Q&A: LET SICK PEOPLE USE MARIJUANA?

Proposal 1 would allow people with serious or terminal illnesses to
use marijuana for pain and nausea relief. It was put on Tuesday's
ballot by the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, funded in
part by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization.

If passed, the law would go into effect 10 days after the vote.

The proposal would require users and their caregivers to register
with the Department of Community Health, and would allow limited
growth and possession of marijuana.

Citizens Protecting Michigan's Kids, a coalition of law enforcement
officials, medical professionals, antidrug groups and business
organizations, opposes Proposal 1, fearing that relaxing drug laws
would make it easier for young people to get marijuana.

Here's a Free Press analysis of some of the claims and counterclaims.

Opponents Say: The measure will lead to California-style pot shops in
strip malls.

What We Found: The proposal doesn't explicitly forbid cooperative
growth and pot shops to distribute marijuana. But a registered
caregiver can help a maximum of just five patients.

Proponents Say: Marijuana is the only thing that works for some people.

What We Found: The chemicals in marijuana interact with pain
perception pathways in the brain, which are genetic. People have
different sensitivities, side effects and metabolic rates with pain
medicines, making some drugs more tolerable than others, including marijuana.

Opponents Say: Teens will have more access to marijuana.

What We Found: Possibly. Some states with medical marijuana laws show
increases in teen marijuana use over the last several years; others
show declines.

Proponents Say: Marijuana has medicinal value.

What We Found: Federal reports have concluded that marijuana is of
limited medicinal value, but there is concern with health risks from
smoking it, as there is with cigarettes. The most common active
ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, has been turned into a pill
for HIV patients. The Food and Drug Administration sides with the
Department of Justice in saying that marijuana has no medicinal value.

Opponents Say: People could sue to smoke pot at work or at the doctor's office.

What We Found: The proposal would not undercut restrictions against
smoking pot in public. Employers could still prohibit smoking at
work, including medicinal marijuana.

Opponents Say: Police will be reluctant to enforce marijuana laws.

What We Found: Law enforcement priorities could change based on how
easy officers believe a marijuana-related drug case will be to prove.
But a medical marijuana defense is not a guarantee of case dismissal.
That's up to a judge.

Sources: Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care,
http://stoparrestingpatients.org; Citizens Protecting Michigan's
Kids, http://www.nopotshops.com; Citizens Research Council,
http://www.crcmich.org; Government Accountability Office,
http://www.gao.gov; American Civil Liberties Union,
http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/index.html; interviews.