VOTERS MAY DECIDE POT ISSUE

Nov 7 Ballot Probably Will Include Question On Medical Use of
Marijuana

The stage is apparently set for Ann Arbor voters to once again decide
whether to loosen the city's pot laws.

The Nov. 7 municipal ballot will probably include a question that
would legalize the medical use of marijuana if the city clerk's office
validates at least 4,300 of the 5,970 petition signatures turned in
Tuesday. Local Libertarians who launched the year-long petition drive
should find out in the next few weeks whether they were successful.

"Today, we struck a heavy blow for freedom," said Charles Goodman, 25,
the party's candidate for mayor and the drive's leader. "This is not
the end. This is just the beginning."

The ballot proposal would make it legal for residents to possess
marijuana if they have a doctor's permission. The drug is supposed to
relieve symptoms of medical conditions such as AIDS and cancer.

Although several states have passed similar initiatives, Ann Arbor
would become the only city with such a law in a state where the medical
use of marijuana is otherwise illegal.

The vote would come 26 years after Ann Arbor residents overwhelmingly
approved one of the country's most liberal pot laws, making possession
subject to a $5 fine. The 1974 referendum was later amended in 1990 to
increase the fine to $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense
and at least $100 for further offenses.

Medical-marijuana advocates say the question should be easily approved
in a city with such a liberal tradition, which includes the annual pro-
pot Hash Bash. Plus, they say, the issue has been readily embraced
around the county.

Since the first legalization question went to the ballot box in
California in 1996, no initiative has failed. So far, seven states and
the District of Columbia have enacted laws. Two more - Colorado and
Nevada - are expected to win approval this fall.

"It's pretty much certain to pass in Ann Arbor," said Chuck Thomas,
director of the Marijuana Policy Project, the Washington-based group
attempting to reform the nation's medical-marijuana laws.

The legalization movement continues to face opposition from law
enforcement officials and the federal government. U.S. attorneys were
in a San Francisco courtroom last week, saying that federal anti-drug
laws take precedence over state legalization efforts.

Michigan State Police spokesman Dave Verhougstraete has said violators
would still be subject to the state statute of up to 90 days in jail
and a $100 fine.

The medical community has also not rushed to support legalization
efforts. Shortly after a 1998 statewide initiative was approved, the
Oregon Medical Association urged its members to refrain from
prescribing marijuana until the federal government clarifies its
stance. And last year's report from the government-funded Institute of
Medicine said the cannabinoids in marijuana were useful in treating
pain. But the study, led by University of Michigan psychiatry professor
Stanley Watson, suggested its future use should be limited to yet-to-be
developed synthetic and smoke-less versions.

Libertarians spent $3,900 to complete their drive. And Goodman said
that an even greater amount will probably be spent to get the ballot
question passed.

"We will have to fight (during) this election campaign," he said. "And
we will win."