PROPOSAL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN DETROIT WON'T BE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

A ballot measure to legalize a small amount of marijuana in Detroit
won't make the November election as originally hoped, petition
organizers said today.

Organizers for the Coalition for a Safer Detroit warned that the
battle to legalize up to an ounce of pot may be arduous and timely
after a Wayne County Circuit judge upheld an Aug. 9 decision by the
Detroit Election Commission to keep the proposal off the ballot in November.

The commission and judge said the ballot was pre-empted by state law
banning possession of the drug.

"We have no interest in losing this on appeal, so we are not going to
simply rush to the courthouse with a sloppy legal brief in hopes of
getting emergency relief from the Court of Appeals at such a late
hour," organizer Tim Beck said. "If we win, we will simply be on the
ballot at a later date and will not have to gather signatures again."

Attorney and organizer Matt Abel said he plans to ask the judge to
reconsider the decision. If that doesn't work, he said he will take
it to the Court of Appeals, which could be a lengthy process.

Either way, Abel said the ballot initiative could come as early as
February or as late as November 2012.

"Rather than feeling dejected and depressed, we are more energized
than ever," Abel said. "This is an issue that needs to be settled."