TROY OPPOSES EASING POT LAW

TROY -- Oakland County quietly is becoming home to a grass-roots
resistance movement to thwart the national tide of marijuana reform
from flowering in Michigan.

Although an effort failed earlier this year to force a statewide
referendum to loosen pot laws, anti-drug activists remain vigilant and
are marshaling forces for what both sides predict will be an
inevitable clash.

Reefer reformers are eying Michigan for a chance to extend a movement
that has decriminalized pot in nine liberal-leaning states. Opponents
want to preserve this state's tough drug laws, enhance public safety
and protect children.

"Michigan has gotten quite high on the radar screen," said Allen St.
Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws.

"If we can pass progressive initiatives in Michigan, it's going to be
easier for us to go into Washington D.C. and convince lawmakers this
is a mainstream issue, not some freaky San Francisco thing. Michigan
is going to be a big battleground."

Anti-drug groups led by the Troy Community Coalition recently
persuaded government officials in Oakland County, Detroit and Troy to
pass resolutions opposing "any effort" to decriminalize marijuana --
including medical use -- or limit drug forfeiture laws.

State drug fighters also recently formed a network of community
coalitions that lets them send a coherent message and coordinate
activities, said Darnell Jackson, Michigan's drug czar.

The activity follows November ballot successes in Colorado and Nevada,
where voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The
movement has gained momentum since California voters allowed
cooperatives to buy cannabis to treat ailments in 1996. Since then,
Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington voters have
passed similar measures. The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to
weigh the legality of California's law.

After the string of successes by pot proponents, law-and-order
proponents vow to stop the movement from gaining root in Michigan.

"A good offense is the best defense," said Maryann Solberg, executive
director of the Troy Community Coalition.

"We are about community health. Legalizing marijuana does not enhance
community health. We have enough problems with legal drugs -- alcohol
and tobacco -- without adding another."

Fiery methods

Lauded by law enforcement, the Troy Community Coalition's methods
sometimes are controversial. Financed partly through state, county and
federal grants, the coalition in May hosted a two-day conference in
Lansing about the perils of pot.

Solberg said the conference was an education seminar, but marijuana
reformer Gregory Schmid said the effort was a publicly funded
political rally against decriminalization and the proposed ballot
initiative to loosen pot laws.

"They're breaking the law," said Schmid, a Saginaw defense attorney
who led the referendum attempt. "It's a crime to use public funds to
defeat a ballot initiative and they did."

Solberg called the accusation "crazy."

A complaint to the Secretary of State went nowhere, and Schmid's group
failed to muster enough signatures to get a pot question on November's
ballot. Backers vow to try again.

The proposed initiative goes further than any successful referendum
elsewhere. It would permit not only the medical use of marijuana, but
allow those 21 or older to have 3 ounces of pot or three plants. It
also would divert funds from drug property forfeitures to prevention
of drug abuse, rather than law enforcement.

Possession is now a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail for
the first offense, while it's two-year felony for the second offense.

"I don't smoke marijuana and I don't think people should, but people
shouldn't go to jail for it," Schmid said. "I just can't handle the
hypocrisy of it all. Most of the so-called drug warriors have smoked
pot. If someone is under 55 and claims they haven't smoked, I ask them
to sign an affidavit to that effect."

Medical arguments

Advocates on both sides of the divide point to supportive medical
studies to bolster their arguments. Proponents say it can greatly ease
pain of victims of AIDS, arthritis and cancer, among others. Foes say
marijuana leads to respiratory disease, other drugs and even psychosis.

A 1999 report by the national Institute of Medicine recommended
further trials and research into the medical benefits of marijuana.
Jackson called arguments about pot's medical value a sham, since a
pill form of the drug's main chemical, THC, has been on the market as
a prescription drug since 1980.

A Budding Debate

Voters in nine states since 1996 have eased marijuana laws, primarily
to allow the prohibited drug's use as a medicine.

Research is underway to determine the medical benefits of cannabis.
Here's a look at the claims from both sides of the issue:

* Pot proponents say the drug relieves nausea caused by chemotherapy,
stops weight loss during treatment for AIDS or cancer, eases symptoms
of glaucoma, reduces pain from multiple sclerosis, post-menstrual
syndrome, insomnia, attention deficit disorder and arthritis.

* Pot foes say marijuana is a gateway to other drugs, increases the
risk of pneumonia in AIDS patients, may cause bronchitis and cancer,
erases memory, harms motor skills and induces delusions,
hallucinations, depression, psychosis and schizophrenia.

Note: Michigan a battleground for medicinal marijuana use.