AGENCIES PREPARE FOR MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE

New Rules For Drug's Use Take Effect On April 6

Lynn Allen admits he doesn't have a green thumb, but he's a quick learner.

For months, the Williamston man has studied books and Web sites on
marijuana growing tips, and in early April, he expects to place high
intensity lamps in a bedroom closet to light a handful of flowerpots
containing cannabis seeds.

In four months, the 52-year-old said, he should have a harvest of
marijuana to help him deal with chronic pain from hemophilia and
HIV, which he contracted from a tainted blood transfusion.

"It'll be the right time for spring planting," Allen said of the April launch.

There's change blooming in Michigan, and marijuana advocates
estimate as many as 50,000 people may be using medicinal marijuana
within two years under a new law set to be implemented April 6.

State officials now are doing a final review of the rules related to
using medicinal marijuana. In November, Michigan voters
overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to legalize marijuana for
medicinal purposes.

Advocates expect 500 people to apply the first week, beginning April
6. State officials say they don't know what to expect.

"We have no idea who would want to use medical marijuana," said
James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community
Health, which is administering the effort. "We are going to be ready."

'A very new process'

Given the newness of the initiative - legalizing medical use of a
drug that the state has criminalized for many decades - both
advocates and state health officials are anticipating some road
bumps with its rollout.

"This is a very new process," McCurtis said. "When you do something
new, there is always a chance that some glitches will happen. We
will keep those to a minimum."

Greg Francisco, executive director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana
Association, said he expects the biggest problems for pain sufferers
will be finding doctors willing to recommend marijuana use and
confusion from police officers as they educate themselves about the new law.

Under the new law, applicants must submit statements from doctors
certifying that their patient fits the criteria to use marijuana,
which include suffering from cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease or other
conditions involving chronic pain.

"People are having trouble finding doctors, and that's one of the
functions of this organization - to help find them doctors,"
Francisco said. "There are a few doctors willing to do the
assessment. Many are afraid. It's the unknown."

Enforcing the law

Similarly, he said, law enforcement agencies still are trying to
educate themselves about the new law and to determine the conditions
under which marijuana can be seized. Under the law, authorized users
can possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana and 12 marijuana plants for
personal use; caregivers, authorized by the state to provide the
marijuana, can possess a similar amount for each patient, up to five
persons. Users and caregivers must keep all marijuana under lock and key.

State officials have acknowledged there are some gray areas in the
new law, including whether authorized users can live within 1,000
feet of a school, or a "drug-free zone," and whether landlords can
evict someone for using medicinal marijuana.

"Nobody quite knows what the law is," Francisco said. "The police
are timid about this because they don't know. They are proceeding
very cautiously. They don't want to get sued."

Eaton County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sauter said he recently has
conducted training sessions on medicinal marijuana with police
agencies, along with other legal issues, to keep confusion to a minimum.

Sauter said the new law could present "interesting challenges" in
enforcement, especially if the number of qualified medicinal
marijuana users reaches 50,000 statewide, as advocates predict.

"It may be some major changes for the officers," Sauter said. "The
biggest thing will be a claim (of being an authorized user or
caregiver), but they don't have the card. Once they see the card, it
should be fairly clear."

Growing it

Francisco said one flaw in the new law is a lack of an official
distribution system for marijuana. Patients can't go to a pharmacy
to buy it; they must either grow the marijuana themselves or acquire
it from an authorized caregiver.

"It could be better if there was some kind of distribution system,"
said Francisco, noting marijuana can be a tricky plant to grow. "We
would like to (eventually) develop a cooperative dispensary. We are
looking ahead at what we would like in two years time."

While medicinal marijuana use has been legalized in Michigan, it is
still illegal under federal law. In recent years, federal agents
have raided some clinics in other states that dispense the leafy
medication, but President Barack Obama has pledged to stop such raids.

Michigan joins 12 other states in legalizing the use of marijuana
for medicinal purposes.

"(Obama) is signaling that they're going to respect state laws on
this," Francisco said.

Allen, who campaigned on behalf of last year's ballot measure, said
he is anxious to prove to the public that a medicinal marijuana law
can work in the state.

Anticipating benefits

To naysayers who worry that medicinal marijuana may pose a danger to
children living in the same home, Allen said, users must keep it
from youth just like any other prescribed medication.

"We have a lot of organizing to do and a lot of education to do,"
Allen said. "There certainly is a need out there. A lot of people
will benefit from it."