SHOULD MICHIGAN LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA?

Proposal 1's Mixed Message Would Hike Drug Use, Offer Ineffective Care

Michigan voters are being asked to approve Proposal 1, a ballot
question that is full of careless loopholes and dangerous
consequences that put Michigan's communities and our kids at risk.

Voters in California approved a similar proposal a decade ago,
legalizing marijuana for "medical" purposes. Even the staunchest
advocates admit that the presence of "pot dealers in storefronts,"
"chaos" on the streets and millions of dollars being pumped "into the
criminal black market" afflict their state.

Michigan voters should reject Proposal 1.

Parents and teachers battle to keep their teens away from drugs and
their destructive influences. The Michigan Sheriffs Association and
the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police see the devastating
consequences of drug use and are united in their opposition to
Proposal 1. They understand that the battle to keep kids away from
drugs becomes much more difficult when drugs become legally
accessible and adults start calling them "medicine."

California law enforcement points to the state's pot law as a cause
for the dramatic increase in drug use among high school students.

Proposal 1 allows one person to grow and provide marijuana for other
people, as long as the marijuana is kept in a locked facility. In
California, that has led to the distribution of the drug from
everything from strip mall storefronts to garages in residential neighborhoods.

Drug use has become so pervasive that in North Hollywood it is easier
to find marijuana than a hot cup of coffee. Pot shops outnumber
Starbucks stores, and last week a security guard was gunned down
outside a legal Los Angeles drug house. These are the scary
consequences of passing a flawed law.

Legalizing marijuana is also bad for doctors and hospitals, those
providing medical care to Michiganians.

First, Proposal 1 doesn't require a prescription. Further, it not
only relies on but promotes smoking as a delivery mechanism. The
proposal could lead to costly lawsuits and force doctors and
hospitals to permit smoking in the doctor's office or the hospital
room despite every other legal smoking ban.

The Michigan State Medical Society, the Michigan Health and Hospital
Association and the Michigan Osteopathic Association all oppose
Proposal 1 because smoking marijuana is simply not the answer for the
effective care of patients.

The unintended consequences of Proposal 1 are staggering. Michigan's
doctors, hospitals, sheriffs, police chiefs, prosecutors, family
groups and taxpayer advocates are united in their opposition because
they understand the dangers that the flaws and loopholes will force
our communities and our kids to confront.

In California, medical marijuana led to rampant drug use and
violence. Let's not repeat those mistakes here in Michigan.

Judge Bill Schuette is a member of the Michigan Court of Appeals, and
Dr. Daniel Michael is a Detroit neurosurgeon and speaker of the
Michigan State Medical Society's House of Delegates.