Michigan

[budman]

Michigan Supreme Court Makes Bad DUID Ruling

The Drug Policy Alliance
Wednesday, August 2, 2006


Under a decision by a divided Michigan Supreme Court in June, you can be convicted of drugged driving, even if you are not in the least impaired by drugs. In a pair of cases, Derror v. Michigan and Kurts v. Michigan, the Court upheld the constitutionality of Michigan’s zero tolerance per se policy, which allows prosecution for driving under the influence of drugs if a person tests positive for any trace amount of a Schedule I drug or its non-psychoactive metabolite.

The ruling reverses a Michigan Appellate Court ruling which said that in order to move forward with a DUID prosecution, the state had to demonstrate that the presence of a controlled substance in a driver's body was the proximate cause of an accident.

The Michigan policy has a series of impractical and even harmful consequences. It is useful to compare the zero-tolerance law to the state's alcohol laws, which permit drivers to have a blood alcohol content of up to .08. This level is equivalent to about 1-2 drinks per hour for an average size person. Such a person can legally drive, but who smoked a joint three days earlier cannot. In other words, any casual drug user who responsibly refrains from operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (typically a matter of hours) must now wait days, weeks, or, in the case of marijuana, even months before operating a motor vehicle in Michigan. If Michigan’s policy were adopted nationwide, the licenses of over 25 million Americans could be revoked or suspended--with absolutely no discernible benefit to public safety.

What is more, Michigan’s zero tolerance law effectively overrides the laws of at least 11 other states-–representing nearly one-third of the U.S. population--which have ratified the medical use of marijuana.

In a scathing dissent, Justice Michael Cavanaugh of the Michigan Supreme Court observed that the decision "now makes criminals out of numerous Michigan citizens who, before today, were considered law-abiding, productive members of our community."

In short, Michigan’s law bears no rational relationship to concerns for public safety – or any other governmental interest. At the same time, it is likely to wreak havoc on the lives of thousands of otherwise law-abiding, safety-conscious individuals. As a result, the Court’s ruling is destined to end up on the trash heap of stupid and harmful legal decisions. The only question is when.

[budman]

Marijuana: Michigan Organizers Hand in Signatures for Two Local Ballot Initiatives

8/11/06
The Drug War Chronicle


Tim Beck of Michigan NORML reported via email Wednesday that two marijuana-related local initiatives had met their deadlines for handing in signatures. One initiative would make marijuana the lowest law enforcement priority, while the other one is a medical marijuana initiative.

In Niles, Southwest Michigan NORML chairman Don Barnes and campaign coordinator Greg Francisco presented the Niles city clerk Tuesday with 596 signatures to place a lowest priority initiative on the ballot. Under the initiative, possession or use of up to 1.1 ounces of marijuana by adults on private property would be the Niles Police Department's lowest law enforcement priority. They need 440 valid signatures to make the ballot. The city of Niles now has one week to announce whether enough valid signatures were turned in.

Also Tuesday, the Flint Coalition for Compassionate Care handed in over 2,000 signatures seeking to put a medical marijuana initiative before the voters there in November. The initiative would create a city ordinance granting medical marijuana users an exemption from the marijuana laws. The coalition needs 1,150 valid signatures and expects to have a yes or no by the end of next week.


<center>-- END --</center>

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Grant aids sheriff in prescription drug war

By MIKE FORNES
Tribune Staff Writer

The Cheboygan Tribune
October 31, 2006

CHEBOYGAN - A $10,000 grant will help fight the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs in Cheboygan County.

According to Sheriff Dale Clarmont, the Cheboygan County Sheriff Department has received funding from the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. The grant monies are provided by Purdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Purdue gives the money to the agency, which then awards the grants to law enforcement groups nationwide. The grants are awarded based on a particular agencies commitment and history of enforcing prescription drug abuse and diversion.

The Cheboygan County Sheriff Department, with the support of the Cheboygan County Commissioners, created a detective position in January 2005 that is solely dedicated to the enforcement of prescription drug abuse and diversion.

“The Cheboygan County Sheriff Department is the only law enforcement agency in the state of Michigan that has a full-time person assigned to investigate the diversion of prescription drugs,” Clarmont said. “The position was created to help combat the unusually high and growing occurrence of prescription drug abuse, diversion and accidental overdose in Cheboygan County.”

Detective Todd Ross has been assigned that task.

The National Drug Intelligence Center has released data that indicates the level of abuse for most pharmaceutical drugs is very high. According to data rates of the past year, non-medical use of pharmaceuticals is higher than rates of use for most illicit drugs, the report states.

According to Ross, numerous studies indicate that the abuse of prescription drugs throughout the United States, and Northern Michigan, is ranked second only to marijuana.

“Marijuana is the only drug that is more commonly abused than prescription medications and prescription medications - mainly opiate based - are the fastest growing drug of abuse for middle and high school aged children and young adults,” Ross added. “Family physicians and emergency room staff are trained to help those who may be addicted to prescription medications. If you or someone you know is abusing any form of drug there is help and many treatment options do exist. You should contact your doctor or local support groups for more information.”

Clarmont said that anyone with information regarding the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs is encouraged to contact the Cheboygan County Sheriff Department at 627-3155.

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Article published Nov 23, 2006

Is 'pot' medicine or drug?

Berrien among Michigan counties with medical marijuana backers.

ALEX DOTY
Capital News Service
The South Bend Tribune

LANSING -- Despite a lame duck Legislature, the House Government Operations Committee will meet Tuesday to discuss the possibility of legalizing medicinal marijuana.

State Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, the sponsor, said with a lame duck session, there will be less opposition and it would be more likely to pass.

If there is no movement on the bill, he said it would likely be reintroduced next year in a Democratic-controlled House.

The proposal would allow the drug to be used only for specified conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, and chronic and debilitating diseases that produce severe pain, nausea, seizures or muscle spasms.

To get a prescription, a physician would have to certify that a patient's need for medical marijuana would outweigh any harmful effects of the drug.Lemmons said he doesn't think the government should impede a physician doing what is best for a patient.

Tim Beck, executive director of the Eastpointe-based Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said medical marijuana is less expensive and not as strong as prescription pain medication.

NORML has nine chapters in the state, including ones in Berrien, Macomb, Oakland and Tuscola counties, as well as a Southwest Michigan chapter.

Paul Armentano, a representative from NORML's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., said other legislatures across the country are dealing with the issue.

"They are beginning to catch up to the will of the people," he said.Alleged abuses in states that have legalized medicinal marijuana have been minimal, Armentano said.

"This is not something new where we have to guess what will happen," he said. "We have real-world experience."

The Drug Enforcement Administration has a different view on the value of marijuana as medicine.

The agency said the Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved smoking marijuana for any condition or disease.

In addition, it said the American Medical Association hasn't supported legalization of medicinal marijuana. The association wants to keep the prohibition until more research is performed.But Armentano said, "The therapeutic value of marijuana has been greatly studied in the past 10 to 12 years, more than in any other time in history."

Beck said critics don't know what it's like to suffer from a condition which marijuana could help relieve, and said they should walk a mile in the shoes of those with such ailments.

"We think people should have a choice and they should be able to get the medication that their bodies need," Beck said.

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Hearing on Medical Marijuana Bill to Feature Patient Testimony

<span class=postbold>Irvin Rosenfeld, Who Receives Medical Marijuana From the U.S. Government, Patients from Detroit and Kalamazoo Will Speak</span>

The Marijuana Policy Project
November 27, 2006

LANSING, MICHIGAN — On Tuesday, Nov. 28, the House Committee on Government Operations will hold a hearing on HB 5470, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, introduced by Rep. Lamar Lemmons III (D-Wayne County). The measure, similar to laws now in effect in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, would protect seriously ill patients using medical marijuana with their physician's recommendation from arrest and jail.

WHAT: Hearing on HB 5470, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, in the House Committee on Government Operations.

WHO: Scheduled speakers include:
<ul class=postlist><li> Irvin Rosenfeld, one of five surviving patients still receiving medical marijuana from the U.S. government, in a program closed to new patients in 1992. Rosenfeld, a Florida stockbroker who suffers from a rare and painful condition called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, has been receiving government marijuana since 1982.</li>

<li> Rochelle Lampkin, multiple sclerosis patient and grandmother from Detroit, who uses medical marijuana for pain relief.</li>

<li> Martin Chilcutt, Navy veteran from Kalamazoo, who used medical marijuana to relieve pain and nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy.</li>

<li> Don Murphy, former Maryland state legislator; executive director, Republicans for Compassionate Access.</li>

<li> Rep. Penny Bacchiochi (R), Connecticut state legislator.</li></ul>WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Room 326, House Office Building, corner of Ottawa Street and North Capitol Avenue.

With more than 21,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.

Date: 11/27/2006

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Hearing set on medical pot use

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK

Monday, November 27, 2006
BY ART AISNER
News Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor News

Proponents of medical marijuana in Michigan are gearing up for their cause's most significant initiative in the state in decades.

The Government Operations Committee of the Michigan State House on Tuesday will host a hearing in Lansing on House Bill 5470, which would allow marijuana use under a doctor's supervision.

Speakers will include Penny Bacchiochi, a Republican member of the Connecticut state legislature, and Don Murphy, a former state legislator from Maryland who now heads the Republicans for Compassionate Access.

Testimonials from patients are scheduled as well, including Florida stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld, who according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is one of five surviving patients still receiving medical marijuana from the federal government as part of a program that was closed to new patients in 1992. Cancer and multiple sclerosis patients from Kalamazoo and Detroit are scheduled to speak and hundreds of activists are expected to attend. The committee will also hear from opponents, though no organizations have begun lobbying against the bill, officials said.

"This is a real important day for our continued progress,'' said Chuck Ream, a Scio Township trustee who in 2004 spearheaded a ballot measure decriminalizing marijuana use when recommended by a physician. It passed with 74 percent of the vote in Ann Arbor. Voters in Detroit, Ferndale and Traverse City passed similar laws, and the issue will appear on the ballot in Flint in February.

A hearing on the bill, co-sponsored by seven Democrats (including Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor) and lone Republican Leon Drolet, R-Macomb Twp., follows Election Day setbacks on similar statewide ballot proposals in Colorado, South Dakota and Nevada. Those defeats have in turn raised the national profile of efforts in Michigan, Ream said.

"It's very important for the movement to have a stronghold in the Midwest because so far it's only been adopted predominantly on the West Coast, and it needs something to continue some momentum,'' Ream said.

If passed, the law would put Michigan with 11 other states in protecting from arrest and possibly jail seriously ill patients who use marijuana with their physician's recommendation.

Tuesday's hearing may have a lot to do with whether the issue ever comes up for a vote.

Drolet, chairman of the Government Operations Committee, said he hadn't talked to committee members about sending the legislation to the House floor, but intended at least to give it a formal hearing.

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Marijuana petition drive for 2008 ballot is under way

11/27/2006, 2:06 p.m. ET
Michigan Live


LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan residents could legally use marijuana on private property for recreational or medical purposes under a measure proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot.

The Board of State Canvassers on Monday approved the form of a legislative petition proposed by Medical and Recreational Peace, an Eaton Rapids-based group backing the proposal.

The measure would make it legal for those 18 and older to use marijuana on private property. Those found using the drug in public would be guilty of a civil infraction punishable by a $50 fine.

The measure also would allow people to grow marijuana at their residences.

Medical and Recreational Peace must gather about 304,000 valid petition signatures over a six-month period to get on the November 2008 ballot.

Proponents of legalizing marijuana for those age 21 and older began circulating petitions last year for the 2006 ballot but did not collect enough signatures. Similar efforts also failed in 2000 and 2002.

Also Monday, the elections board certified the results of the Nov. 7 election and rejected a request from residents in Allegan and Washtenaw counties to recount votes on behalf of Green Party candidate Lynn Meadows in the secretary of state election.

Michael-David BenDor, a precinct chair in Washtenaw County's Pittsfield Township, said optical-scan ballot tabulators were altered by technicians in the summer as part of an update, and there's no way of knowing whether the November votes were counted accurately. He cited an HBO documentary that claims voting machines can be tampered with to manipulate results.

But elections director Chris Thomas dismissed "conspiracy theories" and said equipment was tested for accuracy before the election. He also said there was no chance a recount could affect the outcome of the election, which incumbent Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land won easily over Meadows and Democrat Carmella Sabaugh.

The elections board agreed with Thomas.

Candidates in the Nov. 7 election had 48 hours beginning Monday morning to request a recount.

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Article published Nov 28, 2006

Voters may decide marijuana use

The South Bend Tribune

LANSING (AP) -- Michigan residents could legally use marijuana on private property for recreational or medical purposes under a measure proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot.

The Board of State Canvassers on Monday approved the form of a legislative petition proposed by Medical and Recreational Peace, an Eaton Rapids-based group backing the proposal.

The measure would make it legal for those 18 and older to use marijuana on private property. Those found using the drug in public would be guilty of a civil infraction punishable by a $50 fine.

The measure also would allow people to grow marijuana at their residences.

Medical and Recreational Peace must gather about 304,000 valid petition signatures over a six-month period to get on the November 2008 ballot.Proponents of legalizing marijuana for those age 21 and older began circulating petitions last year for the 2006 ballot but did not collect enough signatures. Similar efforts also failed in 2000 and 2002.

Also Monday, the elections board certified the results of the Nov. 7 election and rejected a request from residents in Allegan and Washtenaw counties to recount votes on behalf of Green Party candidate Lynn Meadows in the secretary of state election.

Michael-David BenDor, a precinct chair in Washtenaw County's Pittsfield Township, said optical-scan ballot tabulators were altered by technicians in the summer as part of an update, and there's no way of knowing whether the November votes were counted accurately. He cited an HBO documentary that claims voting machines can be tampered with to manipulate results.

But elections director Chris Thomas dismissed "conspiracy theories" and said equipment was tested for accuracy before the election.

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Article published Nov 28, 2006

Michigan lawmakers hear debate about medical marijuana

By TIM MARTIN
Associated Press Writer
The South Bend Tribune

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A proposal to allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons in Michigan received a rare legislative hearing Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. LaMar Lemmons III of Detroit, would block prosecution of patients with ''debilitating medical conditions'' who grow or use marijuana for treatment purposes. Eleven states and several cities - including Detroit and Ann Arbor - have adopted similar measures in the past decade, usually through ballot proposals approved by voters.

Supporters of statewide legalization may have to go the same route. The bill discussed Tuesday is not likely to pass before the legislative session concludes at the end of the year.

The Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy group, says a petition drive in Michigan is possible at some point.

The legislation discussed Tuesday in the House Government Operations Committee would protect people who use marijuana to treat cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or other conditions. The patient would need a signed certification from a doctor to allow the marijuana use.

The main benefits, patients say, are pain relief, anti-inflammation and relief from nausea.

''I'm a living subject. I'm the proof,'' said Irvin Rosenfeld, a Florida stockbroker and a member of a federal program that allows him to use marijuana legally. ''I'm a productive member of society because I have the right medicine.''

Benjamin Jones of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence said he is against the bill. He said marijuana should have to go through the same federal testing procedures as other drugs before it could be approved for medical use.

The legislation is House Bill 5470.

On the Net:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov

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Federal official urges state to keep marijuana use illegal

By DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Detroit Free Press

November 28, 2006

A top federal anti-drug official, testifying about legislation to approve the use of marijuana in Michigan for medical purposes, told lawmakers Tuesday the move would be bad both for patients and society.

Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said a thorough scientific review of the subject by U.S. drug agencies has determined that “smoked marijuana is not a safe or effective medicine.”

