cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Policy Undetermined





Medical Marijuana Policy Undetermined
Posted by CN Staff on November 13, 2008 at 09:19:41 PT
By Carson Lemahieu
Source: North Wind
Michigan -- Universities across Michigan may soon face trouble enforcing a newly passed proposal which legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Proposal 1, which passed in Michigan in the Nov. 4 election, legalized the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana with a valid prescription.Carl Holm, director of Housing and Residence Life, said NMU has not reached a decision on any campus policy towards medical marijuana.
"I haven't given it any thought," he said. "I don't know how often we will deal with this. When I think of people who are (getting medical marijuana), I don't think of college-age students."NMU Public Safety Sgt. Ken Love said he hasn't been given any information on how medicinal marijuana would be treated on campus. One possibility that Holm said could be instituted if the issue was raised is to allow students who qualify for medical marijuana to be given an exemption from NMU's mandatory on-campus housing rule.The NMU student handbook is vague on the subject of medical marijuana.The section of the handbook dealing with drugs reads: "No students shall possess, use, distribute, sell or manufacture illegal drugs, or other controlled substances, in any building or on any property owned or controlled by the University, except as permitted by law."It is unclear whether medical marijuana would fall under this definition because, while legalized by the state of Michigan, marijuana remains a controlled substance by federal standards.Other campuses across the country have come to widely varying conclusions on the legality of medicinal marijuana on campus. Last year, a Colorado State student who was caught possessing a small amount of medical marijuana had university sanctions against him dropped after hiring a lawyer to defend himself. The student initially faced suspension from the school and mandatory drug rehab classes. The University of California-Bakersfield, on the other hand, has decided that state medical marijuana rules do not apply to universities. The argument is that the universities receive federal funding and are therefore subject to federal laws regarding the legality of medical marijuana. Dan Bernath, assistant director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, called such allegations nonsense."Michigan law protects anyone who is on the registry with a valid medical reason to be using marijuana," he said. "It doesn't list any specifications about use on a college campus, and it should be enforced as such."The Marijuana Policy Project is a national organization which aims to decriminalize marijuana. According to the group's Web site, they are especially concerned with allowing patients who have been prescribed medical marijuana to use it without arrest or harassment.Bernath also said that though school administrators may be apprehensive to make a decision on the subject, he feels the proper solution is obvious."There is always some apprehension when a law like this is passed, and it will take time to adjust to the new law," he said. "However, the people of Michigan have spoken overwhelmingly, and (legalization of medical marijuana) is what they want."Source: North Wind (MI)Author: Carson LemahieuPublished: November 13, 2008Copyright: 2008 The North WindWebsite: http://www.thenorthwindonline.com/Comments: http://drugsense.org/url/cTUsRc7UMarijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by ezrydn on November 13, 2008 at 18:32:46 PT
It's Really Quite Simple
Colleges feel they don't have to adhere to State Law because they get funding from the Feds. Well, simply cut off all state aid and "state exemptions" until they feel they, too, come under the State's "umbrella." Let the Feds feed'em!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by museman on November 13, 2008 at 12:02:10 PT
law
Funny, how a nation founded on the principles of democracy, that claims right to declare war on sovereign nations because of its mission to expand and propagate the 'free world' and whose constitutional 'law' is based on the deomcratic caucuses of the States that are in the Union, can so selectively -right under the noses of the people- deny the law as ratified by the state and the majority of the people in that state, with a minority of federal persons- a handful really- in no way stacked up in numbers to the actual voting citizens who chose to excersize their right to govern themselves.Funny how 'funding' or the 'supply of money' can literally trump truth, justice, freedom, and the US Constitution simply with the stroke of the virtual fed pen -without knowlege and permission of the people, or sanity....Funny how every day people have a choice in whether they are going to continue to be a cog in the wheel of consumption and waste, yet very few say to themselves; "Today I am free." and act like it. No, most resign themselves to their alotted slave-time, and go mindlessly at it for 8 hours or more a day- just like the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that....Its a funny thing, not 'funny humorous' but 'funny queer.' (and I don't mean the gutter slang term for homosexual)Funny how the ecomony is crashing, but the limos are out in force. Funny how all the rich corporate CEOs got paid their wages -for sitting on their asses- while they lay off their workers, cut their retirement plans, and outsource the labor to other slave-based countries for huge profit.Funny how the gas prices just went through the roof - at peak driving season, aiding in the collapse of the middle class by sucking up the economic reserves of the people, and now that the oil companies have once again successfully raped us, they let the prices fall to just the level they intended when they initiated the scam. And of course the basic consumer needs have been nearly doubled in price as well (blamed and justified on the 'gas shortage.') just about finishing off whatever moderate savings the majority might have had.Funny how 'the law' is lauded as a benevolent institution, when in actuality it is the fundamental source and reason for most of the destruction, pollution, suffering, and other negative realities in this country and the world -even as it claims service to the ones it persecutes and bleeds.Funny how the perception of reality by the mindset created in the laws image (status quo - 'good citizenship' blah blah) is absolutely ass-backwards -in polar opposition from actual natural, creation-based (not 'creationist') reality, and yet a large number of people have convinced themselves in the beauty of a naked emporers non-existent clothes, and some will get so angry when you reveal the truth, well they might legislate a law to deal with them, like a War on Conscsiousness called a 'war-on-drugs.'Funny how the elite powers that be can literally re-write the definitions of terms and meanings of words to suit their agendas of conquest and dominion, and by the simple act of 'publishing' their corruption it becomes an 'authority.'Time to take some of the freedom and liberties supposedly guaranteed by our constitution, and use them to get the rest of them back from the money mongers who have now equated freedom with economics -giving them near complete control over most less wealthy workers and citizens.Time to update, and upgrade the US Constitution into modern, commonsense language and understanding, so it is back in the hands of the people instead of the exclusive clubs of lawyers. (no disparagement meant to those who perform their lawyer duties with high ethical standards.)FREE NORTHERN LIGHTS FOR EVERYONE
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment