MEDICAL MARIJUANA A HOT ISSUE FOR GROUP

Citizens Protecting Michigan's Kids, the group opposing the ballot
initiative to legalize marijuana for medical use in Michigan, made a
stop in Battle Creek on Thursday.

Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, spoke against Proposal 1.

"This is about dope. This is not about medicine," he said. "If it was,
it would have doctors who were standing up talking about the efficacy
of smoking this weed. It is preposterous. This is a con."

Judge Bill Scheutte, the group's co-chair, is touring the state and
encouraging people to vote against Proposal 1.

"This proposal, it misses the mark," he said. "The unintended
consequences of Proposal 1 are too grave, too many pitfalls for us to
ignore or be casual about it."

Among those unintended consequences, Scheutte said, is the
inevitability of increased access to marijuana for abuse by young people.

Scheutte also said the proposal fails to restrict, prevent or prohibit
"pot shops," cooperative marijuana growers and sellers that have
become common in California since that state passed its medical
marijuana law.

"I'm a judge, and what I do is review laws. This one, it is a doozy,"
he said. "It's got about as many loopholes as wide and deep as Lake
Michigan. The fact is, sometimes it's what is not in a statute that's
the problem. There's no restrictions, no limitations on these pot clubs."

Proponents of the measure said it would limit legal marijuana to
private use for medical purposes, but it wouldn't change existing drug
laws.

The Michigan proposal differs from the voter-approved California
measure in that the Michigan law would require patient registry and
annual reports to the state, supporters said.

Battle Creek Police Chief David Headings said the active ingredient in
marijuana that's effective for pain relief, THC, already has been
synthesized into a pill form and is much safer.

Calhoun County Sheriff Allen Byam said he has concerns about the
potential increase in marijuana use among young people.