ACROSS MIDWEST, INTEREST IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWS

Michigan Vote Seen As Test for Region on Issue

The move to legalize medical marijuana is advancing in the Midwest,
with Michigan poised to be the first state between the Rockies and
New England to sanction the use of the illegal drug by terminally or
seriously ill people.

Michigan voters will decide in November whether to authorize
marijuana use, if a doctor determines suffering from such diseases as
cancer, Crohn's disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's or hepatitis C could
be eased by the drug.

While years of public opinion polling show opposition to legalizing
marijuana, polls and the overwhelming majority of state referendum
votes show strong support for medical use of marijuana. At the same
time, some physician groups have dropped their resistance to medical marijuana.

The combined effect of public opinion, medical research showing
benefits of marijuana in the treatment of some diseases and shifts in
attitudes in the medical community has fueled the movement that has
seen 12 states adopt medical marijuana laws in the past dozen years.

"We need to get beyond the political debate and into medical terms.
That's where the public is," said Dianne Byrum, a former state
legislator in Michigan and spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for
Compassionate Care, the Detroit-area group that turned in 475,000
signatures to earn a spot on the fall ballot.

"This is really about patients and their suffering. ... For them,
medical use of marijuana should give them comfort and not the threat
of arrest or jail," Byrum said.

Doctors Drop Opposition

There is evidence in the Midwest suggesting political interest. Five
Michigan cities already have medical marijuana ordinances. The
Minnesota state Senate recently approved a medical marijuana measure,
though it died on the House floor. A similar measure died in the
Illinois state Senate in the past session. Other measures were
debated in Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Less than four months before the November election, there is no
organized opposition to Michigan's binding referendum. The Michigan
State Medical Society, the state's arm of the American Medical
Association, recently dropped its opposition to medical marijuana and
said it will be neutral in the fall campaign.

"We're keeping an open mind that marijuana in limited amounts can
help some," said Dr. Michael Sandler, a diagnostic radiologist and
president of the Michigan State Medical Society.

But resistance is expected to develop, given the political volatility
of the marijuana issue and the experience California has had since
voters there endorsed use of medical marijuana in 1996.

The California law says that patients need a prescription to acquire
the drug but it is otherwise vague. That legal opening led to the
creation of so-called marijuana clubs and the large-scale growing of
the drug in fields and homes. Hundreds of marijuana dispensaries are
scattered around the state, and dozens of cities have cracked down on
cultivation.

California endorsed "political chaos," said Allen St. Pierre,
executive director of NORML, which advocates "the repeal of marijuana
prohibition."

"No other state has and no other state will replicate what California
did," St. Pierre said. "Every ensuing state [has approved laws] that
narrowly define the types of diseases, require the amount of cannabis
they can possess is relatively small and the number of plants they
can possess is relatively small. And there will be absolutely no
retail dispensary-like model that has emerged in California."

What Michigan Proposes

With that in mind, the Michigan proposal would allow a patient to
legally possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana or grow up to 12 plants in
enclosed and locked facilities.

Although other states have followed similar guidelines regarding
quantities of pot and eligible medical conditions, efforts are under
way in some states to change existing laws. A proposal in Oregon,
which approved its law in 1998, would allow the drug to be sold in
liquor stores. In neighboring Washington, state health officials have
proposed limiting patients to 1 1/2 pounds of pot, an amount that has
been criticized by some patient advocates as too little and by
law-enforcement groups as too much.

The political sensitivity of marijuana was evident two years ago when
voters in South Dakota narrowly rejected a medical marijuana plan 52
percent to 48 percent.

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee,
has endorsed medical marijuana, but only if science and the medical
community concur and if it was carefully controlled. Sen. John
McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is opposed to medical marijuana.

'Just Another Step'

There is an awkward relationship between states and the federal
government on the issue. States that have embraced medical marijuana
are technically in violation of federal law after the Supreme Court's
2005 ruling that said such laws do not provide immunity from federal
prosecution. Some marijuana clinics in California have been raided by
federal drug agents.

The Michigan vote will be watched as a potential barometer for a
region that has yet to embrace medical marijuana.

"This is just another step in a fairly steady progression that the
law is starting to catch up with public opinion," said Bruce Mirken,
spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that advocates
decriminalizing marijuana.

"The dirty little secret to this is that a lot of folks in
professional politics think this is a lot more controversial than it
really is," Mirken added.