He Fought the Laws… Will the Laws Win? Citizen, candidate, and activist Andrew Cissell has fought for years to change marijuana laws. Now, he faces a trial with very high stakes.
Story and photos by Kevin Alan Lamb
Passion originates from the purest source; yet its sustainability remains precarious. As a result, there are no passive activists. Certain individuals burn with a fervent passion, channeling their intensity to ensure it is energy put to good use.
Andrew Cissell, 29, is a Ferndale community activist, medical marijuana patient, and caregiver since the program’s inception in 2008. He’s also spent years battling inside the system to get marijuana laws changed.
“What I would like to convey to the readers is that I am a young man who wants change, and who will lead on controversial issues in order to get change. I am not afraid of the opposition. I’m just…a man working for what he believes in, and what most people want as well.” Andrew says.
“I am passionate for this cause because it has affected my life so directly. I have always been messed with by the police for marijuana, and I finally decided to try and change that through political activism.”
When he was younger, Andrew cut his activist teeth on projects like supporting the Sierra Club on environmental issues. These days, his political activism includes running for public office. He ran in 2012 in the Democratic Primary for District 27 State Representative against incumbent Ellen Cogen Lipton, losing handily. In 2014, he threw his hat in the ring in a five-way Democratic primary for the same seat and had a respectable showing, but lost to the eventual winner, current State Representative Robert Wittenberg of Berkley.
But in the area of ballot proposals, he’s had a lot more success. In the summer of 2013, Cissell went door-to-door on behalf of a proposal to legalize marijuana in Ferndale. The ballot proposal amended the city code to allow anyone 21 or older “to possess, use or transfer” up to an ounce of marijuana on private property. Six hundred signatures were collected, the measure made it to the ballot, and it passed.
Speaking of the ballot initiative, Cissel says, “This was great ‘training wheel’ politics. I felt like I was doing something that needed to be done. Drug users should not be made criminals. Those who have a drug problem should not be (jailed.) Instead of incarcerating people and spending money on that, we can educate and rehabilitate them, and make money from marijuana and use that for education and treatment.” Andrew cites programs like the Angel Initiative or Operation Hope that help addicts get treatment instead of sending them to a cell in county jail. Those arrested committing crimes will face the consequences, but those who volunteer to seek treatment will find help at the police department.
Cissell is about to face a stern test, courtesy of the system he seeks to reform. One month after turning in the 2013 petitions, Cissell was arrested on five counts of marijuana delivery, as the result of a coordinated wiretap by the Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team.
“I absolutely felt that the police targeted me largely based on my political role here in Ferndale.” Cissell says. “(Though) the law has changed, I do not think the Ferndale police have changed their stance.” His trial begins February 29. If convicted on all charges, he could potentially face over 20 years in prison. But Cissell is confident that he’ll beat the rap.
“My biggest supporters are people who understand I’m not just a pot guy or some punk, but rather a person who wants to create change, and has done so through the democratic process of local ballot initiatives.”
While many let adversity deter them, Cissell has endured. Once clear of the charges, he plans to run for the school board and campaign for other ballot initiatives.
Cissell believes it’s a great privilege to live in a community that has the opportunity to collectively and continually decide what it believes in. Not only is a conscious community more capable than the sum of its parts, it also less susceptible to a narrow application of the law. But change isn’t always quick, and rarely easy.
While it is a natural tendency to associate the word “activist” with extreme behaviors, for most people, it simply means he or she is willing to invest their time, energy, and love into something bigger than themselves. In the end, Cissel says his mission is simple. “I want to lead on issues that politicians have failed to lead on.”
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