Burns urged the House Government Operations Committee to reject legislation sponsored by Rep. Lamar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, to authorize patients with debilitating physical ailments to possess and use small amounts of marijuana.

Burns said that illicit drug use, including marijuana, has declined in recent years. But approving the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, as has been done in 11 states, would undermine that progress, he said.

Proponents of the legislation vigorously disputed Burns’ claims, however.
Don Murphy, a former Republican legislator from Maryland and national advocate for medical marijuana, said recreational use of marijuana has declined more rapidly in states where medical marijuana is legal than in states with a blanket prohibition.

Murphy also said smoked marijuana can provide relief for some patients that is not available from any legally prescribed medications.

Committee Chairman Rep. Leon Drolet, R-Clinton Township, a co-sponsor of the bill, had announced before the hearing Tuesday that he did not expect it to win approval in the closing days of the 2005-06 legislative session, and did not order a committee vote Tuesday.

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Michigan tackles medical, recreational marijuana

Updated: Nov 28, 2006 07:47 PM PST
WOOD TV 8


<table class=posttable align=right width=180><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg src=bin/joint_man-smoking.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap>A man smokes a marijuana cigarette.</td></tr></table>LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Charles Snyder III says his rare disorder, nail patella syndrome, sometimes leaves him in so much pain he'd nearly be bedridden without pain medication -- such as marijuana.

Snyder supports a bill discussed Tuesday in the state House that would make it legal for patients with "debilitating medical conditions" who grow or use marijuana for treatment purposes. Eleven states and several cities -- including Detroit and Ann Arbor -- have adopted similar measures in the past decade, usually through ballot proposals approved by voters.

Supporters of statewide legalization may have to go the same route. The bill discussed Tuesday is not likely to pass before the legislative session concludes at the end of the year.

The House Government Operations Committee heard testimony about the bill Tuesday but didn't vote on it.

Supporters of allowing medical use of marijuana in Michigan say a petition drive is possible at some point. But Tuesday's hearing also could set the stage for another effort with lawmakers next year.

"That's all I want -- to be functional enough to be an effective citizen," said Snyder, 29, a Flint resident who suffers from the genetic disorder often characterized by abnormalities of the arms and legs, kidney disease and glaucoma. "Allowing medical use would help."

Snyder helped organize an effort that placed a medical marijuana proposal on the Flint ballot for February.

The legislation discussed Tuesday would protect people who use marijuana to treat cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or other conditions. The patient would need a signed certification from a doctor to allow the marijuana use.

The main benefits, patients say, are pain relief, anti-inflammation and relief from nausea.

The bill is sponsored by Democratic Rep. LaMar Lemmons III of Detroit.

Benjamin Jones of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence said he is against the bill. He said marijuana should have to go through the same federal testing procedures as other drugs before it is approved for medical use.

Some Republican lawmakers worried that the legislation would open the door to other bills demanding legalizing use of marijuana and others drugs for other purposes.

Even if the legislation were to pass, it could have a murky future. Federal law doesn't recognize state statutes that allow medical marijuana use, sparking legal fights in California, for example. And cities that pass proposals to allow medical marijuana use are largely symbolic if state law doesn't permit it.

But the proposals are steps toward broader legislation allowing medical use of marijuana, supporters say.

Another effort to legalize marijuana in Michigan is already under way. A measure proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot would allow state residents to legally use marijuana on private property for recreational or medical purposes.

The Board of State Canvassers on Monday approved the form of a legislative petition proposed by Medical and Recreational Peace, an Eaton Rapids-based group backing the proposal. But similar efforts failed in 2006, 2002 and 2000 when supporters were unable to collect enough signatures to make the ballot.

The measure would make it legal for those 18 and older to use marijuana on private property. Those found using the drug in public would be guilty of a civil infraction punishable by a 50-dollar fine.

The measure also would allow people to grow marijuana at their residences.

Supporters of the measure must gather about 304-thousand valid petition signatures to get on the 2008 ballot.

On the Net

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Medical marijuana bill dies

Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- A bill to allow people with "debilitating medical conditions" to legally use marijuana to ease their symptoms died in the Michigan Legislature on Tuesday, and backers say the issue will likely be left up to voters to decide.

Following an often emotional, 90-minute hearing before a state House committee, the panel broke without taking a vote. It was the first and only hearing on the legislation, introduced a year ago.

The inaction means the bill will have to be reintroduced in a new session in January.

Supporters of the legislation, many battling diseases, packed the standing-room-only hearing room wearing red buttons that said: "Stop arresting patients for medical marijuana."

The hearing attracted lawmakers from other states encouraging support of the bill.

Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, a Republican lawmaker from Connecticut, told members of the House Government Operations Committee that her husband was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in 1982.

"I watched him waste away," she said.

In the final three years before his 1994 death, she illegally bought marijuana on the street for him. The drug didn't cure him but "he was able to laugh, able to regain a quality of life."

Eleven states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- have adopted laws to provide pot for patients with cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and other serious medical conditions.

Most laws were put on the books by a vote of the people, not legislative action.

Rep. Lamar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, the main sponsor of the bill, said he expects Michigan voters to be presented with the medical marijuana question in 2008.

Tuesday's action followed approval Monday by the Board of State Canvassers of the form of a legislative petition proposal that would make it legal for those 18 and older to use marijuana on private property. Those found using the drug in public would be guilty of a civil infraction punishable by a $50 fine.

The measure is proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot.

Scott Burns, the deputy White House drug czar, flew in from Washington to oppose the bill.

He said the Food and Drug Administration, which for the last century has had the role of testing and approving new medications, has determined that marijuana "does not meet existing standards of safety and efficacy for modern medication."

Burns said legalized marijuana would send a confusing signal to the nation's youth.

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State hears testimony on legalizing medicinal marijuana; Exclusive WZZM 13 Survey USA Poll shows huge support

<img src=/bin/icon_video.gif> Click here to play video

WWZM TV 13
Created: 11/28/2006 4:58:24 PM
Updated: 11/29/2006 5:35:58 AM


Tuesday lawmakers held a public hearing on a bill that would make Michigan the 12th state in the nation to legalize medicinal marijuana.

The bill is called the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act HB 5470 which would protect the seriously from arrest of jail for using marijuana. But lawmakers say this bill will never make it out of committee and it will be up to the voters of Michigan to decide if they want to legalize the use of medicinal marijuana.

The discussion over the legalization of medical marijuana in Michigan brought representatives from the federal government, "The institute was particularly troubled by the fact that crude marijuana might be smoked by patients which it termed a harmful drug delivery system."

Scott Burns from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy testified that legalizing marijuana for medical use could lead to continued abuse by teens, “Between the ages of 12 and 17 years old for the treatment of marijuana than all other drugs combined."

Laura Barber of Traverse City is the care taker for her husband who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses marijuana to control the pain, "He has 68 lesions on his brain he's got 23 down his spine and 13 going through his hips." Laura and her husband turned to using marijuana and it changed his life, "To walking a mile every day with his dog Luke and having a quality of life."

In the process, they were arrested several times for possession of marijuana until they were able to convince voters in Traverse City to legalize medical marijuana within the city. This bill would provide the same protection for severely ill patients statewide but Governmental Operations Committee Chair Leon Drolet is doubtful the bill will make it out of the committee, “Next step is going to have to be citizen initiative because I don't believe that the legislature is going to address the issue."

Right now the bill is still in the government operations committee. If the bill does not move forward during this session, the bills sponsor democratic representative Lamar Lemmons says he will re-introduce it in the next session when the democrats come into power.

Tuesday night asked 500 people in the Grand Rapids area how they feel about the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Our exclusive WZZM 13 Survey USA Poll shows 72% think it should be legalized, 25% say it should not, and 3% are not sure.

We also asked those same people about a proposed ballot initiative that would legalize the use of marijuana by anyone on private property.

59% told us people should not be allowed to use marijuana for recreational purposes, 39% say they should and the rest were not sure.

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November 29, 2006

Letter

Treat marijuana like alcohol and tobacco

The Detroit News

Nolan Finley's call for a new strategy in the drug war is right on ("Subject drug war to the Iraq War test," Nov. 19). Treat marijuana much like we treat the equally (or more) noxious social drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Make it available through legal channels. Tax it at a sufficient rate to discourage use but not so much as to make black market supply channels lucrative. Require age identification for purchase.

Perhaps most important, this would create a social gap between the experimental user of marijuana and the marketer of heroin, cocaine and other dangerous recreational drugs. As the market now stands, the street drug sellers have an excellent marketing tool in marijuana.

By selling this comparatively safe drug, they establish relationships with a broad market of beginning drug users who then can easily move up to progressively more exciting, dangerous, and costly drugs.

Also, taking marijuana off of the street drug market would simultaneously make drug trafficing less attractive for dealers, thereby reducing their number (and convenience to customers) while reducing the very significvant costs to society of enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration.

Finally, the income stream from taxation of those profiting at each stage of production and from taxing the retail product can shore up shabby public services in mental health, medical care, education and transportation.

Dennis Nordmore

Huntington Woods

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Lawmakers hear marijuana touted for medical use

Progress being made on law to block patient prosecution, Ann Arbor woman says

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
BY ART AISNER
News Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor News

Renee Emry Wolfe says she has spent most her life battling multiple sclerosis and most of the past two decades fighting the government over her use of marijuana to manage her pain.

As she left Lansing to head home to Ann Arbor on Tuesday after a rare legislative hearing on medicinal marijuana that centered on the testimony of other chronic pain sufferers, she said that for the first time it felt like progress.

And she didn't have to say a word.

"It was one of the hardest tasks of my life keeping my mouth shut,'' said Wolfe, 46, who relies on crutches and patience to complete daily activities. "I've been fighting the fight for a long time. It's awesome to me that the system is working.''

The legislation discussed Tuesday by the committee would protect people who use marijuana to treat cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or other conditions. The patient would need a signed certification from a doctor to allow the marijuana use.

The House Government Operations Committee heard testimony about the bill Tuesday but didn't vote on it. The bill is not likely to pass before the legislative session concludes at the end of the year.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, would block prosecution of patients with "debilitating medical conditions'' who grow or use marijuana for treatment purposes.

Eleven states and several cities - including Detroit and Ann Arbor - have adopted similar measures in the past decade, usually through ballot proposals approved by voters.

The main benefits, patients said Tuesday, are pain relief, anti-inflammation and relief from nausea.

"I'm a living subject. I'm the proof,'' said Irvin Rosenfeld, a Florida stockbroker and a member of a federal program that allows him to use marijuana legally. "I'm a productive member of society because I have the right medicine.''

Benjamin Jones of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence said he is against the bill. He said marijuana should have to go through the same federal testing procedures as other drugs before it could be approved for medical use.

Although activists say they prefer change through the state Legislature over a costly and potentially controversial ballot campaign, supporters of statewide legalization may have to go the same route.

The bill discussed Tuesday is losing two key co-sponsors (Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, and the lone Republican co-sponsor, Leon Drolet, R-Macomb Township) due to term limits.

"We'll probably have to reintroduce it in the new Legislature, but whether through the ballot or the Legislature, results are results,'' said Tim Beck, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Michigan chapter.

The Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy group, says a petition drive in Michigan is possible at some point.

Proponents of decriminalizing marijuana for those age 21 and older did not collect enough signatures for the 2006 ballot and similar efforts failed in 2000 and 2002.

Beck said 2008 could be a target, but that it won't be in conjunction with a group that got a legislative petition proposal approved Monday by the Board of State Canvassers.

Medical and Recreational Peace, an Eaton Rapids-based group, is pushing decriminalization of marijuana use on private property for those 18 and older whether it be for medical or recreational purposes. They must gather roughly 300,000 valid petition signatures over six months to appear on the November 2008 ballot.

"It just sounds wacky and not too bright,'' Beck said of the proposal, whose backers could not be reached for comment. "I know everyone involved in marijuana-law reform initiatives across the state and this just came out of nowhere.''

The fact that people in and around state government are talking about the issue again gives Wolfe reason for optimism.

"This will go a lot further than it has in the past and if we do all our footwork, we can get places,'' she said.

"There's still a long way to go, but at least there's dialogue and they're interested.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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<span class=postbold><b>EDITORIAL</b></span>

From the Daily: Light one up for Michigan

<span class=postbigbold>Petition drive could lead to legalization of marijuana</span>

Posted: 11/30/06
The Michigan Daily

Here in Michigan, marijuana use can bring unique benefits - light up a joint and suddenly Michigan's lousy economy doesn't seem so bad any more. Maybe legalization could attract those young, highly educated professionals Gov. Jennifer Granholm's been lusting over. After all, with the right to buy and grow your own pot, every city's a cool city.

Medical and Recreational Peace, an activist group rooted in Eaton Rapids, is fighting for our right to get high. This week, the organization got its legislative petition approved and is now collecting signatures to get the proposal on the 2008 state ballot. The proposal would make it legal for adults over 18 to use and grow marijuana on private property. The use of the drug in public would incur a $50 fine.

Activists tried to get similar proposals on the ballot in 2000, 2002 and 2006, but they fell short of obtaining enough signatures each time. For this proposal to make it to voters, the group must obtain 304,000 signatures in the next six months. Michigan voters may soon have the chance - and hopefully, the wisdom - to decriminalize the drug.

It's been clear for some time the war on weed is failing miserably. More than 750,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana possession last year, double the number arrested 25 years ago - and that's just the number that got caught. If marijuana were decriminalized, many cases that are currently clogging up the court system would be eliminated, and tax money wasted prosecuting marijuana users could be spent on worthier goals. And if marijuana were legalized nationally and then taxed, the revenue could exceed $6 billion per year according to estimates by Jeffrey Miron, a professor of economics at Harvard.

Despite massive efforts to intercept supplies and prosecute users, marijuana remains an easy drug to obtain. Earlier generations found that the prohibition of alcohol - a substance whose chronic use often results in death - was unsuccessful. Likewise, cancer-causing cigarettes and other tobacco products are legal. Yet marijuana, which is less harmful and certainly less addictive, remains banned.

Many have recognized the absurdity of criminalizing marijuana and have joined a growing movement to legalize it. Ann Arbor voters approved an ordinance that allows the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes by a three-to-one margin in 2004, and the city punishes marijuana possession with a meager $25 fine. Just last year, Denver voted to allow adults over 21 to own up to one ounce of marijuana. Earlier this month, a similar proposal reached the ballot in Nevada. The proposal failed, but still garnered 44 percent support, demonstrating the drug's growing mainstream acceptance.

Even if you're not high enough to believe marijuana is Michigan's ticket to economic salvation, we can at least agree that using the drug is a personal choice. Adults exercise the freedom to use tobacco and alcohol. The same should be true for marijuana. The first step to restore rights taken away nearly 70 years ago is to get the legalization of marijuana on the state ballot. Students on campus can and should be important allies in helping their fellow residents reclaim their right to a joint - that is, if they're not too high to pass out petitions.

<hr class=postrule>
<center><small>© Copyright 2006 Michigan Daily </small></center>

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<span class=postbold>Drug War Chronicle - world’s leading drug policy newsletter</span>

Feature: Medical Marijuana Gets a Hearing in Michigan

from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #463, 12/1/06

The medical marijuana issue came to the Michigan statehouse for the first time ever this week. In Lansing on Tuesday, the state House Government Operations Committee held a hearing where medical marijuana patients, advocates, and supporters were given the floor -- and they came from across the state and the country to do just that.

