Pubdate: Sun, 13 Jul 2008
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2008 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Tim Jones, Chicago Tribune correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+Coalition+for+Compassionate+Care
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

ACROSS MIDWEST, INTEREST IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWS

Michigan Vote Seen As Test for Region on Issue

The move to legalize medical marijuana is advancing in the Midwest, 
with Michigan poised to be the first state between the Rockies and 
New England to sanction the use of the illegal drug by terminally or 
seriously ill people.

Michigan voters will decide in November whether to authorize 
marijuana use, if a doctor determines suffering from such diseases as 
cancer, Crohn's disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's or hepatitis C could 
be eased by the drug.

While years of public opinion polling show opposition to legalizing 
marijuana, polls and the overwhelming majority of state referendum 
votes show strong support for medical use of marijuana. At the same 
time, some physician groups have dropped their resistance to medical marijuana.

The combined effect of public opinion, medical research showing 
benefits of marijuana in the treatment of some diseases and shifts in 
attitudes in the medical community has fueled the movement that has 
seen 12 states adopt medical marijuana laws in the past dozen years.

"We need to get beyond the political debate and into medical terms. 
That's where the public is," said Dianne Byrum, a former state 
legislator in Michigan and spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for 
Compassionate Care, the Detroit-area group that turned in 475,000 
signatures to earn a spot on the fall ballot.

"This is really about patients and their suffering. ... For them, 
medical use of marijuana should give them comfort and not the threat 
of arrest or jail," Byrum said.

Doctors Drop Opposition

There is evidence in the Midwest suggesting political interest. Five 
Michigan cities already have medical marijuana ordinances. The 
Minnesota state Senate recently approved a medical marijuana measure, 
though it died on the House floor. A similar measure died in the 
Illinois state Senate in the past session. Other measures were 
debated in Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Less than four months before the November election, there is no 
organized opposition to Michigan's binding referendum. The Michigan 
State Medical Society, the state's arm of the American Medical 
Association, recently dropped its opposition to medical marijuana and 
said it will be neutral in the fall campaign.

"We're keeping an open mind that marijuana in limited amounts can 
help some," said Dr. Michael Sandler, a diagnostic radiologist and 
president of the Michigan State Medical Society.

But resistance is expected to develop, given the political volatility 
of the marijuana issue and the experience California has had since 
voters there endorsed use of medical marijuana in 1996.

The California law says that patients need a prescription to acquire 
the drug but it is otherwise vague. That legal opening led to the 
creation of so-called marijuana clubs and the large-scale growing of 
the drug in fields and homes. Hundreds of marijuana dispensaries are 
scattered around the state, and dozens of cities have cracked down on 
cultivation.

California endorsed "political chaos," said Allen St. Pierre, 
executive director of NORML, which advocates "the repeal of marijuana 
prohibition."

"No other state has and no other state will replicate what California 
did," St. Pierre said. "Every ensuing state [has approved laws] that 
narrowly define the types of diseases, require the amount of cannabis 
they can possess is relatively small and the number of plants they 
can possess is relatively small. And there will be absolutely no 
retail dispensary-like model that has emerged in California."

What Michigan Proposes

With that in mind, the Michigan proposal would allow a patient to 
legally possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana or grow up to 12 plants in 
enclosed and locked facilities.

Although other states have followed similar guidelines regarding 
quantities of pot and eligible medical conditions, efforts are under 
way in some states to change existing laws. A proposal in Oregon, 
which approved its law in 1998, would allow the drug to be sold in 
liquor stores. In neighboring Washington, state health officials have 
proposed limiting patients to 1 1/2 pounds of pot, an amount that has 
been criticized by some patient advocates as too little and by 
law-enforcement groups as too much.

The political sensitivity of marijuana was evident two years ago when 
voters in South Dakota narrowly rejected a medical marijuana plan 52 
percent to 48 percent.

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, 
has endorsed medical marijuana, but only if science and the medical 
community concur and if it was carefully controlled. Sen. John 
McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is opposed to medical marijuana.

'Just Another Step'

There is an awkward relationship between states and the federal 
government on the issue. States that have embraced medical marijuana 
are technically in violation of federal law after the Supreme Court's 
2005 ruling that said such laws do not provide immunity from federal 
prosecution. Some marijuana clinics in California have been raided by 
federal drug agents.

The Michigan vote will be watched as a potential barometer for a 
region that has yet to embrace medical marijuana.

"This is just another step in a fairly steady progression that the 
law is starting to catch up with public opinion," said Bruce Mirken, 
spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that advocates 
decriminalizing marijuana.

"The dirty little secret to this is that a lot of folks in 
professional politics think this is a lot more controversial than it 
really is," Mirken added. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake