POLICE CHIEF CRITICAL OF MARIJUANA MEASURE

A Livingston County police chief has serious concerns about the
ballot question on the Nov. 4 election to legalize medical use of
marijuana and is encouraging voters to reject the measure.

Howell Police Chief George Basar, president of the Michigan
Association of Chiefs of Police, said Proposal 1 would make it easy
for people to grow and use marijuana, and the lack of regulations
would lead to more people, including children, using the drug.

He said the message is, "If you feel bad, let's sit around and smoke
marijuana and get high."

Basar said there are associations of doctors, law enforcement and
prosecuting attorneys opposed to this ballot issue.

He also said this measure is really aimed at a more sweeping change.

"This is the nose under the tent to the general legalization of
marijuana," Basar said.

Supporters of the measure said that's not true.

Former state lawmaker Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for the Michigan
Coalition for Compassionate Care, said a community-based effort
pushed for the statewide referendum to provide an option for patients
who are experiencing pain due to disease or illness.

She said legalization is not the goal. She said other states have
approved similar measures allowing for medical use of marijuana, and
those states have not legalized marijuana.

Byrum said she met with numerous law enforcement officials this year
to explain the ballot question, and she said many called the proposal
"well-written." She said these officials knew about the issue for
seven months and questioned why they would suddenly organize a
"campaign of misinformation and rhetoric" to oppose the proposal.

Although California passed one of the first measures making it legal
to use marijuana for medical reasons, Byrum said that measure was
flawed and didn't provide enough safeguards. Since then, she said, 11
states have adopted their own measures, and there's been no impact on
law enforcement in those states. She said the Michigan proposal has
many prohibitions and safeguards.

On Nov. 4, Michigan voters will decide the fate of the medical use of
marijuana ballot question. Under Proposal 1, there would be specific
guidelines to using marijuana. A physician would need to approve
marijuana use for a patient with a debilitating medical condition,
and patients would receive an identification card. Patients would
only have protected use in their home and could not smoke it in public places.

If approved, cancer chemotherapy patients suffering from nausea and
vomiting would be able to use marijuana to ease those symptoms. Other
patients who might seek this treatment would be those with HIV/AIDS,
multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

Basar said he and other opponents have "nothing but compassion for
those who are truly in pain."

However, he said, there are loopholes in the ballot proposal. He said
voters need to understand the proposal does not require a doctor to
write a prescription for marijuana use. If this were truly a medical
use, he said, the proposal would mandate prescriptions, which provide
control over quality and quantity.

Under the proposal, he said a patient could grow 12 plants, which
could yield 5 pounds of marijuana.

"That seems a bit excessive," said Basar, who questions what would
happen to the excess marijuana.