<table class=posttable align=right width=260><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg alt="Michigan Capitol" src=bin/michigan_capitol.jpg></td></tr></table>The hearing was tied to 5740, a bill that would allow people with 'debilitating medical conditions' to use marijuana without fear of arrest, which was introduced by Rep. LaMar Lemmons III and now has eight cosponsors. But with the legislative session just two weeks away from ending, the hearing will lead to no action this year.

It does, however, lay the groundwork for further work in the legislature next year, and perhaps for an initiative in 2008 should the solons prove recalcitrant. That it occurred at all is a testament to the efforts of local activists working in concert with reformers around the country.

"LaMar is my state representative," said Tim Beck, executive director of Michigan NORML. "I raised money for him, and he believes in this issue, so when he asked what I would like, I said I would like a medical marijuana bill," Beck told Drug War Chronicle. Beck was a moving force behind the successful 2004 Detroit medical marijuana initiative. Ferndale, Ann Arbor and Traverse City have also enacted ordinances permitting use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Lemmons, a Democrat, introduced the bill, but to get a hearing also required the assent of the committee chair, Republican Rep. Leon Drolet. Not only did Drolet agree to hearings, he became a sponsor of the bill.

With that opportunity, the Michigan activists reached out, and, working with the Marijuana Policy Project, brought in people like federal medical marijuana patient Irv Rosenfeld, Republican Connecticut state Senator Penny Bacchiochi, and former Maryland legislator Donald Murphy, head of Republicans for Compassionate Access, as well as patients and supporters from across the state. Up against them was peripatetic deputy drug czar Scott Burns, who magically shows up to argue against medical marijuana wherever it appears.

Rosenfeld, a Florida stockbrocker who suffers from multiple congenital exostosis, has been receiving US government marijuana since 1982 in a program that was extinguished under President Bush the Elder. Rosenfeld and a handful of others were grandfathered in.

"I'm a very productive member of society because I have the right medication," Rosenfeld told the committee, adding that the 10 or so joints he smokes a day help keep him alive. "There is no need for prosecuting people who are sick."

Rep. Bacchiochi, the Connecticut Republican, has been a major legislative supporter of medical marijuana in her home state, and was eager to talk to her fellow solons about it. She told the committee how her husband was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in the early 1980s and a doctor urged her to try marijuana for him. "I hadn't smoked marijuana, I had never done drugs, I knew I wanted a public career. It was a terrifying moment for me," she told the committee. "But as I watched my husband basically die in front of me, I decided I would do it at any cost. For three years I went out and I bought pot for him, and I watched his remarkable recovery. Not that he recovered from the cancer, but he was able to eat, he was able to laugh, he was able to regain some quality of life," she told lawmakers.

Laura Barber of Traverse City spoke of the difficulties her family went through when her husband, who uses medical marijuana to treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, was arrested. Two other Michigan patients were ready to speak, but time ran out before they could testify. They were Rochelle Lampkin of Detroit, who uses the drug to treat the pain associated with multiple sclerosis, and Martin Chilcutt of Kalamazoo, a Navy veteran who used medical marijuana to relieve the pain and nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy.

"The medical use of marijuana has helped to relieve the pain and suffering associated with serious illnesses in my life and in the lives of several close friends of mine," Chilcutt commented. "We need rational decisions and action to combat an irrational status quo. The most perilous aspect of using medical marijuana is the threat of getting arrested and going to jail, and that's why the legislature needs to pass HB 5470."

The bill is likely going nowhere this year, but this week's hearing was important, said Beck. "The value of having the hearing is that it demonstrates we have power. We were able to get the hearing, and we were able to bring in heavyweights like Irv and Don and Penny. I don't think those legislators expected anything like the performance we had," he laughed.

"This is an historic first, and we got massive publicity out of this hearing," Beck continued. "We're laying the groundwork for next year. The one thing we have is the initiative process, and I think the legislators understand that. The Democrats will control the state House next year, and I think we'll get a better reception then. But it will be like 'Do you want to write the law or do you want us to write the law?' We don't want to do an initiative if we don't have to. It's cheaper to go through the legislature."

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Eaton Rapids man eager to circulate pot petitions

By Chris Andrews, Lansing State Journal


Created: 12/4/2006 11:58:34 AM
Updated: 12/4/2006 11:59:42 AM


EATON RAPIDS - A local man who sells peace goods and apparel wants to make smoking marijuana for medical or recreational purposes legal on private property.

Jason Hankins, 32, says he plans to begin circulating petitions for the proposed change in Michigan law in January.

If he can collect 304,000 valid petition signatures over a six-month period, he will get his proposal on the November 2008 ballot.

"As long as a responsible adult is making the choice to smoke for their benefit and to make them feel better or relaxed, I think they should have that choice," Hankins said. "I would like to have the option to be able to grow (marijuana) on private property."

The Board of State Canvasser approved the form of the petition last week. The proposed law would apply to adults 18 and older.

Last year, supporters of a drive to legalize marijuana for those 21 and older failed to get a sufficient number of signatures. Similar drives were unsuccessful in previous years.

"If the proposal were limited to medical purposes, it would probably pass," said Ed Sarpolus, vice president of the Lansing polling firm EPIC-MRA.

Polls over the past several years show voters don't support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, he said. Even well-organized groups have difficulty gathering sufficient signatures. It is even more difficult for an individual.

Hankins said he planned to put an ad in the Lansing State Journal to kick off his drive. If enough volunteers respond, he was confident he could collect enough signatures.




Web Editor: Jessica Puchala, Producer

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From the Daily: The moral high ground

State should allow medicinal marijuana use

Posted: 12/4/06
The Michigan Daily

The fight to reverse Michigan's ban on medicinal marijuana is understandable given that the drug has been used as such for thousands of years. Eleven states have already legalized its use for the treatment of serious medical conditions - and with good reason.

It is widely accepted that marijuana may prevent blindness in glaucoma patients and can ease appetite loss among patients suffering from AIDS or undergoing chemotherapy. It is also a cheap, safe and risk-free painkiller. The state and federal governments need to recognize what many already do - medicinal marijuana can be a legitimate alternative to more addictive and risky drugs.

It is disappointing that a recent bill proposing to legalize the use of marijuana in Michigan by those with debilitating medical conditions failed in a state House committee. Despite its lack of mainstream acceptance, there is no reason to criminalize marijuana use for chronically ill patients seeking pain. How can the state government callously deny it to elderly cancer patients? How can the state deny patients a drug that can lessen the effects of chemotherapy and diminish the violent nausea that some pills can induce? Marijuana is hardly different from the vast number of legally prescribed drugs, like morphine and Vicodin, that are routinely abused. It is time for our state government to look past the stigma surrounding marijuana and recognize its possibilities.

The Food and Drug Administration argues that there is no sound evidence to support the safety and effectiveness of medicinal marijuana. But the lack of scientific studies is the fault of strict federal guidelines that force researchers to jump through years of hurdles to obtain a small amount of marijuana from the one legal marijuana farm in the country for research. And it's not even good marijuana - a 2005 New York Times guest editorial piece described it as "notoriously weak and poorly manicured."

It is no surprise that conducting research is so hard. A victory for medicinal marijuana would look like a loss for the federal government's misguided war on drugs. And more important, it would deal a blow to the pharmaceutical companies that are no doubt pressuring the federal and state governments against legalization. But don't be misled. These drug companies aren't taking the moral high ground; they're responding to a real fear that if medicinal marijuana is legalized, their profit margins could fall as patiens and doctors flock to the cheaper and safer alternative.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Congress can supersede state governments to enforce the federal ban on marijuana. However, legalizing medicinal marijuana on the state level will undoubtedly lower the priority placed on medicinal marijuana by local law enforcement and legitimize its use as a medical treatment for the sick. In addition, as more states legalize the medicinal use of marijuana, the federal government would be forced to review its position - and maybe even more generally its costly and counterproductive war on drugs. Come January, the state Legislature should re-examine this issue and lift the ban.

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Article published Dec 8, 2006

Medical marijuana faces big hurdles, such as rules for its use

Lawmakers agree legalization isn't likely this year, but advocates will try again.

CHRIS JACKETT
Capital News Service
The South Bend Tribune

LANSING -- Rules for obtaining and using medical marijuana must be worked out before the House Government Operations Committee will consider legalization, Michigan lawmakers say.

Those concerns were addressed in a recent hearing by the committee on a bill by Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, that would legalize marijuana use by patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS or other chronic or debilitating diseases that produce wasting syndrome, seizures, severe pain, nausea or muscle spasms.

Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Florida and medical marijuana user, said marijuana was used as a medicine in the U.S. from 1860 to 1937.

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal, but 11 states and many cities have approved its use since 2001. Michigan voters in Detroit, Ferndale, Traverse City and Ann Arbor approved measures in 2004 and 2005. Similar proposals are being considered in Kalamazoo and Flint.

If his bill dies this year, as expected, another representative will introduce it again in 2007 when Democrats have majority control, Lemmons said.Patients who have used medical marijuana testified, including several who had been arrested for possession of marijuana despite a medicinal need.

Rosenfeld said he has been using government-approved medicinal marijuana since 1982, when he won a court case.

Despite having a rare disease that causes tumors on his bones, Rosenfeld said, he lives a fairly normal life. He credited the 11 ounces of marijuana that he smokes over the course of 25 days.

The University of Mississippi grows the drug for the federal government and ships it to the University of Miami, where Rosenfeld receives it.

The program stopped accepting applicants in 1991, with Rosenfeld and five other patients as the only ones remaining.Rosenfeld said, "There's no need to be prosecuting people who are sick. To put someone sick behind bars, we have to let someone else out."

Besides smoking, methods for ingesting marijuana include vaporizing, liquidizing and mixing it into food or beverages. The alternative methods avoid harmful carcinogens from combustion.

Tim Beck, chair of the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care, told the committee that marijuana offers benefits that current prescription drugs may not.

"No one ever died from an overdose of marijuana," Beck said. "With (painkillers like) OxyContin and Vicodin, it's one pill fits all."

Marijuana doses are easier to control, he added. The proposed bill doesn't address distribution."The bill decriminalizes it for patients, but doesn't address how a patient gets marijuana," said Rep. Jacob Hoogendyk, R-Portage, majority vice chair of the committee. "It would make it OK to have, but not to purchase."

Rep. Fulton Sheen, R-Plainwell, questioned the merit of the proposal because police often let off medical patients with a warning when found in possession.

"A person's condition affects what an officer does," Sheen said. "More times than not, they won't be arrested. Do we need to create a law for something already taking place?"

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against national medical marijuana use.

Laura Ann Barber of Traverse City testified that she and her husband, a Gulf War veteran, were arrested in 2004 for marijuana possession. They fought the charges.Marijuana-based protein shakes and balms allow her husband to improve his lifestyle so he can exercise again, Barber said.

"It's not an act of defiance; it's an act of quality of life," she added.

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State should allow use of medical marijuana

<span class=postbigbold>Patients entitled to comfort without fear</span>

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Ann Arbor News

There's a well-known drug available for pain relief - one that some patients already use, despite its illegal status.

But medical marijuana remains tainted, and another year has passed without that status changing in Michigan.

A bill co-sponsored by outgoing state Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, would have blocked prosecution of patients who use marijuana to treat "debilitating medical conditions.'' They'd need a doctor's signed certification to do so, and that seems reasonable.

At a House Government Operations Committee hearing last month, patients gave poignant testimony about the effectiveness of this treatment, which can be used for cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or other conditions. In addition to pain relief, the drug acts as an anti-inflammatory and combats nausea.

"I'm a living subject. I'm the proof,'' testified Irvin Rosenfeld, who participates in a federal program allowing him to use marijuana legally. "I'm a productive member of society because I have the right medicine.''

That federal program he's in, by the way, was closed to new patients more than a decade ago. And despite testimony from Rosenfeld and others, the bill hasn't moved out of committee and isn't a priority as state lawmakers wrap up their two-year legislative session this week.

Supporters of medical marijuana reform say they might re-introduce the bill next year. A national advocacy group is considering a petition drive in Michigan to put the issue on the ballot and let voters decide.

Eleven other states already allow use of medical marijuana - Michigan wouldn't be making a radical move here. And Ann Arbor, perhaps not surprisingly, is among several cities who've supported such a measure.

In 2004, 74 percent of local voters amended the Ann Arbor city charter to legalize marijuana use for medicinal purposes. However, that doesn't protect a person from prosecution under state or federal law.

Chronic pain is increasingly recognized as a major medical issue, and we need access to as many ways as possible to manage it effectively.

Whether by ballot measure or legislation, Michigan should enable all patients who legitimately need medical marijuana to use it without fear of prosecution.

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A friend to Hazel Park loses battle with lymphoma


By John Michalak
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
The Royal Oak Daily Tribune
December 27, 2006

HAZEL PARK -- Lloyd Sherman, a city activist who while undergoing chemotherapy remained at the forefront of an effort to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, died Christmas day. He was 51.

Sherman was a long time member of the Libertarian Party and served on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Commission, General Building Authority, Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Fence Board of Review.

"I blame him for me being in public office," said Hazel Park Councilman Andy LeCureaux, also a Libertarian Party member. "He was recruiting from the Libertarian Party in 2000. He was a recruiter for the Libertarian Party of Oakland County. He became my campaign manager. Lloyd was active in Hazel Park for many, many years."

Hazel Park City Manager Edward Klobucher called Sherman a "dedicated citizen who loved the city of Hazel Park."

"His contribution will be missed," Klobucher added. "There's a big hole to fill on our boards and commissions. He fought the good fight against lymphoma."

Sherman continued serving on several boards while ill, attending some meetings during chemotherapy treatments, Klobucher said.

Sherman most recently pushed for medicinal pot legalization in July through LeCureaux, who raised the issue at a council meeting. Ferndale and Detroit voters approved the use of medicinal marijuana in recent ballot questions.

LeCureaux, mentioning Sherman's name and goal, said such an ordinance would help those who are ill.

Sherman said he came to support medicinal pot after seeing the pain and suffering of cancer patients during his visits to the hospital.

"I would like to see it on the ballot," he said while recuperating at home from chemotherapy. "I want anything that can help."

LeCureaux said he met Sherman in 1998 at a Libertarian Party event only to find out both resided a block from each other in Hazel Park.

"He cared about Hazel Park," LeCureaux said. "This was his home town and he put a lot of energy into to it. He wanted things to be right. He helped me to get over my shyness. He felt if something needed to be said, he would say it.

"One of his greatest pleasures was asking questions or giving an opposite point of view to make people think. He enjoyed making people stop and pause."

LeCureaux called Sherman part of the patchwork of people who make up the fabric of Hazel Park.

"They are part of the community and make it work," LeCureaux added. "They make Hazel Park a rich city in many community ways."

LeCureaux said he lost a good friend.

"I was so hoping he would be home soon," LeCureaux said. "He really liked his dogs and loved to hunt. He worked at the First Congregational Church of Royal Oak."

LeCureaux said Sherman died in the Karmanos Institute at Harper Hospital in Detroit.

Sherman battled mantel cell lymphoma since earlier this year when his neck swelled because of what he thought was an infection from a cat scratch. Following tests, Sherman soon underwent his first chemotherapy treatment.

In July friends and family held a "victory" party for Sherman to raise money for expenses outside those covered by medical insurance.

Sherman is survived by his wife, Jeannie, and a daughter, Erika (Ken) Harmon. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Contact John Michalak at john.michalak@dailytribune.com or (248) 591-2521.

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Experts: Medical marijuana best as pill

Smoking might benefit small number of patients

By Christine Rook
Lansing State Journal
December 29, 2006


There's a lot of talk lately about giving Michiganders the right to take a toke.

