JUDGE'S DECISION HALTS PLACEMENT OF MARIJUANA INITIATIVE ON BALLOT

Efforts to place a proposal on the November ballot to legalize the medical
use of marijuana in Ann Arbor were dealt a severe, if not fatal, blow
Wednesday.

Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Melinda Morris dismissed a lawsuit filed by
local Libertarians, saying the party was ultimately responsible for knowing
the correct deadline to file its petitions - not the date they were
mistakenly given by interim City Clerk Yvonne Carl.

Morris' decision can only be reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court. David
Raaflaub, the attorney representing the Libertarians, said his clients will
decide before the end of today whether an immediate appeal will be filed in
Lansing.

Nonetheless, he admitted, "it will take a lot of work" to place the
initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot. Raaflaub said Libertarians assume that the
last deadline for ordering a ballot change is Friday, 60 days before the
election.

Morris at Wednesday's hearing did clear the way for a possible 2001
referendum on the issue. The judge ordered the city to return the petitions
to the Libertarians, which Raaflaub said will be resubmitted along with
more petitions well ahead of next year's deadline.

The city had argued that the petitions, because they had been submitted,
were "proprietary" and no longer belonged to the Libertarians.

City Attorney Abigail Elias, making a rare court appearance, argued the
interim city clerk's error should not affect the letter of the law.

"We think the court did the right thing," she said afterward. "People are
responsible for knowing and following the law."

Libertarians filed petitions containing 5,970 signatures on Aug. 15 -
nearly 1,700 more names than the law required. The filing was meant to
coincide with the state's deadline for ballot initiatives.

But the marijuana law would have changed the city's charter and Ann Arbor's
deadline for a charter change is 90 days before the general election. That
was Aug. 9, or six days earlier than when the petitions were submitted.

Elias told the judge that Libertarians might share some of the blame
because they never said they were attempting to change the city's charter
in repeatedly asking Carl about the deadline. But, Raaflaub said afterward,
that the charter change was "certainly" discussed with Carl and his party
could "file affidavits to that effect."

If passed by voters, the proposal would have given residents the right to
possess marijuana with a doctor's permission. Seven states and the District
of Columbia now have similar laws. Ann Arbor would have been the first city
to legalize the medical use of marijuana within a state that classifies
such use as illegal. Proponents say marijuana helps ease pain for people
with multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS and other diseases.