The Barry Eaton District Health Department (BEDHD) will administer a $16, 413 grant to Barry County from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for communication, education and outreach on medical marijuana.
Health department Health Officer Colette Scrimger (left) Tuesday gave Barry County Commissioners details of the grant on medical marijuana, which the health department will use to focus on reduction of marijuana use by youth in the community.
Specifically, the health department is expected to educate medical marijuana patients and others about safe storage and the dangers of driving while impaired; increase perception of risk for adolescent marijuana use and measure the self-reported use of medical marijuana.
The funds cannot be used for law enforcement.
The BEDHD will collaborate wth Eaton and Ingham counties in hosting focus groups to learn about misconceptions of medical marijuana in Barry County and use the information in a public education campaign using various media, she said.
A youth summit will be held with educational sessions on current marijuana laws, vaping and parent/youth communication targeting youth-serving organizations like schools, churches, prevention providers and others. A September media survey will evaluate the public education campaign.
Liz Lenz, community preventionist with Barry County Substance Abuse, who was in the audience, said she heard about the grant, but the wording was vague and was not clear that it was about education and prevention, did not fit their mission, so she did not pursue it.
She said she would have liked to have worked with the health department “to coordinate efforts with Colette.” The Substance Abuse Task Force has 35 to 40 willing people at any time and since they study data and behaviors in the community, they could share resources, she said.
“I do wish I had been talked to about the grant…I would like assurances from Colette and her staff that they will not do our work…duplicate our effort or duplicate our message…”
She said they would still support the effort.//
The grant amount each county gets is based on the number of medical marijuana cards issued in that county. Barry County gets $16,413 (878 total patient cards issued and renewed). The grants range from the lowest at $589 in Keweenaw County (32 patient cards) to the highest at $496,046 to Wayne County (26,535 patient cards). The total in grants is $3 million.
In other business, the commissioners recommended approval of Drug Lab & Disposal, Inc., for a three-year contract for Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Disposal for “.89 cents a pound; collections costs vary in the range of $20,000.”
Frank Fiala, from the Barry County Solid Waste Oversight Committee, recommended DLD, saying they can meet the planned 2019 dates, do not charge a setup fee, has successfully provided the services for many years, provided good customer service and is responsive to requests to improve collection and traffic flow.