A state House bill legalizing medical marijuana is going nowhere this month, but already there is a petition drive out of Eaton Rapids and talk of a second to allow Michigan voters to legally light up.

It's fascinating politics, but is it good medicine?

Yes and no.

There is strong evidence that marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient has a place in the modern arsenal of medicines. Smoking it, though, hardly appears to be the best way to administer that drug, experts say.

In fact, smoking delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly called THC, might be appropriate only for a few chronically ill patients who meet specific criteria.

Local oncologist Dr. Anas Al-Janadi called smoking marijuana "a very bad way to administer good medicine."

Al-Janadi, who treats cancer patients through the Michigan State University Breslin Cancer Center, said he would never advocate smoking weed for medicinal reasons.

"Even if the patient is terminal," he said.

Smoking, after all, is not the only way to medicate with THC. It is available by prescription in pill form.

THC helps some

THC has been proven to reduce pain in some patients and to ease vomiting in about 25 percent of those in chemotherapy, according to a 1999 report by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. THC also shows promise in treating wasting syndrome in AIDS patients.

But some other health claims are just that - claims.

Marijuana, for example, has been shown to reduce pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients, but the effect is short-lived and not worth the drug's side effects, according to the institute report. THC, for example, alters mood and can actually add to patient distress.

The debate shows no sign of waning.

Tim Beck is an insurance sales executive from Detroit who smokes marijuana to relieve pain. It's legal in Detroit, Ferndale, Ann Arbor and Traverse City, as long as the marijuana is smoked for medicinal purposes and the user has proof his physician approves. In Detroit, for example, police said they won't charge such a user even though state law prohibits marijuana possession.

Beck wouldn't divulge the details of his illness, but he noted that pharmaceutical-grade THC doesn't work for everyone.

"Everybody's metabolism is different," he said.

Available in capsules

Synthetic THC is marketed in capsule form under the trade name Marinol and comes in only three dosages, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It's approved for the treatment of severe weight loss in AIDS patients, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.

Its limited approval is cited as a civil liberties issue.

"Who should make decisions about medical health - the patients and their doctors or government officials?" asked state Rep. Leon Drolet, R-Macomb County.

His answer: patients and doctors.

As a doctor, though, Al-Janadi sees little point in advocating the smoking of a substance that can lead to dependence and has been proven to contain cancer-causing compounds.

"I had one patient who just swore that the only thing that helped him was smoking marijuana," Al-Janadi said. "The guy was doing great with Marinol."

Contact Christine Rook at 377-1261 or clrook@lsj.com

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Published January 7, 2007


Kathy Kennedy: Marijuana has medicinal values LSJ didn't report

<table class=posttable align=right width=260><tr><td class=postcap>Kathy Kennedy of Lansing is a member of Michigan NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). </tr></td></table>The Lansing State Journal


The LSJ's front page article, "Experts: Medical marijuana best as pill" (Dec. 29) was almost entirely wrong.

Let's start with the headline: In fact, experts on medical marijuana are nearly unanimous that ingestion is the wrong way to administer marijuana's active components, called cannabinoids. In an extensive 2003 review, the medical journal The Lancet Neurology concluded, "Oral administration is probably the least satisfactory route for cannabis," because oral cannabinoids are absorbed slowly and unevenly, making proper dose adjustment nearly impossible.

The Institute of Medicine made the same point regarding Marinol, the THC pill: "It is well recognized that Marinol's oral route of administration hampers its effectiveness."

But smoking is not the only alternative. Devices called vaporizers give patients using whole marijuana the advantages of inhalation - fast action and ease of dose adjustment - without the tars and other irritants in smoke. A study of one such device, published last year in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, found it "a safe and effective delivery system."

Dr. Anas Al-Janadi was quoted by the LSJ stating marijuana contains cancer-causing compounds and use can lead to dependence. Many common foods have cancer-causing compounds (artificial sweeteners or even broccoli for example). And authoritative studies have consistently shown that marijuana smokers don't have a higher risk of lung cancer or other smoking-related cancers; in some studies, marijuana smokers actually had a lower cancer risk than nonsmokers.

As for dependence, people who are sick are often dependent on medication to provide some quality of life. Is it better for them to be dependent on morphine? Many medicines for terminally ill patients are powerful, addictive and have high abuse potential.

Marijuana is far less addictive and has far lower abuse potential than many legal medications, like morphine and OxyContin.

This is not about people "getting high." Marijuana contains at least 66 unique cannabinoids, and extensive research has already documented that several play a role in control of pain, inflammation, spasticity and other symptoms. At least one, CBD, has been shown to moderate the unwanted psychoactive effects of THC. Even if oral THC worked rapidly and could be dosed precisely, it would never be as effective or safe as whole marijuana.

I used to believe that marijuana was not medicine - it just made people not mind being sick. Then I saw MS patients get out of their wheelchairs and walk. I learned about a glaucoma patient being scheduled for eye surgery. All hope of retaining vision was lost; all that could be done was to relieve the pain. A doctor took the doomed patient aside and whispered, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but if you smoke marijuana you might not need surgery."

Twenty pain-free years later, the patient still has some vision.

Yes, medical marijuana will help a comparatively small number of people: possibly you or someone you care about. Will you refuse the medicine that works, or risk going to jail for using it? If that seems wrong to you, it's time to change Michigan's laws.

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“We’re hoping we can build some trust with the kids at the school and members of the community.”

Oh it'll build trust allright.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=posting width=300 src=bin/fraser-tipline_1.bmp></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap>Fraser Interim Public Safety Director Lt. George Rouhib talks about the dangers and legal consequences of using and dealing heroin. The department recently established a 24-hour anonymous tip line for people — especially students and parents — to report drug incidents and other criminal behavior.</td></tr></table>Fraser public safety unveils new anonymous tip line

<span class=postbigbold>Confidential service aims to curb teen drug use</span>

By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer
C & G Newspapers
February 1, 2007

FRASER — Officials with the Fraser Public Safety Department and Fraser Public Schools are hoping a new anonymous tip line will help police curb rising incidences of drug usage, trafficking and overdoses among the community’s teens and young adults.

The 24-hour hotline, (888) 882-8890, was implemented the week of Jan. 15 and is intended primarily for students and parents to report situations involving heroin and other potentially lethal narcotics. However, the line also is available for those who want to report instances of underage drinking, marijuana use and sales, larcenies, burglaries, etc.

Officer Lisa Pettyes said police don’t believe there’s an “epidemic” of heroin usage in Fraser, but it has been on the rise, with five heroin overdoses reported in the last 13 months.

She said it’s likely Fraser public safety is more aware of and attuned to the amount of usage in the community than other municipalities because Fraser’s officers — as the police and paramedics of the city — see the entire spectrum of incidents stemming from drugs, from the criminal side to the medical side.

The goal of the tip line, said Pettyes, is to take “a step ahead, to be more proactive.”

Interim Public Safety Director Lt. George T. Rouhib attributes the rise in heroin usage to kids’ depression and low self-esteem.

Heroin, he said, “is one of the most addictive drugs on the market today.” Teens who try it even just once can become instantly hooked, and subsequently may be sucked into a cycle of criminal behavior to support their habit, he said.

“They’ll do what they can to get their hands on some money, so they can buy the drugs,” he said.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=posting width=300 src=bin/fraser-tipline_2.bmp></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap>Dispatcher Chuck Paul shows Fraser High School Flash reporters Kristen Schatow, Navtej Singh and Paul DiGiovanni that the tip line does not have caller ID or *69 capabilities. Students have been worried that police will be able to trace their calls, so the Flash reporters visited the police station to view the tip line firsthand.</td></tr></table>Kids often don’t realize how serious the consequences can be, said Rouhib. Heroin-related offenses are felonies, and depending on the number of grams a suspect possesses when caught, the penalty can range from four to 30 years for possession and 20 years to life for delivering/manufacturing. And those penalties only get steeper if the activity occurs on or within 1,000 feet of school property.

Police just began promoting the tip line, but once word gets out, “I think it’s going to be ringing off the hook,” said Rouhib. “We’re hoping we can build some trust with the kids at the school and members of the community.”

Fraser High School students are working on posters to advertise the tip line, and information is forthcoming on the district’s Web site.

In early January, FHS Principal Dave Richards announced the line to students by instructing them to take out their cell phones and program the number in, then explaining its purpose and encouraging them to hold onto it.

“You never know when you’ll need to make a call for a friend, or step between your friend and a choice they’re making,” he said.

Students’ chief concern upon learning about the tip line was that police would be able to establish their identity through caller ID or *69 features, said Richards.

“(They said), ‘Yeah, right, it’s a ‘narc’ line, and I’m going to get busted,’” he said. “We’re trying to raise confidence that we just want to know who’s doing it.”

In an effort to allay their fears, three staff members from the Fraser High School Flash newspaper visited the Public Safety Department Jan. 25 to gather more information to pass on to their peers.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=posting width=300 src=bin/fraser-tipline_3.bmp></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap>The phone’s display shows the words “incoming call,” but no identifying information about the caller.</td></tr></table>Flash editor Kristen Schatow and reporters Paul DiGiovanni and Navtej Singh watched as Pettyes and Richards separately dialed the number, which rings on a nondescript black phone at the dispatcher’s desk. A screen on the handset flashes the words “incoming call,” but no phone number appears.

Dispatcher Chuck Paul also demonstrated that the *69 feature — which typically will redial the last caller’s number on a standard phone — does not function on the tip line.

Dispatchers will ask callers a series of questions to garner information related to the alleged offense, which will be forwarded on to the appropriate department, usually the Narcotics Unit or Detective Bureau. Callers can leave a name or number if desired, but it is not necessary; there is total confidentiality, said Rouhib.

The Flash staffers said they believe their firsthand look into whether the tip line truly is anonymous will help put their classmates at ease.

“A lot of people are like, ‘I’m not calling that, because they’re just going to find out who I am,’” said DiGiovanni. But now, they’ll know “you can call it and can’t get caught,” said Schatow.

“I think it’s a really positive influence on the community,” said Singh. “It’s great that we have the cooperation of the school district and the police department.”

Fraser reportedly is the first Macomb County community to establish such a tip line. In the future, Pettyes said, the department also will promote the tip line at the middle school and elementary levels.

Students and parents are welcome to stop by the Public Safety Department, located on the corner of 14 Mile Road and Garfield, to verify the hotline’s confidentiality.

Drug testing kits also are available through the department. Single tests are $5 each; a quad-screen test, which tests for marijuana, cocaine, opiates and methamphetamines is $12. Rouhib said the department sells about 50 kits per week to parents who want to test their children.

You can reach Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com

[palmspringsbum]

Voters to decide on medicinal marijuana issue
<span class=postbigbold>5 Michigan cities already have ordinances; Flint could be next</span>

By Taryn Asher
abc12.com

GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) - (02/02/07)--A big effort is under way right now in the city of Flint to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Five cities in Michigan already have medical marijuana ordinances on their books.

On Feb. 27, Flint voters will finally have a say, like Barbara Hoos, who is a breast cancer survivor.

"During my cancer I started smoking marijuana because that was the only way I could eat," she said. "At that point I had to thank marijuana for keeping me alive."

Hoos says she smokes pot every day to deal with the constant pain she's had since her double mastectomy and two back surgeries she needed after a terrible car accident.

She doesn't do it to get high.

"When you're doing it to take away the pain from your injuries and the suffering, the marijuana does not impair (you)," she said.

That is just part of the ongoing debate concerning marijuana. And here's where it gets tricky: Even if it becomes legal in Flint to smoke medical marijuana, it will still be illegal at a state level.

Especially, says Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, because there is no legal way to provide it.

"We don't have that here," he said. "If this passes, all we're going to have is a city ordinance that exempts those users from using it but it still doesn't make it legal to obtain. It's very confusing (and could) result in problems."

They would be problems Charles Snyder doesn't want to deal with, and as a new father, why he's not taking any chances -- even though he suffers from Nail Patella syndrome, a rare and painful bone disorder.

"I can't fulfill me fatherly duties from a prison cell," he said.

While Snyder says he relies on legal prescription meds to fight his constant pain, he's working to change Michigan's marijuana laws -- starting in Flint and for patients like him who suffer from serious medical conditions.

"This isn't something just anyone can access," he said. "This is something well documented and provided by the doctor."

The Flint Coalition for Compassionate Care submitted the 2,000 signatures to get the issue on the ballot. Voters will head to the polls Feb. 27.

[palmspringsbum]

Flint pot vote mostly symbolic

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

Monday, February 05, 2007
By Marjory Raymer
mraymer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6325


<table class=posttable align=right width=200><tr><td class=postcell>

<center><span class=postbold>QUICK TAKE
About medical marijuana</span></center>


Some states and cities have passed laws that would allow for the use of medical marijuana, although federal law still prohibits it:

<span class=postbold>STATEWIDE:</span> Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale and Traverse City


<span class=postbold>NATIONWIDE:</span> Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montan a, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington



Sources: Flint Journal files,

Marijuana Policy Project



<center><span class=postbigbold>About the election</span></center>

<span class=postbold>Who:</span> Registered Flint voters

<span class=postbold>What:</span> Election to decide if Flint should "exempt individuals possessing or using (marijuana) for medical purposes under a physician's care from the provisions of the code making it a criminal offense."

<span class=postbold>When:</span> Feb. 27

<span class=postbold>Where:</span> City of Flint only

</td></tr></table>FLINT - The three days Charles Snyder III spent in jail after being accused of a laundry list of drug crimes strengthened his resolve to seek legalization of marijuana for medical use.

Snyder, 29, of Flint is one of the driving forces behind an initiative that would change Flint ordinances to allow possession and use of marijuana with doctor's approval - theoretically, at least.

The issue goes before Flint residents in a Feb. 27 election, but the vote is largely symbolic because pot usage - recreational and medicinal - would still be illegal under both state and federal laws. And they trump local ordinances.

Opponents say a city already battling a crime problem dominated by drugs shouldn't legalize marijuana use, even under special circumstances.

City Council President Darryl Buchanan said he can't speak from a medical standpoint, but he opposes the initiative and believes it could send a wrong message about drug use to children.

"I don't condone any drug use. I will not be voting for it," Buchanan said. "We already have our hands full combating drugs and crime in Flint."

Supporters claim marijuana helps treat nausea, pain and other symptoms of as many as 200 diseases. They say it's important to offer as much protection as possible to prevent seriously ill patients from going to jail for smoking pot.

Snyder said the three days he spent in jail before being able to post bond were a "wake-up call" to continue pushing for such a measure. He was busted in August 2005 after a raid on his house, where he was growing 12 marijuana plants.

He originally was charged with six drug offenses, including maintaining a drug house. All were eventually dropped except manufacture of marijuana, for which he paid a $500 fine.

Snyder said he had been smoking marijuana to self-medicate for nail patella syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes pain in his joints.

He said he now takes OxyContin, a powerful pain reliever known for its addictive qualities, three times a day through a doctor's prescription, but that marijuana worked better.

The ballot proposal would allow individuals and their caregivers to be in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia if they have written proof they use it under a doctor's supervision. It also allows the patient, but not a caregiver, to use marijuana.

Medical marijuana is a trendy national issue, thanks in part to aging baby boomers who are experiencing more health ailments. It has grown in attention along with herbal remedies, pain management and end-of-life care.

There's little scientific study of marijuana as a medicine, though, and most prominent politicians are loath to express support.

Flint resident Mark Harris, 50, at first was leery of any legalization of pot - until he found out the local initiative mandates a doctor's approval.

Harris said he was still concerned about possible abuse, but he thought marijuana could help some people, especially terminally ill patients.

