MICHIGAN READIES FOR MEDICAL POT USE

Up to 50,000 May Qualify for Legal Smoking

Lynn Allen is busy squirreling away marijuana seeds - at $5 a shot -
as he prepares to take advantage of a new state law that will allow
seriously or terminally ill patients to legally smoke pot to ease
their pain and suffering.

The 52-year-old married father of two from Williamston is confined to
a wheelchair and unable to work because of a lack of stamina. He is
one of an estimated 50,000 Michigan residents who may qualify for
medical marijuana use once the state begins accepting applications on Saturday.

A hemophiliac who contracted HIV/AIDS from blood work, he lives in
pain and battles to keep from losing weight because of a lack of appetite.

"I've decided I'm going to grow my own marijuana in my house," said
Allen, who was forced to declare bankruptcy last year. "I can't
afford to buy marijuana" - which can cost from $200 to $900 an ounce,
according to police.

"But I have bought 10 seeds and now I'm waiting for the game to begin."

Michigan voters in November approved medical marijuana use by a 63
percent to 37 percent margin, joining a dozen other states that allow it.

State health officials are finalizing rules and regulations for the
Michigan Medical Marijuana Program.

Step one: issuing picture ID cards for those on the marijuana
registry; they should begin arriving by the end of April. The cards
cost $100 each and will allow patients to legally possess 2.5 ounces
of marijuana or grow 12 marijuana plants in a locked, enclosed area.

Caregivers, who can supply marijuana to a maximum of five patients,
will also have to pay $100 for ID cards under a program the state
hopes will be self-supporting and require no taxpayer dollars.

One thing the state won't do is provide the marijuana or even tell
patients how to acquire it on their own.

And possession of marijuana remains a federal crime, although the
Obama administration has said that it likely won't prosecute users in
states where the drug's use for medicinal purposes has been approved by voters.

Some Doctors Reluctant

To get on the confidential marijuana registry, patients must get a
letter - not a prescription - from a Michigan-licensed physician
certifying that pot could benefit their medical condition.

The law covers people with "debilitating" medical conditions,
including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and chronic
diseases, or their treatments that produce wasting syndrome, severe
pain, severe nausea, seizures or severe muscle spasms, such as those
caused by multiple sclerosis.

Greg Francisco, executive director of the nonprofit patient advocacy
group Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, said some doctors are
refusing to go along with the new law.

"Many doctors are skeptical and reluctant to get involved in this,"
said Francisco, whose wife mixes marijuana into brownies that she
bakes to ease his back pain from atrophied muscles, the result of
childhood polio.

"The larger, mega corporation health clinics associated with
hospitals are refusing, based on corporate policy," said Francisco,
whose group is based in Paw Paw, in southwest Michigan. "The
certifications are coming mostly from family physicians who have a
history with the patients."

The Michigan State Medical Society, which opposed the ballot
proposal, has sent out a "legal alert" to its 16,000 physician
members advising them that "a physician should use his or her best
judgment whether they want to recommend that a patient get a registry
card," said David Fox, spokesman for the group.

The new law shelters participating doctors from arrest, prosecution
or any professional penalties for recommending marijuana use. The
U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that protection in other states.

Doctors cannot write prescriptions for marijuana since the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration classifies it as an illegal, controlled
substance like heroin and LSD, with no medical use and a high
potential for abuse.

The Michigan doctors' group does favor more research to establish
what, if any, medical use marijuana may hold.

Legal Issues Remain Unclear

More problematic is the question of legality.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regards marijuana users,
even in states that have medical marijuana statutes, as lawbreakers.
In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that a state medical
marijuana law is trumped by federal law.

But as a practical matter, the feds have not gone after medical
marijuana users in states with those laws.

Francisco said that when he was a federal law enforcement officer
with the U.S. Coast Guard, "we didn't bother with nickel-and-dime
drug use by recreational boaters.

"Sheriffs and prosecutors are telling us that like it or not, they
will go along with the new law," he said. "It's like the speed
limit. It used to be 55, but now it's 70 on highways. Police might
not like the higher limit, but they don't write tickets until you
exceed 70 miles an hour."

Shanon Akans, spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police, agreed.

"It's not going to have a huge effect on us," she said. "As long as
medical marijuana patients comply with the law (limits on amounts and
not giving or selling marijuana to people not on the state registry),
they won't have an issue with law enforcement."

Despite the law, it's up to employers to decide whether to prohibit
medical marijuana users from smoking in the workplace.

The new law bans pot use in public places. And it will remain illegal
for patients to use marijuana while operating a motor vehicle,
aircraft or motorboat.

Unlike a constitutional amendment that can only be undone by a vote
of the people, the medical marijuana law is a citizen initiative.

That means the Legislature is free to modify or outright repeal the
law after two years.

Meanwhile, Francisco said his group is planning an application rally
at the Michigan Department of Community Health on Monday.

"We're asking patients to come to Lansing and caravan to hand-deliver
the applications," he said. "We're planning on a mass turnout so we
can turn this into a media event."