MICHIGAN LOOKS TO CODIFY POT, STEM-CELL LAWS

Some Had Opposed Props 1 and 2

By Megha Satyanarayana, Free Press Staff Writer

Tuesday's passage of new medical marijuana and embryonic stem-cell
laws could pose interesting legal quandaries as the state tries to
codify them in upcoming months.

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, formerly Proposal 1, would
legalize growth and possession of small quantities of marijuana for
people with chronic and terminal illnesses to use for pain and nausea relief.

The act will be written into law 10 days after the Board of
Canvassers approves the November election results, at the latest by
Nov. 24, according to Secretary of State officials. The Michigan
Department of Community Health will then have 120 days to design the
program, which includes identification cards and state oversight.

"We're setting ourselves up for an interesting dynamic," said Peter
Hammer, a health law professor at Wayne State University. "It's hard
to get the state to regulate something it doesn't want to."

Hammer said policing MDCH -- whose director opposed the proposal --
to ensure the law is properly enforced could be difficult.

Unofficial results show every Michigan county voted in favor of
medical marijuana, giving it a 63%-37% victory. It will be about May
1 before any legal attempt to use the drug happens, said Dianne
Byrum, a spokeswoman for the proposal's backers, Michigan Coalition
for Compassionate Care.

Proposal 2, which allows researchers to harvest stem cells from
embryos left over from fertility treatments for disease research,
passed 53%-47%. It will be a constitutional amendment and be written
into the books 45 days after the election.

Amending the Michigan Constitution makes it extremely difficult for
the Legislature to completely outlaw or penalize embryonic stem-cell
research, and it would take a three-quarters vote in both houses to
overturn the amendment.

It might be easier to enforce, said Hammer, because "it's a
prohibition of state interference as long as the research is allowed
with federal law."

President-elect Barack Obama said he will lift the federal funding
ban on embryonic stem-cell research, which could lead to legislation.

Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research have turned to lawsuits to
slow legislation in other states, which could happen in the state,
but may have little effect, said Hammer. Chris DeWitt of Proposal 2
advocates Cure Michigan said he's heard nothing of lawsuits, but that
"doesn't rule out anything at this point."

Opponents MiCAUSE, or Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science
and Experimentation, could not be reached for comment.