Pubdate: Sun, 27 Jul 2014
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Copyright: 2014 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, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)

MARIJUANA QUESTIONS HEAD FOR CITY BALLOTS

Marijuana questions could pop up on ballots in at least 17 cities
across Michigan this summer and fall.

The questions aim to ease or eliminate local penalties for possessing
small amounts of marijuana, an approach that supporters call
decriminalization.

Last week, volunteers submitted stacks of signed petitions in
Frankfort, Huntington Woods, Mt. Pleasant, Pleasant Ridge and Utica;
in prior weeks, they did so in Berkley, Grosse Pointe Park, Harrison,
Hazel Park, Lapeer, Montrose, Oak Park, Onaway and Saginaw, said
leaders of the nonprofit Safer Michigan Coalition, which coordinated
the petition drives around Michigan.

The group planned to submit petitions signatures for Port Huron, East
Lansing and Portage on Tuesday, the deadline for filing ballot petitions.

Supporters point to previous decriminalization election wins in nine
Michigan cities since 2010 -- including Detroit, Ferndale, Kalamazoo
and Lansing. They say that's evidence that most voters want laws
against marijuana made more lenient.

When deciding local ballot questions, "voters need to make it clear
that they want police to spend their time addressing serious crimes,
not punishing adults for using a substance that's less harmful than
alcohol," said Karen O'Keefe, a Grosse Pointe Farms native who is
state director for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

Those opposed to easing marijuana laws say it will encourage young
people to use the drug, causing many to suffer addiction and brain
damage, and they claim that it leads some to try more dangerous drugs
such as heroin. Opponents of decriminalization also say that watering
down existing laws against marijuana sends a message to youth that
marijuana isn't dangerous.

Michigan is by no means leading the way on cannabis change. Already,
16 states including Ohio have decriminalized marijuana possession,
making it the equivalent of getting a parking ticket. And residents of
three states -- Alaska, Florida and Oregon -- could vote in November
to join Colorado and Washington state in fully legalizing the use and
sale of marijuana.

For most communities, decriminalizing marijuana means repealing
widespread local ordinances that deem marijuana possession a criminal
misdemeanor, typically punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine
of as much as $500. In the rare city where no such ordinance is on the
books, the ballot questions instruct city officials to make marijuana
violations the lowest law-enforcement priority.

Supporters say that, by legalizing and regulating marijuana, society
would squash the underground cannabis market, which would also slash
access for teens because laws would limit users to adults.

The ballot questions in Hazel Park and Oak Park are to be on the Aug.
5 primary ballots; all others are set for the November election. Foes
of marijuana belittle local decriminalization rules, saying they
merely encourage police to use state laws for arresting anyone caught
with cannabis.

"We have no choice -- we still have to follow the state law," Ferndale
Police Chief Tim Collins said last year after Ferndale voters approved
its local decriminalization ordinance.

In Macomb County, a backlash against marijuana is growing. Officials
hope their warnings will stir voters to block such proposals,
including one headed for November ballots in Utica.

"We're attempting to mobilize all of Macomb County, so people know the
threat of marijuana to their communities," said Charlene McGunn, a
clinical psychologist who has counseled children for more than 30 years.

"People think they're still voting for medical marijuana, but that
ship has passed. They're now voting for anyone to smoke pot in their
communities," said McGunn, executive director of the Chippewa Valley
Coalition for Youth and Families.

Last year, the nonprofit group drew praise from county leaders and
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin for its launch of "Mobilizing Michigan --
Protecting Our Kids From Marijuana," a series of PowerPoint
presentations and lesson plans now used by agencies and schools in 16
states to teach about the dangers of marijuana, McGunn said.

This month, the Utica City Council voted 6-0 for a resolution opposing
the marijuana ballot question. Also against it were Clinton Township
and Macomb Township, both of which passed resolutions supporting
Utica's stance. The resolutions can't keep Utica's marijuana question
off Utica's ballot, Mayor Jackie Noonan said.

"If this passes, it really won't change what we do as a city," Noonan
said.

"Macomb County is still very against marijuana progress," said Mike
Lumetta, 32, of Warren, who led the petition drive for Utica's ballot
proposal. Lumetta owns M2 Certifications in Utica, a clinic where
customers typically pay $150 to meet with a doctor and be certified
before they apply for state approval to use medical marijuana, he said.

So far, Utica officials have not tried to stifle the petition process,
Lumetta said.

"It's up to voters now -- we aren't expecting any funny business,"
Lumetta said.

In contrast, Oak Park officials tried to block the referendum in their
city, forcing the petition group to file a lawsuit and spend nearly
$7,000 in legal fees before the city agreed to put the measure on Aug.
5 primary ballots, said Tim Beck, 62, of Detroit, cofounder of the
Safer Michigan Coalition.

Vocal opposition from Utica and its neighbors was no surprise, said
Beck, a retired health-insurance executive who has spent two decades
pushing to legalize marijuana. The group sensed it might face vocal
opposition from conservatives in Macomb County, he said.

"But our poll numbers are incontrovertible. These initiatives are
going to win all over the state," he said.

[sidebar]

Marijuana Survey

According to the University of Michigan's nationwide Monitoring the
Future survey of adolescent drug use, the percentage of high schoolers
who perceive regular marijuana use as being a high-risk behavior has
dropped dramatically in the last decade, according to the December
2013 survey.

Among the findings, the survey reports that about 40% of the 12,900
12th graders queried in 2013 viewed regular marijuana use as harmful.
That's down considerably from about 55% in 2003, when the survey
queried 14,600 12th graders.

That suggests there could be higher teenage use in future years,
according to past U-M data showing a link between softening attitudes
and increased teen use, said Lloyd Johnston, a senior research
scientist at U-M and cofounder of Monitoring the Future, the nation's
oldest and biggest survey of youth drug use.

On the other hand, the 2013 study notes: "Currently, marijuana does
not hold the same appeal for youth that it did in the past. ...
However, if states that legalize recreational marijuana allow
marijuana advertising and marketing, then prevalence could rebound or
even surpass past levels."
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