"That's something you do for sick people, you make them comfortable before they leave you," Harris said.

Snyder, along with campaign manager Brian Morrissey, 24, of Flint, collected more than 2,000 signatures to put the issue to a vote. They also tried in 2005 but never made it onto the ballot because of improper proposal language.

The Genesee County Medical Society has not taken a stance on the issue, and the effort has received no official endorsements from local officials.

Still, backers are confident and expect to spend a $7,500 grant from the Marijuana Policy Project on campaign material.

Supporters might have reason to be optimistic. The medical marijuana measure has passed in Michigan every time and everywhere it's been on the ballot. Four other Michigan cities have approved similar ordinances.

However, residents in those communities are no closer to openly smoking pot than anyone else.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that patients using marijuana under a doctor's care still can be charged for violating federal law, essentially overriding local communities and the 11 states that now allow it.

Snyder said he believes approving the ballot measure would at least give Flint police the option of looking the other way.

And, ultimately, its passage would bring more weight to efforts to change people's hearts and minds, as well as state and federal laws, he said.

[palmspringsbum]

Medical marijuana question may be headed to Nov. '08 ballot

by Chris Andrews, Lansing State Journal
November 20th, 2007


A proposal to allow Michigan patients to use marijuana for medical purposes appears headed to the November 2008 ballot.

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care said today it turned in 496,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State's office. It needs about 304,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

"Seriously ill patients who are following the advice of their doctor should not face the threat of arrest and jail for simply taking their medicine," coalition spokeswoman Dianne Byrum said in a statement.

Under the proposal, seriously ill patients would be able to grow and use a limited amount of marijuana for medical purposes under the recommendation of a doctor. The state would create a registry of patients authorized to use medical marijuana, including an ID system to help law enforcement officials.

Twelve states now permit medical marijuana, according to the coalition.

[palmspringsbum]

FROM OUR READERS

Give patients right to relief of marijuana

The Detroit Free Press
December 18, 2007


Medical marijuana has been shown time and time again to help seriously ill people get relief. Prosecuting them and threatening them with jail time is barbaric ("Legal pot for very ill gets lift," Nov. 21).

I am glad to see that so many Michiganders agree with me and have signed the petition to put medical marijuana on the ballot next year. People with serious diseases should not be thrown in jail for following their doctor's advice, and I am confident that Michigan will overwhelmingly vote to protect patients if given the chance in 2008.

Helen L. Thompson
Benzonia

<hr class=postrule>

<span class=postbigbold>Waste of time</span>

The government should not be wasting time trying to put sick patients in jail when they use medical marijuana to ease their suffering. Numerous studies show that medical marijuana is effective in treating patients with debilitating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest can bring people back into society who currently lack effective treatment and are crippled by their symptoms.

Michigan should stand on the side of compassion and care, not senselessly punish people who are trying to care for themselves. I am looking forward to voting yes on the medical marijuana proposal if it's put on the ballot!

Matthew R. Abel
Attorney at law
Detroit

<hr class=postrule>

<span class=postbigbold>Follow docs' orders</span>

It is such a relief that the citizens of Michigan support the medical usage of marijuana. I have seen my closest relatives suffer from the pain and anxiety of cancer and the debilitating treatments used to fight it. They do not deserve to go to jail for following their doctors' orders.

Medical marijuana can relieve suffering cancer patients of their continuous pain, as well as the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, helping to keep them alive and well enough to keep fighting cancer.

Michigan is on the right track in joining the 12 states that have successfully implemented medical marijuana legislation.

Neil Yashinsky
Troy

<hr class=postrule>

<span class=postbigbold>More important work</span>

As a retired Michigan police officer, I found the comments of my colleague, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel, regarding policing medical marijuana, puzzling. If a person has a permit for marijuana, the officer simply takes no action. No permit would mean arresting the person for possession. The same principle applies for those found in possession of a concealed weapon. This is not complicated.

I hope Michigan votes in favor of allowing sick people to use God's medicine. Our profession has more important things to do.

Howard J. Wooldridge
Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Washington, D.C.

[palmspringsbum]

History backs up DARE's value to communities and families

The Times-Herald

December 22, 2007

Dear Mayor Moeller:

While the Times Herald's article stated your community's support for our program, Shannon Murphy did not research DARE's successes and I would like to set the record straight. I would appreciate your sharing this information with your City Council for their consideration.

Here are only a few of Murphy's omissions regarding DARE-America's history:

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: DARE grads are less likely to use inhalants, crack cocaine and smokeless tobacco.

Research and Educational Services of Louisiana: DARE grads are significantly less likely to have friends who use marijuana.

National Medical Association: DARE grads are five times less likely to start smoking.

DARE is constantly improving itself. It was the only prevention program in the world selected to participate in the largest and most complex evaluation in the history of drug prevention. This study has helped teachers and administrators cope with the ever-challenging issues of drug use, school violence and terrorism in our public schools.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided a $13.7 million grant to the University of Akron to develop and test DARE's new curricula for over five years with a sampling of over 19,000 students in six U.S. cities.

DARE has successfully designed and tested the next generation of research-based school curricula, matching the best prevention science with DARE's unparalleled delivery system in elementary, middle and high schools AND with the assistance of a solid, cohesive parent program.
More Murphy omissions:


Currently DARE's new over-the-counter drug and anti-bullying programs spent $600,000 for curricula and DARE officer training. All of this at no cost to your local DARE.

Our classroom workbooks (which cost only 89 cents), literature and merchandise still sell at deeply discounted prices to your local DARE.

Our annual DARE Toys for Tots toy drive - that's right, we have teamed up with the U.S. Marine Corps - will help needy children and families in your area for the holidays.

We just finished donating truckloads of food, clothing and toys to Minnesota, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and also Bangkok, Thailand.

I just returned from a Houston City Hall event where Jarvis Johnson was pleased to receive $1,200 and $1,500 in toys for his local DARE program. As I'm writing this email, an international DARE toy drive container is being assembled and filled for needy Iraqi children.

In the wake of 9-1-1 due to Homeland Security budget cuts, we at DARE-America must raise funds like any major charity. We have received a huge groundswell of public support. Worldwide, 36 million students graduate from DARE each year in 54 countries (26 million within the U.S.) and our Web site www.dare.com receives 19 million hits every month. No matter what some say, DARE works!

All of us at DARE-America are law enforcement and educators and we try our best to help our local DAREs.

I ask your City Council to join DARE-America's winning team. If they don't make DARE work for Port Huron's children, we all know who the winner is then: the drug dealer.

Tom Hazelton is president-development of DARE-America.

[palmspringsbum]

Fed up with Legislature, voters ready to take charge

The Macomb Daily News
By Chad Selweski
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
December 23, 2007

Sinking to such depths that one becomes more politically unpopular than both President Bush and Congress is a difficult feat, but the men and women of our Michigan Legislature have accomplished just that.

In a recent statewide poll, only 15 percent of voters gave the Legislature a positive job rating, which apparently sets some kind of Michigan record for lowest approval ratings ever. The many months of budget gridlock, a brief government shutdown, a series of tax increases and one chaotic tax repeal have clearly taken their toll on lawmakers' reputations in both parties.

"The only people who say positive things about them are their dogs and their spouses," quipped pollster Ed Sarpolus of Lansing-based EPIC-MRA, who conducted the survey.

The Legislature is so widely disliked that many citizens are stepping forward, ready to do the legislators' job for them -- or to fix the messes they've created.

Several petition drives seeking to place proposals on the 2008 ballot have entered the planning stages, including one that would relegate the Legislature to part-time status, cutting the members' pay and perks.

Other prospective ballot proposals would: establish a state constitutional guarantee of affordable, comprehensive health care for all Michigan citizens; repeal the state ban on embryonic stem-cell research; require voter approval of state tax increases and other tax matters; and legalize marijuana use for medical purposes.

These are among the important matters cast aside while the Legislature struggled for nearly the entire year with its most basic duty -- balancing the budget.

Beyond the numerous recall efforts targeting lawmakers, these burgeoning campaigns for ballot proposals are a slap at our legislators, Republicans and Democrats. This is essentially a vote of no confidence.

Each of these drives would be a massive undertaking, with most requiring the collection of at least 380,000 voter signatures. Nonetheless, it seems the people have decided that they'll handle Michigan's big-ticket items, and they want lawmakers to take a hands-off approach.

According to Sarpolus, the message to Lansing voiced in the poll was: "Leave it alone. Stop. Go home. Disappear."

Yet, the Legislature will make a return appearance in February, after its usual dallying in January. When lawmakers get down to business, they face a full plate: a renewable energy policy, a Great Lakes water compact, electric company competition, property taxes and foreclosures, road funding, trash recycling, prison costs, and high school dropout rates.

If the legislators' performance in the new year is anything like the wealth of embarrassments in 2007, many of these matters in 2008 will never be resolved. And some of these lingering issues could spawn additional citizen petition drives.

As for the proposal to move to a part-time Legislature, I suspect that would make matters worse. Part-timers, by definition, would be less professional and less knowledgeable, and they would have just a fraction of the year to solve everything on the Lansing agenda.

Most political observers, liberal and conservative, now agree that we're paying the price for imposing term limits on our state officials.

But here's the conundrum facing voters. After Lansing wasted a year in an endless series of partisan mud-wrestling matches, it's become clear that term limits have scrubbed the Legislature of its most competent, experienced members. But the last thing voters want right now is to reward these languishing lawmakers by repealing term limits and extending their careers.

As a result, plans for a ballot proposal to repeal or revise term limits appear dead. But other initiatives could be alive and well if the state House and Senate keep pumping life into the public perception that Lansing is dysfunctional and distrustful.

Could Michigan be headed toward California-style democracy? In the Golden State, most of the big-impact issues are handled at the ballot box, with numerous initiatives and referendums sparked by petition drives.

Maybe instead of a Michigan part-time Legislature, what we'll get is a Capitol on automatic pilot. If so, I suspect many voters would say that they approve.

[palmspringsbum]

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/allen_lynn.jpg alt="Lynn Allen"></td></tr><tr><td class=postcell><span class=postbold>Lynn Allen, who has HIV/AIDS and is a hemophiliac, says he supports legislation that would allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana with the recommendation of a doctor.</td></tr></table>Article published Dec 23, 2007

Medical-marijuana proposal expected to go to a vote

Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal


Lynn Allen is in a great deal of pain. And he thinks marijuana would ease it.

The 51-year-old Williamston man was born with hemophilia and was infected with HIV and hepatitis C more than 20 years ago.

His greatest pain comes from arthritis related to his hemophilia. He must use a wheelchair to get around. He takes narcotics that help with pain, but they have side effects, including constipation and memory problems. Unless it's legal, he won't use marijuana.

"I had children in the home, and I didn't want to set a bad example for them," Allen said. "They've since gone off to college, but I just don't think it's a good idea to break the law."

<br clear=right><table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/bowens_sonny.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcell><span class=postbold>I don't think it should be a real issue. We're not humane when it comes to other people's health — someone who isn't sick can't imagine the pain that another person is going through, and we shouldn't judge them for using something that can help." — Sonny Bowens, Battle Creek.</span></td></tr></table>Michigan voters will probably decide next November whether to allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana based on the recommendation of a physician.

Supporters have turned in nearly half a million petition signatures to the Secretary of State's Office — they need 304,000 valid signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

But opponents question the medicinal value of marijuana and the sincerity of the effort. Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth is among them.

"There's plenty of pain medication out there," Wriggelsworth said. "I don't think anybody's concern is about ill people. It's just a way for people who have a predisposition to use drugs to try to get them legalized."

Twelve states allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In Michigan, five cities — Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City — have ordinances to do so, although use and possession are illegal under both state and federal law.

Under the Michigan proposal, seriously ill patients could legally use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. The measure specifically lists treatment for such diseases as HIV, cancer and Alzheimer's as well as for less specific "severe and chronic pain."

Patients would register with the state and have an ID card to help police know they have the right to use marijuana.

<br clear=right><table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/mullenix_jordan.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcell><span class=postbold>Medicinal marijuana should be legal. I know a woman who uses it for health problems. It's the only thing that's helped her. She moved from California, where she had a prescription for it, to Michigan. Now she has to get it the illegal way here." — Jordan Mullenix, Battle Creek</span></td></tr></table>Those who are registered would have the right to grow up to 12 marijuana plants. They could not be prosecuted for buying marijuana, although it would still be a crime for someone to sell it.

The medical community is divided on the issue.

Supporters include the California, New York and Rhode Island medical societies, the American Public Health Association and the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy opposes it, as does the Michigan State Medical Society except in research.

Some Michigan residents use marijuana to help with pain although it is against the law.

"You find it primarily used for people who are going through chemotherapy and have a difficult time keeping anything down, people with muscular pain such as multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, people who are in serious pain and that have life-threatening illnesses," said Dianne Byrum, a former legislator whose political consulting firm is leading the drive.

Byrum says other states with medical marijuana laws have seen up to one half of 1 percent of the population take advantage of the law. In Michigan, that would be about 50,000 people.

<br clear=right><table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/montoya_clarissa.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcell><span class=postbold>"From what I've read, marijuana doesn't have the same harmful side effects as some pain medications. And making it legal for people to use it for medicinal purposes would keep (marijuana) more contained, because people who need it will have to go to doctors and go through a process to get it." — Clarissa Montoya, Athens</span></td></tr></table>But Dr. Michael Chafty, a pain management specialist who serves on the Michigan State Medical Society's Board of Directors, said more well-controlled studies are needed.

"Many of the people who think that marijuana is their only option don't understand the options that currently exist in pain management," he said. "There are a lot of other options that are very adequate if not superior to marijuana."

In theory, the Legislature could enact the marijuana law, eliminating the need for sending it to the voters. But that's not likely to happen, said Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

"These folks are trying to pull the wool over people's eyes," Cropsey said. "They'll get a couple of very sympathetic examples out there, but when it comes right down to it, they are just plain trying to legalize marijuana eventually."

Contact Chris Andrews at 377-1054 or candrews@lsj.com.

[palmspringsbum]

Patients want pot for pain

By Chris Andrews
The Press & Argus
January 17, 2008


Lynn Allen is in a great deal of pain. And he thinks marijuana would ease it.
The 51-year-old Williamston man was born with hemophilia and infected with HIV and hepatitis C more than 20 years ago.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg src=bin/allen_lynn-with-dogs.jpg width=300 alt="Lynn Allen gives a treat to family dogs Jazzmo, left, and Fiesta at home on Dec. 5. Allen, who has HIV and is a hemophiliac, says he supports legislation that would allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana with the recommendation of a doctor."></td></tr></table>His greatest pain comes from arthritis related to his hemophilia. He must use a wheelchair to get around. He takes narcotics that help with pain, but they have side effects, including constipation and memory problems. Unless it's legal, he won't use marijuana.

"I had children in the home, and I didn't want to set a bad example for them," Allen said. "They've since gone off to college, but I just don't think it's a good idea to break the law."

Michigan voters will likely decide in November whether to allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana based on the recommendation of a physician.

Supporters have turned in nearly half a million petition signatures to the secretary of state's office — they need 304,000 valid signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The state Legislature gets first crack at passing the petition as law, but that seems unlikely. In that case, the question would appear on the November ballot.

But opponents question the medicinal value of marijuana and the sincerity of the effort. Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth is among them.

"There's plenty of pain medication out there," Wriggelsworth said. "I don't think anybody's concern is about ill people. It's just a way for people who have a predisposition to use drugs to try to get them legalized."


