MEDICAL POT PRESCRIBED MOSTLY FOR ACHES, PAINS

It's not cancer or Alzheimer's or glaucoma that had droves of
Michiganders going to doctors over the past two years to get
certified to use medical marijuana.

The vast majority of about 64,000 people authorized to use marijuana
as medicine have unspecified ailments that cause severe and chronic
pain, muscle spasms and nausea, state data obtained by the Free Press show.

And just 55 doctors certified about 45,000 patients -- 71% of all the
authorized medical pot users.

In all, 2,197 doctors wrote at least one certification for a patient
asking for marijuana approval.

The Michigan Department of Community Health data, obtained by the
Free Press, is the first peek at what has happened under the state's
new medical marijuana law.

The top nonspecific ailments cited by medical marijuana patients were:

. Severe and chronic pain: 36,560 patients (57.4%)

. Muscle spasms: 15,479 patients (24.3%)

. Nausea: 7,304 patients (8.5%)

Of specific diseases, cancer was the most cited. It was given as a
reason for certification by 1,407 patients (2.2%).

The numbers come from a broader report the department compiled on the
medical marijuana law that is expected to be released within days.

Advocates and opponents of medical marijuana had very different views
of the first snapshot showing how patients and doctors are responding
to Michigan's 2-year-old law permitting pot's use as a painkiller.

Attorney General Bill Schuette, who led the opposition to the
voter-passed ballot proposal in 2008, said: "This is just what we
predicted. It is totally out of control."

He responded when a reporter informed him that most certifications
under the law were for chronic pain, not specific illnesses and that
55 doctors were writing most of the prescriptions in Michigan.

"We were told (medical marijuana) was designed to treat a very narrow
set of ... chronic and severe illnesses," Schuette said, "and what's
going on is that this poorly drafted law is being exploited by those
who want to legalize marijuana or make money ... or by unscrupulous doctors."

Karen O'Keefe of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project,
which helped draft the legislation that was overwhelmingly approved
by voters, strongly disagreed.

Chronic and severe pain is a serious medical condition, one that
results in millions of Americans seeking medical treatment and
receiving prescription painkillers, O'Keefe said.

"It is absolutely unfair to suggest that severe pain is not a serious
condition," she said.

O'Keefe said the campaign for Proposal 1 in 2008 also was transparent
about the range of conditions, both specific and general, that could
justify medical marijuana use.

"We never said it was just cancer," she said.

Rob Mullen, a Farmington Hills attorney involved in multiple medical
marijuana-related prosecutions, said he is convinced there are a lot
of recreational pot smokers who have obtained Michigan medical
marijuana certificates, and there are certainly physicians who see a
huge volume of medical marijuana patients.

But that doesn't necessarily signify abuse of the law, Mullen said.
Some doctors are turning to marijuana as a relatively less risky
treatment for patients who might otherwise become addicted to or
overdose on prescription painkillers, he said.

Mullen said he is concerned the interests of legitimate medical
marijuana patients are in danger of being obscured or overwhelmed by
the confusion and conflict created by overly zealous law enforcement
authorities on one side, and the pro-legalization and commercial
factions on the other.

Kelly Niebel, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Community
Health, declined to comment on what, if any, conclusions the
department has drawn from the data. In fact, the MDCH will no longer
be the regulatory agency after this weekend, Niebel said.

Under a reorganization ordered by Gov. Rick Snyder, processing of
medical marijuana certification will move to the Department of
Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

"They are aware there are some outstanding issues, and they will be
looking into them," Niebel said. "We're all committed to
administering the law within the scope that was intended by those who
voted for it."

Russ Westbury, a partner in the Ann Arbor Medical Clinic, which deals
exclusively in marijuana referrals, said he wasn't surprised that
some doctors specialize in medical marijuana referrals.

"Some have made it their primary focus," Westbury said. "The doctors
that we have, they believe in it" as a less-addictive alternative to
pain relief than some prescription medicines.

He said he uses marijuana for back pain and he's not unusual --
something the state data confirms.

"Of course, chronic pain is the most frequent, because there are so
many people affected by that," he said.

He estimates he spends about $25 a month for marijuana, and uses it
mostly at night when he's trying to get to sleep. He has known others
who consume hundreds of dollars of pot weekly.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MICHIGAN

63,735 people certified to use medical marijuana in Michigan

2,197 doctors have signed certifications for patients

55 doctors have issued 71% of the medical marijuana certifications in the state

TOP 5 MEDICAL CONDITIONS OF QUALIFYING PATIENTS

1. Severe and chronic pain: 36,560

2. Severe and persistent muscle spasm: 15,479

3. Severe nausea: 7,304

4. Cancer: 1,407

5. Hepatitis C: 1,101

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WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act approved by voters in 2008 listed
eight specific illnesses and five chronic symptoms as "debilitating
medical conditions" justifying the use of medical marijuana.

Illness/Disease

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

Lou Gehrig's

Crohn's

Alzheimer's

Nail-patella

Chronic Symptoms

Wasting syndrome

Severe and chronic pain

Severe nausea

Seizures

Severe or persistent muscle spasms