GV'S POLICY OUTLAWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

In 2008, 63 percent of Michigan voters said "yes" to proposal one,
which legalized the use of medical marijuana under physician
appointment. Surrounding the Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 has been a
firestorm of controversy, especially concerning the workplace.

Medical Marijuana At GVSU

Section four of the Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 states that medical
marijuana patients "shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or
penalty in any manner or denied any right or privilege including but
not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or
occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the
medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act."

Under current university policy, GVSU has a zero tolerance policy
regarding marijuana usage or possession on campus, even in the case
of a licensed patient. Matt McLogan, vice president for University
Relations, said GVSU's policy did not change as a result of the
Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 and still remains subject to the
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act amendment of 1989, which prohibit controlled
substances on campus and were not altered by the referendum.

"Smoking is prohibited in all campus buildings," McLogan said.
"Consequently, students and employees may not use, possess or store
marijuana on campus. A student or employee with a valid MMA card
would need to exercise its use off campus, in a lawful place and in a
manner consistent with the ordinances of the local jurisdiction."

Maureen McElroy, Campus Employment supervisor, said there is no
current campus-wide policy regarding medical marijuana in place for
student workers either prior to employment or during employment.

"If an issue would arise we would refer to the Student Code, Section
208.0 on drugs," McElroy said. "We would then refer the case to
University Counsel/Dean of Students."

Likewise, Athletic Director Tim Selgo said there is currently no NCAA
policy that specifically addresses medical marijuana. He said it is
unlikely an athlete with a prescription would be able to compete at
an intercollegiate level, given the reasons the medication would
typically be prescribed.

"Given that, just like any other positive test related to a
prescribed drug (e.g. ADD/ADHD meds), there is a process to appeal
with proper documentation to the NCAA Medical Safeguards Committee,"
Selgo said.

Capt. Brandon DeHaan, assistant director of the Department of Public
Safety, said the recreational marijuana use on campus is currently
"no more a problem than that of any other substance abuse issue."

Although they have not encountered a student claiming to hold a
medical marijuana license, DeHaan said in the event the police were
to encounter a student using, or possessing marijuana for any reason,
they will seize any paraphernalia or actual marijuana on them prior
to conducting an investigation -- even if that student claims to have
a valid MMA card.

"Consumption on campus still presents a problem," DeHaan said.
"Bottom line, we will be conducting an investigation to determine the
status or students' legal ability of that MMA card to validate the
authenticity."

Benjamin Zito, president of the GVSU chapter of Students for a
Sensible Drug Policy, believes that as it stands, university policy
leaves no room for students who are more or less confined to
on-campus residence.

"There could be a freshman with a MMA card living in the dorms
without any transportation or a place to legally take his/her
medicine," Zito said. "In such a scenario, I believe that the
university should reasonably accommodate this hypothetical student."

Great Workplace Debate

In March of this year, Joseph Casias, a Battle Creek resident and
Wal-Mart's 2008 Associate of the Year, was fired under the pretense
of illicit drug use after a routine drug screening showed he tested
positive for marijuana. Casias was not recreationally using the drug
but rather began the newly-legalized medical marijuana treatment
under his doctor's recommendation for an inoperable cancer tumor
located in his sinus. Under Wal-Mart's company policy, Casias was
then terminated.

Greg Hatt, a 21-year-old former Grand Valley State University student
and medical marijuana advocate, said he believes current policies
make medical marijuana in the workplace difficult. He said although
proposal one indicates an employer cannot discriminate against users,
Michigan law also says an employer does not have to accommodate a
patient who uses medical marijuana.

"It's kind of conflicting there because they could say 'OK, well we
aren't going to accommodate him by letting him work here under these
circumstances because of policy,'" Hatt, who organized a protest in
Casias' honor after his termination, said. "Then at the same time
under the Michigan law, they are discriminating against him for using
medical marijuana when they allow people with other kinds of
medicines to work for them."

The medicines Hatt discussed consisted of other potent pain relievers
such as oxycodone or methadone, which can potentially last up to 24
hours with side effects such as drowsiness and inability to drive or
operate machinery.

Zito said SSDP's views agreed with Hatt's own.

"In some cases, especially with marijuana, these punitive measures
more negatively affect the user than the drug itself," Zito said.
"Our idea of a sensible drug policy is one that treats drugs, and the
use of drugs, as a health issue, not a criminal issue. In the case of
medical marijuana, we feel that a person should be free to use the
drug, especially if its use effectively alleviates pain when other
drugs cannot."

Hatt said marijuana is a better option for patients, since it can
leave little to no residual side effects for those in the work force.
The only potential side effect to medical marijuana use, he said, is
a minor respiratory irritation that can be minimized or completely
eliminated through different forms of ingestion such as vaporization
or taking the marijuana in an edible form.

"If you take it in very heavy doses, you might have a little residual
effect," he said. "For example, you may be a little hazier the next
morning, but it wears off quickly and is really not common. Usually
there is little to no residual effects to using it."

The most prominent pros of medical marijuana versus other pain
medication include a more controlled method of dosage, the treatment
of nausea where other medications bring it about as side effect and
one of the big hooks - it is all natural.

"You know, a lot of people don't want to use those synthetic,
man-made concoctions, if you will, that are unnatural," Hatt said.
"We don't really know exactly what they're doing to our body and they
have a lot of negative physical effects on the body."

Policy Reform and Protest

Hatt said the human use of cannabis has been documented as far back
as 7,000 years ago. This history, along with the cannabinoid
receptors in the brain, has convinced many, including Hatt, that
marijuana may be something similar to a vitamin that a body needs.

"Humans and cannabis kind of interlock, or go hand-in-hand like we do
with other things when we use other foods," Hatt said.

With that thought it mind, Hatt and the rest of the Protest for Peace
are uniting Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. (a symbolic act on the
part of the organization) under the Transitional Link, a GVSU campus
free speech zone, to lobby for policy reform in Lansing concerning
the Michigan marijuana and MIP laws currently set in place. Protest
for Peace is proposing the legalization of marijuana and the use of
the revenue created from that legalization to fund the withdrawn
Michigan promise scholarship as well as support K-12 education in the state.

"We are asking them to take a step into the light and start
practicing a way of law which is more righteous and based on the
truth," Hatt said.

More information on Tuesday's 420 Reform Rally can be found on the
Facebook event page.