<span class=postbigbold>Local ordinances</span>

Twelve states allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In Michigan, five cities — Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City — have ordinances to do so, although use and possession are illegal under state and federal law.

Under the Michigan proposal, seriously ill patients could legally use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

The measure specifically lists treatment for such things as HIV, cancer and Alzheimer's disease, as well as for less specific "severe and chronic pain."

Patients would register with the state and have an ID card to help police know they have the right to use marijuana.

Those who are registered would have the right to grow up to 12 marijuana plants.

They could not be prosecuted for buying marijuana, although it would still be a crime for someone to sell it.

The medical community is divided on the issue. Supporters include the California, New York and Rhode Island medical societies, the American Public Health Association and the American Academy of HIV Medicine.


<span class=postbigbold>White House view</span>

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy opposes it, as does the Michigan State Medical Society expert in research.

Some Michigan residents use marijuana to help with pain despite the fact that it is against the law.

"You find it primarily used for people who are going through chemotherapy and have a difficult time keeping anything down, people with muscular pain such as multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, people who are in serious pain and that have life-threatening illnesses," said Dianne Byrum, a former legislator whose political consulting firm is leading the drive.

Byrum says other states with medical marijuana laws have seen up to one half of 1 percent of the population take advantage of the law. In Michigan, that would be about 50,000 people.

But Dr. Michael Chafty, a pain-management specialist who serves on the Michigan State Medical Society's board of directors, said more well-controlled studies are needed.

"Many of the people who think that marijuana is their only option don't understand the options that currently exist in pain management," he said. "There are a lot of other options that are very adequate, if not superior, to marijuana."


<span class=postbigbold>Lawmaker doubtful</span>

In theory, the Legislature could enact the marijuana law, eliminating the need for sending it to the voters. But that's not likely to happen, said Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

"These folks are trying to pull the wool over people's eyes," Cropsey said. "They'll get a couple of very sympathetic examples out there, but when it comes right down to it, they are just plain trying to legalize marijuana eventually."

Contact Chris Andrews at (517) 377-1054 or at candrews@lsj.com.

[palmspringsbum]

Voters get final say on issues - maybe twice


Posted by Clay Taylor | Capital News Service
February 22, 2008 12:55PM

LANSING -- Crafting ballot initiatives is a father-son activity for Saginaw attorneys Allan and Gregory Schmid, the forces behind two of 10 prospective initiatives this election year.

"I'm getting a little old," said Allan, who's been pioneering ballot initiatives since the 1970s. "My son is doing most of the work these days."

Ballot initiatives directly empower voters, said Mike Craw, an assistant professor at Michigan State University's public affairs-oriented James Madison College.

"It's basically a mass town hall meeting for policy making," Craw said. "It's a chance for people to have a direct say in legislation, making their own decisions instead of letting the representatives do it."

One of the Schmids' proposals would require a referendum on any proposed tax hike. The other would transform the state's full-time legislature into a part-time one.

"We are totally out of step with the rest of the country," Allan said, noting that Michigan is one of four states with a full-time legislature. "We are in step with all other states that have full-time legislature in that we have the highest paid legislature in country, the highest tax rates in the country and one of the most inefficient governments in the country."

That constitutional amendment would slash legislators' salaries by $40,000 and limit the amount of time legislators spend in session.

If the Schmids' idea sounds familiar, that's because a similar one sprang up in Kalamazoo that would cut lawmaker's pay by roughly $35,000.

"It's going to be a confusing situation between this and the other so-called part-time legislature initiative," Allan said.

The major difference between Allan's and Kalamazoo's Turn Michigan Around initiative is that Allan's wouldn't end term limits for legislators.

Term limits block progress in the Legislature, said Marty Dodge, senior vice president of the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce, one of the initiative's affiliates.

"It's too much of a treadmill," Dodge said. "Folks come into office and they're immediately running for re-election. It doesn't lend itself to the creation of thoughtful, law-abiding officials."

Allan, who wrote the ballot initiative that first enacted term limits in 1992, said: "I think it's working better now than it ever has."

Michigan is one of 15 states with term limits for legislators.

While both initiatives may appear on the ballot, the one with the most votes would be enacted if both pass, according to the Secretary of State.

First, however, the initiative needs signatures, which Allan says is the hardest part of the process.

"We are attempting to get the signatures through volunteers," Allan said, in contrast to some groups that pay circulators to gather signatures.

"We're mailing petitions to groups of registered voters to sign and send back," he said.

A part-time legislature isn't the only topic to face potential overlaps on the ballot. Marijuana could also appear twice: The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care's (MCCC) initiative would legalize medical marijuana, and the Eaton Rapids-based Medical and Recreational Peace initiative would allow marijuana use by anyone over 18 on private property.

So far, the Ferndale-based Coalition for Compassionate Care's initiative is the only one to advance to the next stage after collecting the necessary signatures.

"It's making its way through the validation process, but we have every reason to believe that it will qualify," said Dianne Byrum, a lobbyist for the MCCC. "This is a citizens' initiative of a law. It requires a minimum of 304,101 qualified signatures. The campaign turned in just shy of half a million signatures."

A constitutional amendment, like both the part-time legislature initiatives, requires a heftier 380,000 signatures. After the signatures are validated, Byrum says the Legislature has 45 days to act on it. If it passes, it will become law. If it rejects the initiative or takes no action, voters would make the final decision in November.

The MCCC's initiative is intended to protect a "very narrow" group of seriously ill individuals who would have to register with the state and possess a doctor's note recommending the use of marijuana for their symptoms. Its Web site links to a report from the Marijuana Policy Project, which says medical marijuana can induce appetite, reduce nausea and relieve chronic pain and eye pressure.

Craw said issues like medical marijuana that concern a slim portion of voters are typical of ballot initiatives.

"What we typically see happen are ballot initiatives created by groups and organizations that have a particular agenda," Craw said. "They're strongly interested in a specific narrow interest.

"That said, ballot initiatives can become a political tool for groups that would seek to support one political party or another. One strategy could be used to organize ballot initiatives that would inspire Republican voters to come out and vote in favor in it."

Craw cited the 2004 gay marriage ban and the 2006 affirmative action ban as examples of politically divisive ballot initiatives designed to draw conservatives to the voting booths.

The biggest year for Michigan ballot initiatives was 1978 with 11, including the Headlee Amendment on taxes and the 21-year-old drinking age.

That year, the amount of controversial ballot initiatives did not drive many voters to polls, said Kelly Chesney, public information officer for the Secretary of State.

"Normally one would think that having this many proposals would have galvanized the public," Chesney said. "It was up from the 1974 election, but not significantly." Voter turnout increased 12 percent from the previous election.

Other initiatives that may appear on the November ballot concern stem cell research, a universal health care system, creation of "personal education accounts" to allow parents to control their child's education funding, creation of a 50-person Senate to increase diversity of opinion and replacement of the income tax and business tax with a sales tax. They are all gathering signatures.

[palmspringsbum]

Michigan legislature looks at changing the way proposals get on voter ballot

mlive.com
Posted by Peter Luke February 25, 2008 15:20PM


Some of the biggest change in Michigan over the past two decades has been delivered in voting precincts across the state.

Term limits, a same-sex marriage ban, commercial gambling in Detroit, and a prohibition on the use of race in hiring and admissions policies all were approved by voters after successful petition drives.

Petition-driven attempts authorizing private school vouchers and physician-assisted suicide were rejected by voters.

This winter, new petition drives are underway.

One involves a constitutional tax overhaul -- the Michigan Fair Tax Proposal -- that would trade income and business taxes for a 9.75-percent sales tax on consumer services and goods, including groceries.

Another proposal would legally authorize embryonic stem cell research in Michigan.

State elections officials will soon likely certify that medical marijuana proponents have gathered enough signatures to put the issue to the Legislature for a vote. If lawmakers take no action, asseems likely, voters would decide the matter in November.

Still another effort would eliminate term limits, make the Legislature part time, eliminate legislative retirement benefits and cut legislative salaries in half.

Any advocacy group with about a million dollars can hire professional collection firms to gather the requisite number of signatures in an effort to amend Michigan's constitution, enact new laws or repeal existing laws. Couple that with frustration with a divided Legislature that can be more prone to inaction than action and the trend toward more direct democracy is clear.

As petition-gathering season begins, however, lawmakers are wondering whether it's too easy to put a measure on the ballot.

A proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, would require that a minimum number of signatures -- 7 percent of the previous gubernatorial vote total -- be collected in at least 83 of the 110 state House districts.

A companion measure would require that all signature collection be completed by March 15 of an election year to provide more time for vetting. Still another would require that petition circulators be qualified voters and residents of Michigan for at least 30 days.

Petition drives thus would find it harder to import large numbers of paid workers to gather last-minute signatures on deadline.

McManus says the change is geared toward moving back to the original grassroots idea of allowing citizens to petition their state government.

Lawmakers could, but probably won't, re-examine just what the scope of that petitioning should be.

Citizens can write their own laws and if they collect enough signatures, lawmakers can choose to adopt them. Rejection or inaction by lawmakers puts the proposed law on the ballot. But if voters approve what turns out to be a really lousy idea, lawmakers can change it later with a three-fourths vote.

There is little argument, moreover, that voters should have the power to overturn through referendum what they view to be really lousy ideas enacted by those same lawmakers. Voters did just that in 2006 when they overturned state law authorizing the hunting of mourning doves.

The broader question is whether the rise of paid signature collection in Michigan makes it too easy for special interests to attempt amending the Michigan Constitution.

Citizen-passed legal statute can be reshaped by the Legislature as a safeguard. A constitutional amendment is more permanent, it's scope or impact ultimately determined by a four-justice majority of the Michigan Supreme Court.

As long as lawmakers are looking at the business of petition gathering, a broader overhaul would give only the Legislature, through a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate, authority to put constitutional amendments on the ballot for voter ratification.

That would at least ensure that amendments to the core governing document of Michigan were vetted and bipartisan. The constitution would thus be off limits, for example, to out-of-state groups with an ideological ax to grind and a fat bank account. Amending the way the constitution is amended itself would require a constitutional amendment.

Fittingly, voters would still have the last word.

Contact Peter Luke.

[palmspringsbum]

Medical marijuana to go before lawmakers

Michigan Live
March 04, 2008 07:00AM

LANSING -- Michigan voters are a step closer to considering whether marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes.

The Board of State Canvassers approved petitions Monday to put the issue before state lawmakers. If lawmakers don't approve the measure within 40 days, the proposal will be placed on the November ballot for voters to decide.

That may be the most likely scenario since lawmakers haven't acted on similar legislation introduced in recent years.

Michigan law prohibits marijuana use for any reason. But roughly a dozen other states permit medicinal use by patients.

The Michigan initiative would allow patients to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for relief from pain associated with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

A doctor's approval or recommendation would be required to use the drug. Registry cards would be created so law enforcement personnel could tell who was a registered patient with the OK to use the drug.

Voters in at least five Michigan cities -- Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City -- have passed ballot initiatives allowing for medicinal marijuana use in the past few years. The votes were mostly symbolic, however, since state and federal laws prohibit use of the drug.

<center><small>© 2008 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.</small></center>

[palmspringsbum]

uh, California's law was not 'struck down' in 2005 and nobody's home was raided in the Raich case. Angel Raich was seeking to enjoin the federal government from raiding her or her care giver. The Supreme Court wouldn't enjoin the feds from raiding her. That case wasn't even about California law and didn't change California law one bit.

LOCAL EDITORIAL

The Daily Telegram
Wednesday, March 5, 2008 8:39 AM EST

Medical marijuana wrong as state issue
<blockquote><span class=postbold>At issue:</span> Approval of a state petition to allow medical marijuana use.

<span class=postbold>Our view:</span> The issue will go to state voters in November, but action is wasted unless federal officials change their guidelines.</blockquote>Should marijuana be legalized in Michigan for medical purposes? Voters most likely will field that question in November and, despite sympathy for the ill, they should just say no.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers approved petitions Monday that would allow patients to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Patients would need a doctor’s approval, and would also need to obtain a registry card to show law enforcement officials. Despite those restrictions, about 496,000 residents signed petitions in support. Only 304,101 valid signatures were needed, so support may indeed be as high as the 70 to 80 percent approval claimed by some backers.

It isn’t hard to see why. Many patients battling cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and even AIDS report that cannabis, the drug in marijuana, relieves their suffering without nausea. Marinol, a synthetic version of THC (the main active ingredient in cannabis) is more expensive, often harder to take and many patients report it to be less effective than marijuana.

In 1999, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine reviewed scientific studies of marijuana’s therapeutic uses, and concluded that “there are some circumstances in which smoking marijuana is a legitimate medical treatment.” A year ago, the state Democratic Party passed a resolution at its convention that doctors should not be sanctioned for recommending marijuana use, and that “seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana” if recommended by a doctor.

However, there are at least two key problems with that resolution — and with the Michigan initiative.

First, the initiative would give patients no practical protection. Federal law prohibits marijuana use. California passed a similar law that was struck down in 2005 by the U.S. Supreme Court after federal agents raided the home of a California grower. The court’s position that locally grown produce for personal use is subject to federal regulation as “interstate commerce” is questionable, but it’s a position consistently upheld for more than 60 years.

Consequently, Michigan’s prospective state law would have no more effect than local ordinances already on the books in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City.

That may be why Michigan lawmakers are not expected to take up the proposal. Spokesmen for both House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, have said not to expect legislative action. If no action occurs within 40 days, the measure goes to the November ballot.

Besides futility, voters will have another reason for voting “no.” Legal use of drugs in America legitimately requires approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The fact that “medical marijuana” would need to be approved by a doctor confirms that cannabis is indeed a drug. So far, the FDA has been blocked by the Drug Enforcement Agency from conducting cannabis research trials. As misguided as the DEA policy may be, it’s a poor practice for government to sanction drug use without FDA approval. Marijuana should meet the same standards as other pharmaceuticals before being responsibly prescribed by physicians.

The matter of medical marijuana deserves a closer look. State initiatives, however, fail to use resources in a productive manner. They actually contribute to a policy inconsistent with those for other drugs. Medical marijuana may end up on Michigan’s state ballot, but that won’t matter until federal officials feel the heat.

[palmspringsbum]

State should not violate federal law


The Daily Telegram
Saturday, March 8, 2008 10:16 PM EST
Local commentary by Mark Lenz

When there’s more than one possible treatment for a problem, it’s important not to grab the first item in arm’s reach.

Supporters of a proposed state law to legalize medical marijuana should weigh that as they push for a likely initiative on Michigan’s November ballot.

The state marijuana initiative — which The Daily Telegram recommended against in an editorial Wednesday — is supported by a letter and guest editorial published today. I think the issue deserves federal study, and I genuinely sympathize with patients seeking what they regard as the best form of relief. Still, it is important to remember three key facts.

First, the state law would provide no legal protection because marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Less than three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal law over a similar California medical marijuana law. Michigan would be forced to create a new system of tracking medical marijuana users and physicians who approve them. Yet, until federal law changes, that system would serve no more practical purpose than similar laws on the books in Detroit, Ann Arbor and several other cities.

Second, there are other pain medications available. In fact, Marinol uses the same active ingredient — THC — as cannabis, the drug within the marijuana plant. Realistically, Marinol is not considered as effective, but expecting terminally sick patients to fertilize and tend their own marijuana plants also bears some unrealistic expectations.

Finally, giving state OK to a drug that has not received approval from the Food and Drug Administration is a bad idea in principle as well as precedent. Do Michigan voters intend to create a backdoor method for states to manage controversial drugs such as marijuana (or Laetrile) rather than the FDA? People who think that breaking the rules is a good way to change the rules should take a look at the Michigan Democratic state presidential primary. Unintended chaos is typical of how rule breaking usually turns out.

