Last Friday a panel came in with a resounding 4-2 vote recommending that children with autism should qualify for Michigan's medical cannabis program. It’s a huge step forward for medical cannabis, as state physicians and families have worked tirelessly to highlight the benefits of using cannabis to treat children with severe autism.

Maria Green was legally growing cannabis for her multiple sclerosis and her husband's epilepsy. So why did Child Protective Services take their baby away?

Steve Green has epilepsy. His wife, Maria, has multiple sclerosis. Since 2011, they’ve been growing cannabis for medical use. 

Everything they do is perfectly legal under state law in Michigan, where the couple resides. Maria is a registered caregiver—meaning that she’s allowed to grow 12 plants per patient—and both are qualifying patients. 

Multi-talented Michigan attorney Michael Komorn is calling on families of children with autism to attend a crucial vote of the Medical Marihuana Review Panel on July 31st.

The Panel is considering whether to recommend approval of a petition to add autism to the list of medical conditions that can qualify a patient for the use of medical marijuana in Michigan.

Under Michigan’s rigorous standards, a child must obtain two certifications from physicians that the patient may receive palliative care from the application of marijuana medicines.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan would become the first state to allow medical marijuana for children with severe autism if a senior official follows the recommendation made Friday by an advisory panel.

The state’s Medical Marijuana Review Panel voted 4-2 to recommend autism as a condition that qualifies for the drug.

Supporters say oil extracted from marijuana and swallowed has been effective in controlling extreme physical behavior by kids with severe autism. Pot wouldn’t be smoked.

The panel was influenced by comments received earlier from some Detroit-area doctors, especially the head of pediatric neurology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and parents desperate for relief. Many of the three dozen spectators cheered and applauded after the vote.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan’s medical marijuana law has been called confusing and inconsistent, but a group of attorneys is now working to help people better understand it.

The group recently gained recognition from the State Bar of Michigan, which makes Michigan the second state to have a Marijuana Law Section of the state bar. The other is Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal. That state has a Cannabis Law Committee.

“This isn’t just going to be a social club. This is going to be a proactive section that’s going to try to get some things done,” Lapeer attorney Bernard Jocuns, who will serve as the new Marijuana Law Section’s chair, told 24 Hour News 8 in a Wednesday phone interview.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan’s medical marijuana law has been called confusing and inconsistent, but a group of attorneys is now working to help people better understand it.

The group recently gained recognition from the State Bar of Michigan, which makes Michigan the second state to have a Marijuana Law Section of the state bar. The other is Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal. That state has a Cannabis Law Committee.

LANSING, MI — The state Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its ninth ruling on the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act in just under seven years, making special note of that frequency while expressing frustration with the ongoing legal debate over the voter-approved law.

"Unlike the procedures for the editing and drafting of bills proposed through the Legislature, the electorate — those who enacted this law at the ballot box — need not review the proposed law for content, meaning, readability, or consistency," Justice James Zahra wrote in the opening paragraph of the unanimous opinion.

It was another eventful week in the fight to legalize marijuana in the United States. Perhaps the biggest news to surface was a couple of federal bills that some activists believe to be another indication that the government’s war on marijuana is on its last leg. Other highlights include an initiative aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana in Michigan, as well as guidance coming from the California Lieutenant Governor’s office in an attempt to help steer the regulatory model of a potential cannabis industry in 2016.

ROYAL OAK, Mich. -

It looks like Michigan voters will be deciding whether they want to legalize marijuana in 2016.

Nearly 40,000 signatures have been collected in just 12 days as part of a push to get the issue on the ballot. There are two ballot proposals which have seen language approved by the state board of canvassers, but only one has language drafted by the brightest minds in Lansing. And only one has the premier signature-gathering firm in the country on the ground in Michigan.