CITY VOTE SOUGHT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Libertarians Circulate Petitions Aimed At Ann Arbor's Fall
Ballot

Libertarians are circulating a petition to get a medical marijuana
initiative on the November ballot in the city of Ann Arbor.

If passed, the measure would prevent Ann Arbor Police from citing
people who use marijuana for medical reasons. But state and federal
officials could still enforce their laws.

"We're for the legalization of all drugs, so we thought we'd do this
as a first step," said James Tudler, chairman of the Libertarian Party
of Washtenaw County. "Also, Ann Arbor is kind of famous for its pot
law."

In 1974, Ann Arbor voters amended the city charter to create one of
the country's most liberal laws for marijuana possession. It set the
fine at only $5. That was increased in 1990 to $25 for a first
offense, $50 for a second offense and at least $100 for further offenses.

The medical marijuana initiative would do away with those fines for
people with medical conditions such as AIDS and cancer, for which
smoking pot brings some patients pain relief.

Because marijuana use is illegal in Michigan and the United States,
the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, the University of Michigan
Department of Public Safety, the Michigan State Police and the federal
Drug Enforcement Agency could still enforce their laws. State law, for
example, requires a $100 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

"We would write them up anyhow," said state police spokesman Dave
Verhougstraete.

The Libertarians need to turn in 4,300 signatures by August to get
their initiative on the city ballot. They have collected 2,000 since
last August, Hudler said. A majority of Ann Arbor voters would have to
approve the measure.

Five states - Alaska, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington - have
legalized medical marijuana. That prevents local and state police from
making arrests, but federal authorities can still do so.

Saginaw attorney Gregory Schmid has launched a petition drive for a
statewide initiative in Michigan to legalize marijuana among adults
for any purpose. Known as the Personal Responsibility Amendment, the
measure would allow adults to grow up to three marijuana plants at
home out of the sight of minors and keep three ounces for personal
use. It also would allow medical marijuana for adults and children.

Schmid needs to gather more than 300,000 signatures to put the issue
on the November ballot.

The only place where cities have enacted medical marijuana laws prior
to states is California, said Chuck Thomas, spokesman for the
Marijuana Policy Project, a medical marijuana advocacy group in
Washington, D.C. Voter initiatives passed in San Francisco in 1991 and
Santa Cruz in 1992, Thomas said. The statewide initiative passed in
1996.

Michigan state Sen. Mike Rogers, a strong opponent of Ann Arbor's low
marijuana fines, also is against the medical marijuana initiative.

"They're trying to get marijuana on the ballot, and we're trying to
tell our kids that smoking is bad for them," Rogers said. "It doesn't
make any sense."

Rogers, a Brighton Republican, said patients who want medical
marijuana should ask doctors to prescribe a pill containing THC, the
active ingredient in marijuana. Medical marijuana advocates say the
pill isn't as effective.

A bill Rogers sponsored in 1998 to penalize cities with pot laws that
are more relaxed than the state's passed the Senate but failed in the
House, which was then controlled by Democrats. A similar bill
introduced last year by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance, has
passed the Senate and awaits action in the House, which now has a
Republican majority.

The use of marijuana to ease the symptoms of some diseases has gained
credibility from doctors in recent years.

Stanley Watson, a University of Michigan professor of psychiatry and
neurosciences, was a principal investigator of a National Academy of
Sciences study last year that said medical marijuana has enough
potential to merit more research. Watson said marijuana doesn't appear
to be effective for conditions such as glaucoma, but it may help
people with AIDS and cancer. He recommends inhalers that would release
THC without producing smoke that increases the risk of lung cancer.

"I suspect we'll find a couple of places where (synthesized marijuana)
will fit in," Watson said. "But I am uncomfortable with people smoking
it, because it produces health problems."
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Staff reporter David Wahlberg can be reached by phone at (734)
994-6827 or by e-mail: dwahlberg@aa-news.com