Changing Michigan law before addressing federal law is simply backward. Courts consistently give federal law priority. Supporters of medical marijuana should instead light a fire under the state’s senior statesmen. How much have Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow or Reps. John Dingell, John Conyers Jr. or Bart Stupak accomplished on this issue?

Medical marijuana users need to apply pressure to Michigan’s congressional delegation, not tie up state resources in another symbolic gesture.

<small>Mark Lenz, editor of The Daily Telegram, can be contacted at 265-5111, ext. 230, or via e-mail at mlenz@lenconnect.com.</small>

[palmspringsbum]

Pot decision best left to doctors


The Livingston Press & Argus
March 20, 2008

Regarding Kristofer Karol's Tuesday column, "Give legal marijuana a chance," while there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug.

If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps the patient feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life issue best left to patients and their doctors.

Federal bureaucrats waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. The federal government's prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors are not well-suited to dictate health-care decisions.

It's long past time that Congress showed some leadership on the issue and passed legislation reaffirming the Constitution's 10th Amendment guarantee of states' rights.

States that prefer to cage sick patients for daring to feel better can continue to do so. The more enlightened states that have approved compassionate-use legislation should not be stymied by a federal government that really should have better things to do.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.

[palmspringsbum]

Ex-DARE officer arraigned on pot charges

The Traverse City Record-Eagle
BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
March 20, 2008

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/bonkowski_william-john.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcell><span class=postbold>Former Crawford County deputy and school DARE officer William John Bonkowski III, 45, of Grayling, appears in court with his defense attorney, James Hunt of Traverse City, right.</span></td></tr></table>—

GRAYLING -- A former Crawford County sheriff's deputy and school DARE officer appeared in a Grayling courtroom on drug charges.

William John Bonkowski III, 45, was arraigned Wednesday in 87th District Court on a felony charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He faces up to four years behind bars and a $20,000 fine, if convicted.

Defense attorney James Hunt of Traverse City declined to comment for this story, but said during the hearing that he had yet to receive copies of all the evidence against his client. He requested a copy of a search warrant prior to Bonkowski's April 1 pre-trial hearing.

Police arrested Bonkowski, of Grayling, last month as part of a roundup of a dozen suspected drug offenders in Crawford County. He was released after posting a $5,000 cash bond, court records show.

Attorney Magistrate Camarin Talarico continued Bonkowski's bond on Wednesday.

At least one local law enforcement official worried about how Bonkowski's arrest would affect his department's reputation.

"He's tagged as an ex-deputy and anytime something like this happens, it reflects on the department," said Sheriff Kirk Wakefield, Bonkowski's former boss.

Bonkowski worked as a Crawford County deputy between September 1996 and December 2006, when he retired for medical reasons. He worked first as a marine patrol officer and then as a full-time deputy, Wakefield said.

Bonkowski also served as a school liaison officer with the Crawford-Au Sable School District during his time as a deputy and was assigned to the primary and elementary schools in Grayling from 2001 to 2004, school officials said.

That assignment included teaching anti-drug lessons as part of the nation-wide DARE program.

Bonkowski has no prior criminal record.


Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

[palmspringsbum]

This article seems to me to be dominated by those who have a pathological need to control others. What's wrong with 'trial and error' dosing? Mikuriya used to call that 'titering'. Smoking allows patients to stop when they have enough and before they get too much, by trial and error. The pain isn't gone, take another hit, wait five minutes.

That's just too simple for some people. And it takes control away from doctors, nurses, police, social workers, and every body else, and gives it to the patient.

Why isn't anyone challenging the underlying assumption: That patients are stupid and don't know what's good for them, nor when they've had enough? That patients aren't competent to determine how much they can/should have of a substance that, so far as we know, no one has been able to overdose on in 3,000-5,000 years?

`There is value in this drug'

<span class=postbigbold>Debate continues whether risks of medical marijuana outweigh the benefits
</span>
The Kalamazoo Gazette
Sunday, March 23, 2008
BY CHRIS KILLIAN

<span class=postbold>Special to the Gazette </span>

KALAMAZOO -- The chief medical officer of Kalamazoo County might use marijuana to alleviate the pain of his glaucoma -- if it were legal.

In 2000, Richard Tooker, 54, was diagnosed with pigmentary glaucoma, a rare eye disease where fluid buildup inside the eye can lead to intense pain. Blindness is also possible.

``I would consider taking it, if it were legal, for medical use,'' he said. ``I want to keep my vision.''

Studies have shown marijuana can lessen pressure in the eyes of those with glaucoma.

Tooker said he would have to consult with legal counsel before he used the drug. That's because, even if Michigan voters in November decide to allow medical marijuana use by seriously ill patients, it still would be illegal under federal law.

Users of medical marijuana, as well as others who support its use, say the drug offers relief to those suffering debilitating conditions. They also say it would be cheaper than buying the drug off the street and that use and production can be controlled if properly regulated.

<span class=postbold>But questions remain.</span>

How would the appropriate dose be established for those who are deemed eligible users? Are there possible negative health effects from using the drug for medical reasons? Do alternatives to medical marijuana already exist?

``On the balance, it's a good thing,'' Tooker said of medical marijuana. ``And if we're going to legalize marijuana for medical use in Michigan, let's legalize it across the country. It's a dicey, difficult issue.''

State Sen. Tom George, R-Texas Township, worked for Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo and sometimes prescribed a synthetic -- and legal -- form of marijuana called Marinol.

<span class=postbold>But the drug is not cheap.</span>

Ninety Marinol pills at the middle dosage strength of 5 milligrams cost $1,140 at www.drugstore.com, an online pharmacy. The amount and strength of Marinol taken by a patient depends on their needs. The average cost of an ounce of marijuana on the street is between $125 and $150, said Joseph Taylor, commander of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, which targets illegal drug use in Kalamazoo County.

<span class=postbold>Smoking risks</span>

George, an anesthesiologist, opposes the ballot initiative because of the availability of Marinol and the possible health risks of medical marijuana.

``Marinol is better than smokeable marijuana because Marinol does not contain the additional chemicals, impurities and hazards associated with smoke,'' George said in a statement this month to the Senate. ``Also, the resulting THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) blood levels and hence, the effects, are more predictable with Marinol than smokeable marijuana.''

George said other drugs being developed would include THC, the main active component of marijuana. One drug is called Sativex, which if approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, could be used as a treatment for patients with advanced cancers.

Approved in November by the FDA for clinical testing, the drug would be administered as an oral spray.

``I'm telling you, as a former hospice physician, it is of no benefit to legalize smokeable marijuana,'' George said.

<span class=postbold>The FDA agrees. </span>

``There are alternative FDA-approved medications in existence for treatment of many of the proposed uses of smoked marijuana,'' the agency said in a statement in 2006.

But Marinol, available since 1986, has its problems, said Ruth Hoppe, head of the Michigan chapter of the American College of Physicians, the nation's second largest physicians group.

Marinol is absorbed slowly into the body, she said, and a patient experiencing extreme nausea might not be able to use it because the pill must be swallowed to be effective.

``We need to look at other routes of delivery,'' Hoppe said.

<span class=postbold>Potential for abuse?</span>

Smoking anything is harmful to one's health, Hoppe said. But that doesn't mean marijuana doesn't have its place as a legitimate medical treatment or supplement to other medications.

The American College of Physicians recently released a position paper on medical marijuana. It concluded that, although more research needs to be done, ``reports suggest numerous potential medical uses for marijuana.''

``For patients with AIDS or those undergoing chemotherapy, who suffer severe pain, nausea and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs may provide symptom relief not found in any other medication,'' the position paper said.

The federal government, however, puts marijuana in the same class as LSD, heroin, mescaline, psychedelic mushrooms and ecstasy.

``Marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision,'' the 2006 FDA report said.

The government's classification of marijuana hinders study of the drug for medical use, Hoppe said. The American College of Physicians is recommending reclassifying the drug to allow for more study.

``I can see a day when marijuana is seen as a legitimate medical treatment, especially in conjunction with other medications,'' Hoppe said. ``There is value in this drug.''

<span class=postbold>`Trial and error' doses</span>

Marinol comes in doses of 2.5 milligrams, 5 milligrams and 10 milligrams. Determining the proper dose of marijuana from plants is less scientific because it can be smoked, drunk, eaten or inhaled through a vaporizer.

Tooker, who is open to the medical uses for marijuana, said he opposes smoking it. He said ``trial and error'' would be the only way to determine what the appropriate dose of marijuana would be for a patient.

Dianne Byrum, a former state legislator and spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, said the dose level would depend on the patient's needs and symptoms.

``This would be a recommendation, not a prescription,'' she said.

She also said smoking marijuana would not be harmful, especially for patients with terminal conditions.

<span class=postbold>Drug of choice</span>

For about 40 years, Eva Myrick, 62, has had multiple sclerosis, a disease that sometimes has made it difficult for her to speak, see and walk.

Shortly after her diagnosis, she used marijuana to ease her symptoms.

``It makes it so you can live with what you've got,'' she said. ``It's like a cushion.''

Myrick, of Kalamazoo, takes four other prescription drugs, many of which have side effects like constipation. Marijuana, she said, would help make the side effects more tolerable.

``If marijuana was legal (for medical use), I'd definitely try to get rid of some of my pills,'' she said.

Myrick said her husband, Bruce, also used marijuana prior to dying of cancer in 1997.

``Now it's a risk to try to find it,'' she said. ``I don't (understand) it, though, because we're not hurting anybody.''

[palmspringsbum]

Getting high for health

The Kalamazoo Gazette
Sunday, March 23, 2008

Nearly 50 medical groups nationwide have announced their support of legalizing marijuana for medical use through a doctor's prescription, obtaining it through a doctor's recommendation or researching it as a treatment option.<ul class=postlist><li> Twenty-nine medical organizations, including the American Nurses Association, the American Medical Student Association and the American Preventive Medical Association, support allowing a doctor to prescribe marijuana to a patient.</li>

<li> Eight medical organizations support patients' access to marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, including the Florida Medical Association, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.</li>

<li> Nine organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the British Medical Association, have issued statements supporting research of medical marijuana as a treatment option, and/or have published material supporting doctors' and patients' rights to discuss using marijuana and other treatment options.</li></ul>For a complete list of organizations, as of 2006, that have announced support for relaxing laws regarding medical use of marijuana, go online to www.stoparrestingpatients.org/history.html

[palmspringsbum]

Why do they have to be over 18?

State proposal for medical marijuana

The Kalamazoo Gazette
Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care is seeking to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes in the state.

The state Board of Canvassers has approved petitions collected by the group, and the proposal is pending in the Legislature.

If the Legislature doesn't pass the proposal into law within 40 days, it will be placed on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

Leaders in the House and Senate have said legislative action on the initiative is unlikely. Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she opposes the proposal.

<span class=postbigbold>Initiative</span>

The proposal would allow for seriously ill patients, with approval of their primary-care physicians, to possess and use marijuana to treat their symptoms. The individual and his or her physician could not be criminally prosecuted.

<span class=postbigbold>Eligibility</span>

Eligible would be those with a ``debilitating medical condition'' such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, glaucoma, hepatitis C and debilitating symptoms from other diseases. It's estimated about one-half of 1 percent of Michigan residents, between 40,000 and 50,000 people, would be eligible for medical marijuana use.

<span class=postbigbold>Requirements</span>

At least 18 years old; must register with the Michigan Department of Community Health and carry a state-issued ID card indicating registration.

<span class=postbigbold>Penalties</span>

Users who sell their marijuana would have their ID cards revoked and be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to $2,000, in addition to other penalties.

<span class=postbigbold>Amount</span>

A registered user could have up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana at one time and cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants. The usable marijuana and plants would be kept in an enclosed, locked location.

<span class=postbigbold>Other cities, states</span>

In Michigan, five cities -- Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City -- have medical marijuana ordinances, while 14 states have a medical marijuana law. If voters pass the proposal, Michigan would become the first state in the Midwest to adopt such a law.

<span class=postbigbold>On the Web</span>

To read the initiative, visit www.stoparrestingpatients.org

SOURCE: Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care

[palmspringsbum]

Lawmakers content to let 'Marihuana' issue burn without them

Posted by Clark Hughes | The Bay City Times
March 25, 2008 09:41AM

Legislators too timid to touch a burning issue may let special interests determine how Michigan rolls, with a medical marijuana initiative on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

It's a poor way to make law.

On March 3, the Michigan Board of Canvassers approved petition signatures for a ballot initiative that would allow seriously ill people to grow as many as 12 marijuana plants and possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana for treatment of their disease.

Using an alternate spelling for the drug, the proposal is called the "Michigan Medical Marihuana Act."

Its main supporters are the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care and the Marijuana Policy Project.

Their petitioners collected more than enough verifiable signatures - 377,975 - to force the proposal before the state House and Senate.

If neither body of elected lawmakers acts on the proposal within 40 days, which is mid-April, the Michigan Constitution requires that the measure be placed on the next general election ballot.

Neither the House nor the Senate are expected to tackle this hot-button issue.

Instead, the people who voters elect and pay to represent them in Lansing may just let this proposal happen.

That would be a dereliction of duty.

Legislators, stand up and be counted.

Let your employers, the people of your districts, know exactly where you stand on this issue.

It's not like the petition has tied lawmakers' hands.

Within that 40-day window, the state constitution says, lawmakers may approve the ballot proposal, or vote it down and submit their own version of what a state medical marijuana law should look like and run it on ballots alongside of the petition initiative.

In any event, the "Michigan Medical Marihuana Act" crafted by special interests will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.

But Michiganders still do have a say in what they will see in voting booths on Election Day.

That can only happen if state representatives and senators find the courage to debate and vote on what some see as an evil drug and others view as a medical marvel.

This is a thorny issue that deserves wide-open, public debate.

An up-or-down vote.

Even an alternative medical marijuana law, written by elected lawmakers who are paid to represent the interests of the people of this state.

Odds are good that, when faced with a medical marijuana proposal, Michiganders will vote to approve one. In 2005, for example, more than 60 percent of voters in Traverse City and Ferndale approved medical marijuana measures on their local ballots. It was the same story in Flint last year. State and federal law, which supersede local ordinances, make these measures largely symbolic.

Michigan is poised to become the 13th state in the nation - the first in the Midwest - to legalize marijuana use and possession for medical purposes.

Reclaim this important public issue, legislators, and earn your keep.

Do not just shrug, and let "Medical Marihuana" happen without you.

<hr class=postrule><small>Our View is the editorial opinion of The Bay City Times, as determined by the newspaper's editorial board, which includes the editorial page editor, the editor and the publisher.</small>

[palmspringsbum]

Monday, February 23,2009

Marijuana journal

Lansing CityPulse
by R.D. Winthrop

Medical cannabis users wondering how to go about obtaining state ID cards when the registration period opens in April need to be talking to their physician —and by "physician" I mean an M.D. or D.O.-licensed in Michigan — right bloody now.

Do not hesitate, get on the phone and start your due diligence regarding your own medico-legal status. You'll need time to get paperwork in order, and if your physician is not yet fully informed about the law and its protections you may meet our classic foes, Fear and Loathing. We're hearing of physicians who don't want to hear it.

Here's the bottom line: If your physician will certify your need for cannabis, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Assonication believes you will indeed receive medical quality cannabis, and will stand by your effort to do so.

But you have to start with your physician. Now.

