WAYNE AND DETROIT BALLOT PROPOSALS

No on Medical Marijuana and Advisory Ballot Questions; Yes on Expelling
Felons From County Commission

Detroit and Wayne County voters will be asked to vote on three ballot
proposals dealing with separate issues in the August 3 primary. Following
are our recommendations:

Proposal M:

This Detroit initiative would amend the city code to allow patients to use
marijuana under the direction of a licensed medical professional.

Marijuana can be an effective and cheap way of giving relief to patients in
acute pain or suffering from diseases such as glaucoma. It has far fewer
down sides than many prescription pain drugs. Many countries have removed
penalties for medical marijuana use, as have eight states.

But amending marijuana laws through local ordinances without broader reform
of state policies is inappropriate.

Drug laws should be established at the state level, to eliminate any
confusion about legality and penalties. If every city passes its own
ordinance, Michigan will have a hodge-podge of conflicting ordinances that
might be hard to reconcile. A city ordinance may even violate state law.

For instance, Proposal M allows licensed medical practitioners besides
doctors to prescribe marijuana. But other cities might restrict the
prescription only to doctors. A nurse who prescribed marijuana in Detroit
might be subject to penalties under some other city's ordinance.

Backers of marijuana legalization have been thwarted twice by state
election officials in their efforts to launch a state-wide ballot
initiative. The hurdles are certainly higher at the state level, but the
outcome would be much cleaner.

Detroit voters should vote NO on Proposal M.

Proposal Q:

This proposal would amend the county charter to allow the Wayne County
commission to put advisory questions before voters.

This is a bad idea whose sole purpose is to allow commissioners afraid of
taking a stand to use taxpayer dollars to conduct polls before voting on an
issue.

Voters pay county commissioners a handsome salary -- $70,000 every year --
to make decisions on their behalf. But commissioners who insist on
conducting referendums before making decisions undercut the representative
system of government that Wayne County voters have opted for -- not to
mention the rationale for their own existence.

In addition, the proposal will invite paralysis in county governance. It
will give commissioners a way to take their disagreements with the county
executive directly to the voters, tipping the delicate arrangement of
checks-and-balances in the county charter. This will make commissioners
less willing to cooperate with the executive and resolve their differences
in a speedy way.

Voters should vote NO on Proposal Q.

Proposal R:

This county proposal will amend the charter to allow the county commission
to expel members who are convicted of a felony. Its impetus lies in the
scandal involving Wayne County Commissioner Keith Stallworth two years ago.

Stallworth pleaded guilty to laundering money for a drug dealer. But he
refused to resign from his post and the county charter empowered his fellow
commissioners only to censure him -- not remove him from office. Gov.
Jennifer Granholm had to use her powers to throw him out.

The state Constitution allows the legislature to remove lawmakers when
there is cause. So it certainly makes sense to extend this check to the
county level.

The only danger is that county commissioners, who sometimes harbor bitter
rivalries toward each other, might abuse this tool for personal political
ends. But the amendment mitigates this danger by requiring a two-thirds
vote for the expulsion.

We recommend a Yes on Proposal R.