in Luce County. The DNR says the Duck Lake Fire began with a lightning strike last week and burned about 22,000 acres, or 34 square miles. DNR public information officer Ada Takacs says Tuesday that the fire is about 47 percent contained. Livonia GOP Michigan congressman to run write-in campaign LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) -- Five-term U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter will run a write-in campaign in the August primary after the Detroit-area Republican failed to file enough valid petition signatures to appear on the ballot, he said Tuesday. In a statement released Tuesday by his campaign, McCotter said he hoped the Michigan secretary of state's and attorney general's offices would investigate "the insufficient and irregular petitions" that kept him off the ballot. "The buck stops with me," the Livonia Republican said. "That's why I urge the continued investigation into the petitions. Everyone deserves to know what happened regarding this filing." McCotter, who briefly sought the GOP nomination to run for president last year before dropping out, made the stunning disclosure Friday that the secretary of state's office informed him he was about 1,000 valid signatures short of the threshold needed to get on the Aug. 7 primary ballot. He had promised to announce on Tuesday the findings of an internal review. He's running for re-election in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, which runs through parts of Oakland and Wayne counties, including the communities of Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Canton Township, Northville, Novi and Wixom, among others. The other Republican in the race is Kerry Bentivolio, a Vietnam War veteran, teacher and beekeeper from Milford. The 60-year-old told The Associated Press on Saturday he was "excited about" how McCotter's miscue might help his own campaign. "It improves the chances for the average guy," Bentivolio said. "Do I feel different? Yeah, a lot more optimistic. I'm getting a lot of free publicity." McCotter, 46, is a conservative who first was elected to Congress in 2002. He entered the GOP presidential race last July, but dropped out soon thereafter because his campaign had gained little traction. William Roberts of Redford Township and Dr. Taj Syed of Canton Township are running in the 11th District Democratic primary. Detroit Detroit's new CFO takes reins; a 'huge job' DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit's government needs a 21st-century computer system and to become more efficient or else money spent by the troubled city will go "down a rat hole," the new chief financial officer says. Jack Martin, a Detroit-area accountant who worked for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, is on the job as a result of an unprecedented financial agreement between the city and the state of Michigan. To prevent a state takeover, the city agreed to hire a chief financial officer and a program manager and made other promises to fix its finances, including employee contracts. Martin said it's a "huge job" with "no end to the challenges," and already has met with Mayor Dave Bing, his top aides and members of the city council. He told The Detroit News he wants feedback on how to solve Detroit's problems. Martin has identified the city's outdated computer systems as a priority. He'd also like to recruit members of President Barack Obama's administration who would be willing to help him in Detroit. "It's kind of bringing the city into the 21st century from an IT standpoint," he said. "And that's something that won't happen overnight, but there's a lot of basic things we can do that I think will help improve the management of the city. With better management come efficiencies that will reduce costs." Since Detroit's borrowing ability is limited, Martin said he will ask Gov. Rick Snyder for money. If that fails, he'll turn to the federal government. "No matter how much money you pump in there, if you don't fix the basic structure, it's going to be money down a rat hole," he said. "To fix the city's deficit and service delivery problem, I think we're going to have to really work on the city's infrastructure. I think most Detroiters just want to get the problem fixed and they don't care how it gets fixed." Martin, who recently was emergency manager for Highland Park schools, said bankruptcy is unlikely because it would harm the state's bond rating. Council President Charles Pugh is glad to have Martin on board. "Let's get going. We have a lot to fix financially," he said. Published: Wed, May 30, 2012