You can find all the information, forms, and personal support you need at http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/. Once you register (anonymously, if you wish), all the information we gather is available, and you are free to talk with anyone in the public forums we host there.

There were some interesting developments this month, notably the American College of Physicians’ shift in policy to openly endorse rescheduling of cannabis and the ending of DEA attacks on medical cannabis programs. The American College of Physicians is second only to the American Medical Assoication in size and heft, and its open call for an end to arbitrary restrictions on cannabis research is a serious blow against the prior restraint which has all but killed truly independent research in the United States.

This month has also brought good news from discussions with the Social Security Administration and with independent Indian health and family service agencies. The former assured us that eligibility of patients enrolled in state programs such as ours will not bar benefits. There have been reports in the past of denials, and our associaion is watchful. Chats with Indian health and family service providers have been wonderfully encouraging, uniformly noting the appropriateness of cannabis to culturally embedded regimes of natural medicine and healing. We're not going to have problems seeing that Michigan's Native population is well served, and suffers no problems with recommendations.

We also had a osteopathic surgeon come on to our advisory board.

(Please visit the MMMA website at http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org..)

[palmspringsbum]

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Marijuana journal

Lansing CityPulse
by Greg Francisco

<span class=postbold>Marijuana Journal is a weekly column tracking the implementation of the state medical marijuana law. Greg Francisco is the executive director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. This column appears online every Monday and every Wednesday in print. </span>


More than three months after the state medical marijuana law went into effect, it seems the state is failing in its duty to make clear to stakeholders how our medical marijuana system works.

Some county health departments have been left in the dark about the registry application process. Patients are calling and asking how to apply. Health departments aren’t real sure. Most are still unaware that they’ll have no role to play at all; registry applications go directly to the state Bureau of Heath Professions.

Pharmacists are trying to figure out how they will dispense medical marijuana. We’ve had contacts from pharmacists asking about various business models they’re contemplating. But the state hasn’t sent them any guidelines. Is it true they have to store the marijuana in a locked, enclosed safe? Actually, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does not make provision for the dispensing of marijuana and it limits caregivers to a maximum of five patients.

Judges and prosecutors seem to be having a hard time understanding the new law. We’ve been putting in a lot of time trying to bring them up to speed. Some law enforcement officials are in the dark, unsure of the effective date of the law, how to handle charges filed previous to the effective date and how much latitude they have to challenge a valid doctor recommendation. The protections of the law became effective on Dec. 4, 2008. The law is retroactive to any case still pending even if the original charge was filed previous to the November vote and a doctor’s recommendation is not subject to court review.

In pursuit of education and communication, we’ve been meeting with many groups, professionals and individuals: Law enforcement, health care providers and condition-based groups.

My question is: Why isn’t the state getting information about the Michigan Medical Marijuana program out to the stakeholders? If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think the state is ignoring this, in the hopes it will all go away.

To borrow from our friends in the GLBT community, “We’re here, we’re medicated: get used to it.” So many questions, so little space.

Please visit our Web site at www.MichiganMedicalMarijuana.org for more infomation.

[palmspringsbum]

<small>March 6, 2009</small>


Attorney: Man grew pot for medical reasons

By Lisa Roose-Church
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

A Farmington Hills defense attorney is asking a Livingston County judge to dismiss charges against a Hartland Township man who allegedly grew marijuana in his home for medicinal purposes.

This is the first case in Livingston County to test Michigan's medical marijuana law, which was approved by voters in November and went into effect Dec. 4.

Police say they found the marijuana at Ryan Andrew Burke's Pine Hill Trail home in August.

On April 2, defense attorney Barry Resnick will ask Circuit Judge David Reader to set a hearing to take testimony on whether his client meets the legal requirements to grow and possess marijuana for medicinal purposes.

If Reader finds that Burke did possess the marijuana legally, then Resnick says the case must be dismissed.

Burke, 23, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, a four-year felony, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana after undercover narcotics officers received a tip Aug. 18 that he was growing marijuana in his home.

Officers discovered remnants of marijuana in three bags of discarded garbage and used that information to get a search warrant, which allegedly revealed 13 marijuana plants in the defendant's backyard, according to court documents.

Police allege they also found marijuana in an unlocked and unsecured closet in Burke's bedroom.

Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Rose says Burke does not qualify under the state's new law because he "had more than 12 marijuana plants; he possessed those plants outside of an 'enclosed, locked facility'; and because he possessed marijuana without a valid 'registry identification card,' " according to court documents.

Michigan's medical marijuana law allows a patient to register through the Michigan Department of Public Health with a doctor's prescription to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked facility, such as a closet, room or other enclosed area.

Medical marijuana identification cards are not yet available from the health department and will not be issued until April 4.

However, federal law still bans the use, possession and sale of marijuana anywhere in the United States.

Resnick declined to discuss details of the pending case, but he did say he believes in his defense.

"(Burke) does have a duly authorized medical marijuana card that allows him to have possession of marijuana," Resnick said. "He has medical clearance to have it."

Resnick declined to say why his client needs the marijuana and how long Burke has been growing and using it for medicinal purposes. However, he did confirm that medical clearance has been given by Dr. Eric Eisenbud.

Eisenbud is an ophthalmologist licensed in Colorado, Michigan, Montana and Washington. He is listed with The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Medical Clinic in Southfield. Attempts to reach him Thursday were unsuccessful.

The medical clinic "helps qualified medical marijuana patients inform and empower themselves to become legally protected," according to its Web site.
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Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846 or at lrchurch@gannett.com.
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[palmspringsbum]

Group to offer marijuana advice, patient advocates aim to teach

Posted by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal March 06, 2009 08:42AM

MOUNT MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- This is a first: A class on how to grow pot -- and which type to smoke (or eat) for the high you want.

It's a result of Michigan's new law giving the OK to use marijuana for medical purposes -- including treatment of nausea, lack of appetite or anxiety, all common side effects of many serious illnesses.

The new Genesee County Compassion Club, one of the state's first official "pot clubs," is to meet today. It plans to offer cannabis cookbooks, advice for dealing with doctors and growing tips.

Voters passed the medical marijuana law in November. The state Department of Community Health has until April 4 to finalize guidelines for how patients will obtain state identification cards to allow them and designated caregivers legally to acquire, possess, grow, transport and use marijuana as a treatment for specific conditions.

But the state can't advise patients on how to grow or obtain the drug, which is still illegal under federal law.

New support groups such as the Genesee County Compassion Club will fill that gap, said club co-founder Tom Yeager, who uses marijuana to treat Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract.

"Our main goal is positive patient outcomes that are also positive for the community. We want to make sure patients aren't having to go out on the street to get what they need," said Yeager.

The new state law -- which contradicts the federal law -- raises issues for police.

Genesee County Undersheriff James Gage was outraged that such a group would meet. He said not only is marijuana illegal, but evidence exists that smoking it can be dangerous.

"It isn't good for you, and it's against the law," he said. "If we find out where these people are, we may pay them a visit."

Fenton police Chief Rick Aro said the law doesn't preclude officers from arresting people for possession.

"It's opened up a whole new can of worms, and I don't think it was well thought out," he said. "I think there will be people who will take advantage of this law."

Contrary to what some might fear, the clubs aren't out to help drug dealers set up shop with the blessing of the state, said Yeager, who pointed to a growing controversy in California, where legalization of medical marijuana has helped foster a booming pot trade that's become increasingly criminal and violent.

"California has blown it up so much, if you break your finger the right doc will write a scrip for it. We definitely do not want to follow in their footsteps," said Yeager. "We're trying here in Michigan to adhere to keeping this an actual medical necessity and not let it get overrun by pill heads.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell>
<center class=postbold>Genesee County Compassion Club</center><ul class=postlist><li>The medical marijuana support group will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. today at the banquet hall at Colonial Lanes, 6430 W. Pierson Road, Mt. Morris Township.</li>

<li>Details: GeneseeCountyCompassionClub@live.com</li></ul></td></tr></table>"If a man in uniform would like to show up at our meetings, they can. We want everyone to know our meetings are not a way to sell, transport or distribute any sort of goods."

The club is one of about a dozen so far that have filed as local chapters of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, the statewide citizen advocacy organization that has been working with the Department of Community Health on the proposed guidelines.

The meetings are open to anyone interested in learning about medical marijuana. The first meeting will cover the different strains of the plant and the types of high each delivers along with growing methods.

"For instance, think of somebody who lays on the couch relaxed and at ease. That would be Indica. It's good for (treating) pain and sleep deprivation," said Yeager. "Sativa gives you that free-floating feeling that's good for anxiety. But both are good for nausea."

Also on the agenda: a discussion of the proposed legal guidelines, how to get a doctor's recommendation and how to become a legally designated caregiver/grower.

Future topics include recipes and how different growing and harvesting methods can affect quality and taste.

State officials are cautious about weighing in on such groups.

"It really depends on what the support group's goals are," said MDCH spokesman James McCurtis. "There's definitely going to be a need in terms of groups to talk about the illness and pain and helping guide people in how to become part of the medical marijuana program.

"But if they're going to play a role in helping you obtain it or show you how to grow it or where to get seeds, we really don't have a comment."

The Michigan State Medical Society is also withholding judgment.

"There's so much new and different happening with it, we haven't seen enough of the law in action yet to make a judgment," said medical society spokesman David Fox. "I think it will have to be a watch-and-wait situation for now to see how things work out."
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© 2009 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
</small>

[palmspringsbum]

For marijuana club, getting high not on the agenda

Posted by Bryn Mickle | The Flint Journal March 06, 2009 22:48PM


MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Michigan — I kept waiting for the cops to come storming in.

Something just seemed wrong about the prospect of a bunch of marijuana smokers sitting around a bowling alley on a Friday night sharing tips on the best way to grow your own.

With 1,400 pounds of marijuana that was headed for Genesee County locked up after a big bust last week, it seemed natural that there would be a need for more product.

It quickly became clear, however, that this was not a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures.

Instead of growing tips, I and about 50 other people in the banquet room at the Colonial Lanes bowling alley in Mt. Morris Township got a crash course on the state's new medicinal marijuana law.

Here's what I learned:

• You can have up to 21/2 ounces of marijuana if your doctor says it's OK.

• Your doctor can't help you get it.

• Advocates of medicinal marijuana really dislike the terms "pot" and getting "high.

I don't think that weed is evil, but I've never really cared too much about the legalization issue one way or another.

I was among those who voted in favor of legalizing medicinal marijuana last fall, but haven't thought much about it since I don't have any of the ailments that it can be legally used for.

Friday's meeting, however, was a clear indicator to me that the law isn't about some backdoor way to get stoned.

Sure, there were a couple of people that showed up last night looking like lost extras from "Easy Rider," but there were plenty of people who clearly had serious health ailments.

The average age of the crowd suggested they were there for bingo rather than a slide show on the differences between Sativa, Indica and hybrid marijuana plants.

Tom Yeager, co-founder of the Genesee County Compassion Club, said the goal is making sure that people who need marijuana for medical purposes can get it.

Judging by the meeting, it's obvious that some kinks still need to be worked out. "Is there gonna be any smoking in here?" asked one man.

Organizers were quick to say that not only would there not be any smoking of cannabis at club meetings, there won't be any selling or trading of seeds.

Instead, attendees were encouraged to exchange phone numbers and e-mails to figure out such things on their own.

"Maybe we could use Amway as a model," joked one man. "Give prizes for the happiest neighborhood."

The law allows for registered "caregivers" to grow and sell marijuana, as well as teach users how to grow it themselves.

The Genesee County Compassion Club plans to eventually get into grow techniques, but one organizer said they are awaiting guidance on an official grow curriculum.

With a 22-month window before state lawmakers can revisit the issue, proponents don't want to give anti-marijuana forces any extra ammunition.

How far local cops will push the issue remains to be seen.

Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton said before the meeting that there is "no question" that the new law could make it very difficult for his office to go after recreational smokers and small-time dealers.

"The law does require that certain protocol be followed, but (the rules) are not too burdensome for people who truly wish to use marijuana, whether that use is medically beneficial and necessary or not," said Leyton, who did not attend last night's meeting.

With both sides anticipating court battles on the issue, one would expect that compassion club meetings will continue to grow as more people look for guidance.

"You're going to need a bigger room," said Brad Forrester of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association.

Maybe those grow tips will be covered next time.

Bryn Mickle is the afternoon police reporter for The Flint Journal. He also writes this weekly "Offbeat" column about the police beat. He can be reached at (810) 766-6383 or by e-mail.
<small>
© 2009 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
</small>

[palmspringsbum]

'Hysteria over nothing'? Controversial Michigan medical marijuana law burning at both ends

Posted by Jared Field | The Clio Messenger March 06, 2009 12:45PM


CLIO, Michigan -- April 4 is D-day, the day dope for medicinal purposes becomes a reality in Michigan.

In November, voters passed a ballot proposal, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, that makes the medicinal use of the drug legal for qualifying patients. The measure officially became law on Dec. 4, but the state is not accepting applications for registry cards until April 4.

Under the new law, patients that have been recommended to use the drug to alleviate pain and have successfully registered through the state will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. Further, patients will be allowed to grow, or have grown for them, up to 12 plants in a locked and enclosed facility.

Police Chief James McLellan schooled the Clio Commission Monday night on what the new law could mean for law enforcement in the city.

"I think it's bad law," said McLellan, who talked at length about the noxious effects marijuana dispensaries have had on communities. "I think the people who crafted this law were very cunning. In my experience, dispensing drugs has always been a profit-motivated industry, and I think it's just going to grow under this law."

Clio city attorney Otis Stout echoed McLellan's sentiments.

"It seems like a license to allow for the manufacturing of marijuana, quite honestly," he said.

Bruce Mirken, director of communication at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington D.C., a major supporter of the Michigan Marijuana Act believes the controversy is much ado about nothing,

"(The act) allows the growing of marijuana in very specific, narrowly-defined circumstances for seriously ill patients with their doctor's permission," said Mirken, who admitted that the law was imperfect but tolerable in the absence of a federally regulated system. "I'm not sure what they are so worried about. It's not like Michigan is reinventing the wheel."

"I think we should be proactive here in Clio," said McLellan, who alerted the Commission to a possible solution aimed at curbing the growth of dispensaries being attempted in several municipalities from Torrance, California to Coldwater, Michigan.

They are invoking the supreme law of the land to zone out marijuana dispensaries by mandating compliance to both state and federal drug laws.

Mirken believes that the California example, where things have fallen apart, is used as a scare tactic and that medical marijuana laws in states like Montana and Rhode Island more closely mirror Michigan's new law.

"The California example is entirely irrelevant," he said. "Their law ran half a page. Michigan has many more rules and regulations. They aren't fighting the last war, they're fighting five wars ago. If you want to look at something that is relevant, look at the statutes that are similar and they're haven't been problems."

Even still, with the support of the Clio Commission, look for the city of Clio enact a business ordinance, following the lead of the aforementioned cities, in the near future that would zig-zag around the state law and enforce compliance to federal drug laws. This action would usurp the Michigan law -- possessing pot, after all, is still illegal in the United States -- and prevent the future operation of dispensaries in the city.

"I think we will move forward with (an ordinance)," said City Administrator Jack Abernathy, who has already made plans to have something to put before the commission March 16. "I think we need to be proactive here just in case something comes along, to make sure that we are covered."

Mirken, however, is certain nothing will come along and that the new law will be tested and refined like any other.

"This is hysteria over nothing," he said. "It's amazing the excuses people are finding to make what is a workable, well-tested system seem like the end of the world. They need to join the 21st century."

<small>
© 2009 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
</small>