PROPOSAL I - 'HIGH' STAKES

When voters hit the booths in just a few short weeks, they will find
themselves voting on two very controversial statewide proposals.

Michigan ballots will ask voters to let their voices be heard on
Proposal 1, legislation to be known as the "Michigan Medical
Marihuana Act" and Proposal II - a proposed constitutional amendment
to Article I addressing human embryo and embryonic stem cell research
within the state.

The Star will take a look at both proposals - starting with Proposal I.

Under the legislation, officially referred to as the 'Michigan
Medical Marihuana Act," the drug marijuana would be legal under state
law for medical use. The legislation states it would "provide for a
system of registry identification cards for qualifying patients and
primary caregivers; to impose a fee for registry application and
renewal; to provide for the promulgation of rules; to provide for the
administration of this act; provide for enforcement of this act; to
provide for affirmative defenses; and to provide for penalties for
violations of this act."

That's a lot of provisions - and some say they are not enough to
ensure that the medical use of marijuana won't be taken advantage of.
Others find the relief the drug gives to those suffering from certain
illnesses - worth the risk.

The drug has been found, according to the state's text on the
proposal to give relief to sufferers of "debilitating medical
conditions." Cancer, glaucoma, Chron's disease acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hepatitis C are just a few listed by
the state as such conditions. Chronic conditions that require
treatments that lead to severe nausea, chronic pain and seizures are
also defined as a "debilitating medical condition" within the proposal.

A recent poll released by Denno Noor Research, The Rossman Group and
Michigan Information and Research Service claimed "58 percent of
Michigan's voters favor the ballot initiative while 33 percent do not."

One percent of voters, according to that press release, refused to
answer the poll.

"Law enforcement wise, we fear it is going to increase marijuana in
our communities...our schools," said Milton Abraham Agay, chief of
police of the Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Police Department and
president of the West Michigan Association of Chief's of Police.

Agay said under the proposal, he feels there is no way to "control
the worker or the student" who may have permission to use the drug.
"There's nothing to prevent the school bus driver from getting high
and going to pick up our children," he said.

The act happens to list operating a school bus under its list of
tasks that qualified patients would not be permitted to do under the act.

Under the legislation, any "qualified patient" would be permitted to
keep 12 marijuana plants in "an enclosed, locked facility." The
patient may also keep up to 2.5 ounces of "usable marijuana."

Another fear that stems from this proposal, Agay said, is the
possibility of a sudden presence of "pot shops." Stores, Agay said,
which would allow people to go in and purchase marijuana as well as
smoke it on the premises.

The legislation seems to rest on the use of identification and
registry cards as a means of regulating who would be permitted to be
in possession of the drug and who would not. But it seems as though
ensuring the drug doesn't end up in the wrong hands might be tough.

Still - "with less than a month to go, it's clear that legalizing
medical marijuana is high on voters minds," Kelly Rossman-McKinney,
CEO of The Rossman Group said in the release.

"Michigan voters are not going to let the medical marijuana proposal
go up in smoke."

One organization that supports Proposal I is the Michigan Coalition
for Compassionate Care, which provides information about the
initiative as well as stories of patients and relatives of patients
whose lives have benefited from the use of medical marijuana.

"Support for medical marijuana is more than 60 percent in every
geographic region of the state, with the exception of the Upper
Peninsula and West Michigan," said Dennis Denno, President of Denno
Noor Research in the press release.

Agay - who said he sympathizes with patients suffering from painful
illnesses and treatments, at the age of 18 he lost his mother to
cancer and suffers from cancer himself - said "it's going to be
devastating," when asked what it would mean to statewide and local
law enforcement agencies should the proposal pass on Nov. 4.

Find the full text of Proposal I and Proposal II at
https://services2.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/

For more information on the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care
visit www.stoparrestingpatients.org