cannabisnews.com: Panel Certifies Medical Marijuana Initiative 










  Panel Certifies Medical Marijuana Initiative 

Posted by CN Staff on April 03, 2008 at 21:00:36 PT
By Dawson Bell, Special To The State Journal 
Source: Lansing State Journal 

Michigan -- Michiganders with chronic or debilitating disease could legally possess and use marijuana under a proposal on its way to state voters in November.A state elections panel Monday certified petitions with 377,975 signatures backing the plan, well over the 304,000 minimum needed to put the initiative before voters if the Legislature fails to act upon it within the next 40 days.
Representatives of both House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said Monday afternoon that legislative action was unlikely."We will be letting the voters decide this one," said Greg Bird, an aide to Dillon and House Democrats.Dianne Byrum, a former lawmaker and spokeswoman for The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, the group which circulated the petitions, also said she has no expectation medical marijuana will be taken up by the Legislature.The initiative would amend Michigan law to allow seriously ill patients to obtain a doctor's authorization for the cultivation of up to 12 marijuana plants and possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana.Lynn Allen, a 51-year-old Williamston resident who contracted HIV and Hepatitis C from contaminated blood when he was being treated for hemophilia in the 1970s, said he would like to have the option of using marijuana as an alternative to the prescription drugs he takes."I think marijuana would help with the pain," said Allen, who also has arthritis. "Right now, I'm forced to take an opiate. Marijuana is a much more benign kind of drug."The movement to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes has spread widely in the last decade. A dozen states now permit it under some circumstances.The practice has been most controversial in California, where voters also authorized the sale of small amounts of marijuana at licensed co-ops. Those operations have been targeted by U.S. law enforcement agencies under federal law. Byrum said the Michigan statute is silent on the question of where the marijuana comes from, and does not authorize marijuana sales."We're just trying to protect the patient from prosecution," she said.The Michigan Coalition is backed by the national organization, Marijuana Policy Project, which provided nearly all of the $1.1 million used to organize the campaign in 2007 and collect the petition signatures.Complete Title: Panel Certifies Medical Marijuana Initiative for Nov. Vote Source: Lansing State Journal (MI)Author: Dawson Bell, Special To The State JournalPublished:  March 4, 2008Copyright: 2008 Lansing State JournalWebsite: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/Contact: http://www.lsj.com/contactus/ltr_editor.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Stop Arresting Patientshttp://www.stoparrestingpatients.org/Medical Marijuana Proposal Advances in Michiganhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23724.shtmlMichigan Closer To Medical Marijuana Votehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23495.shtml

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Comment #7 posted by John Tyler on April 05, 2008 at 19:43:27 PT
Michigan
I’m glad that at least some states have voter initiatives that allow the citizens to get things done that their own elected representatives are too afraid to do. Go Michigan. Give cannabis a chance. 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 04, 2008 at 10:44:48 PT
One More Comment
I watched Senator Obama's speech in Fort Wayne, Indiana today on CNN Live Streaming Video. A person asked about how can he help stop drugs from coming into their area and destroying their community. I wish there was a transcript because I will forget some of what he said. He said non violent drug offenders are locked up and he thinks that should change. Getting jobs into the community would help since lack of money is one of the reasons that people sell drugs. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 04, 2008 at 10:23:03 PT

runruff
I agree with you. History can be a good teacher if we learn where we went wrong as a Nation. Some people really don't understand why our generation rejected the status quo but we know. I am in a solemn type mood today as I personally reflect on MLK's death and two months and two days later Bobby Kennedy was gunned down. The war in Vietnam made no sense and society just kept doing their own thing and we didn't understand it. The 60s revolution was born from all these different events and then Nixon did us so much harm with drug laws. He didn't like Jews or Gays or Pot Smokers and we have all heard that before. It's time to get on with fixing the slide of our country or it might be too late.PS: I wanted to mention how certain states mean something to me and Oregon is one of them. I have never been to Oregon but I remember when your state also decriminalized like my state did. 
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on April 04, 2008 at 10:13:46 PT:

This must stop!
The war on drugs. There are young adults alive today who only know the Federal government's policy on drugs,WAR!Of course the war on drugs is presented in the same way the Federal government implements all of it's unconstitutional laws and policies,by using words to twist reality. We know there is no such thing as declaring war on and inanimate object. To declare war on a drug is to declare war on the people holding or using this object. More word games, more smoke and mirrors.War on the American people, is the reality of the war on drugs. The young people of my generation wrote poems, saying songs, and spoke publicly of the pending social, and political revolution. Yet the war goes on? On and on and on. Such irony that we would allow our own government to take our money by force and use it to declare war upon us. Such irony, it is so wrong and yet it goes on and on and on.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 04, 2008 at 05:28:37 PT

Sinsemilla Jones
Thank you for the links. I hope things start to change in the near future. This war as gone on way too long. We watched a special on CNN last night about MLK's assassination. What a time it was back then. Hopefully those days are behind us. In memory of MLK here is a youtube link.We Shall Overcome - Peter Paul And Mary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15EWSi0NZ64
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Comment #2 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on April 04, 2008 at 00:55:32 PT

Here's some new news, FoM.
At least, I think these are new -Vermont Supreme Court Throws Out Marijuana Conviction Based on Warrantless Aerial Surveillancehttp://tinyurl.com/2awwb8 (stopthedrugwar.org)Forest Service buys flying drones to help find marijuana growershttp://tinyurl.com/3a2m5l (montanasnewsstation.com)
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 03, 2008 at 21:09:44 PT

Just a Note
I shouldn't do articles when I'm tired. This article is a month old and has already been posted but it's good news.
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