LOCALS SIGN ON TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

A local petition drive is underway to amend the state Constitution to allow
people to grow marijuana in their home for personal use.

The attempt to legalize limited marijuana use was intended for a 2000
ballot issue, but fell short of that year's election. Supporter Saginaw
attorney Greg Schmid and others think they can get the 300,000 signatures
needed to put the proposal before the voters in 2002.

That proposal would allow adults 21 and over to grow marijuana in their
home for personal use. They would not be allowed to use it while in a car,
in public or near children, Schmid said.

"It's not a 'free-love' type of Constitutional amendment. It's a
responsible approach," he said.

Schmid believes that personally growing and using marijuana is not a
violation of the law because sales are not involved. Other arguments for
passing an amendment are that the current drug law actually creates a black
market for drug use. He also noted the expense of prosecuting and housing
marijuana smokers and the forfeiting of possessions because of convictions.

The money that would be saved could go to educating the public on substance
abuse as well as gambling and other vices, Schmid said. Wayne Coulter of
Caro is circulating petitions across the state from Tuscola County to
Muskegon County on the western side. He gathered signatures at this year's
county fair as well as on the steps of the courthouse and near the
Secretary of State's office.

"I'm all for the medical use," Coulter said. "I believe the laws need to be
changed. I know my minister would look down on me, but I have to stand up
for what I believe in.

"I used to do it for medical use."

Coulter said he suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a disease where
some of the nerves continue to be active long after an injury. In Coulter's
case, it was a car accident.

He not only encourages to have people sign petitions, but also has
petitions dropped off with him. Coulter then forwards them to Schmid. All
sorts of people have signed the petitions, too.

"A lot of elderly people signed when I was at the county fair," he added.

Doug O'Parka is another local resident helping with the drive. He said he
supports the measure because it would allow medical use.

O'Parka says he has suffered from a back injury for 13 years.

Schmid said the deadline for signatures is Oct. 3 and already the effort
has yielded roughly 200,000 signatures. Often during petition drives, the
signatures come in toward the end.

A local group has been formed to aid the drive. That group, Tuscola County
Chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of the Marijuana
Laws, meets the first Saturday of every month at 9 p.m. For more
information regarding the group, call 672-HEMP.

For more information on the Personal Responsibility Amendment to help
legalize personal marijuana growth and use, go to www.PRAyes.com on the
internet or call (989) 239-9000.