Pubdate: Sat, 01 Sep 2012
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Copyright: 2012 Detroit Free Press
Contact: http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/opinion04/50926009
Website: http://www.freep.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125
Author: Bill Laitner

PROPOSAL TO ALLOW POSSESSION OF UP TO 1 OUNCE OF MARIJUANA TO BE ON 
DETROIT BALLOT

A decision this week by the Detroit Election Commission means that 
Detroit voters will see a proposal on the November ballot to allow 
possession of up to 1 once of marijuana on private property by anyone 
age 21 and older.

The commission's action was perfunctory -- in June, the Michigan 
Supreme Court ordered that the proposal be put on the ballot. That 
ruling followed a nearly two-year court fight in which the Detroit 
City Council and the city's law department tried to keep the proposal 
off the ballot.

Detroit resident and health insurance consultant Tim Beck, one of the 
organizers of the petition drive behind the proposal, said it was 
unfortunate that Detroit officials wasted time and legal fees trying 
to keep voters from deciding the question.

"Every step of the way, the city delayed this as long as they could," 
Beck said. "I find it ironic that the city administration has such a 
preoccupation with voter rights when it comes to emergency managers 
yet they showed deep disrespect to voters on our issue," Beck, 60, said Friday.

Similar ballot proposals in Flint, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti will 
also be voted on in November.

If the proposals pass, "this is going to refocus a lot of our state's 
limited police resources on violent crime," said Steven Greene, 45, 
of South Lyon, host of the "Medical Marijuana Radio Show," on WDTW-AM 
(1310) and on www.radioweedshow.com .

The City of Detroit's attorneys and City Council members contended in 
numerous court and procedural challenges that an ordinance allowing 
marijuana would conflict with state and federal laws that outlaw 
marijuana possession and thus could not be legally enacted. After a 
state appeals court panel ruled 2-1 in February that Detroit 
officials erred in keeping the proposal from voters, and noted that 
organizers gathered far more signatures than needed, the city 
appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Detroit police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens said Friday that the 
department would adapt to legalization "if it's handled in an 
appropriate way, and this is what the citizens of Detroit choose."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom