MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES RALLY AT MICH. CAPITOL

LANSING, Mich. - Supporters of Michigan's medical marijuana program
rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday to protest recent court
rulings and proposed legislative changes that would make it harder for
some licensed patients to get the drug.

Protesters carried signs reading "Power to the Patients" and "Cannabis
for Chronic Pain" while saying authorities may be trying to weaken the
2008 law approved by voters. Capitol facilities managers estimated 700
to 1,000 protesters were present at the start of the rally.

"I'm afraid that other patients are going to have to go underground to
get something legal, and they're a legal patient and have that card in
their pocket," said Robert Loomis of Quincy, who said he chooses to
use medical marijuana to relieve chronic back and ankle pain. "And to
go underground isn't necessarily the safest way."

Marijuana is approved to relieve pain and chronic ailments. About
100,000 people have state-issued cards letting them have 2.5 ounces of
"usable" pot and up to 12 plants. Registered caregivers also can grow
marijuana for five people.

A recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling has shuttered many of the
medical marijuana dispensaries that had popped up across the state.
The ruling said the 2008 law does not allow people to sell pot to each
other, even if they're among those holding state-issued marijuana cards.

Michigan lawmakers and Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette are
backing multiple proposals that could further define or change the
state law. Schuette has said the current law has "more holes than
Swiss cheese." His stance on medical marijuana is one reason he faces
a recall attempt. A Midland County panel on Wednesday ruled that
recall petition language targeting Schuette is clear, allowing
opponents to start collecting signatures in an effort make a ballot as
early as 2012.

The proposed legislative changes would require stricter doctor-patient
relationships and in-person examinations before a patient could get
authorization to use marijuana. Other proposals would define who could
be licensed as a caregiver and regulate or zone dispensaries, if
they're allowed at all.

Schuette wants to make it a felony for physicians to knowingly give
false certification of a patient's debilitating condition and to
knowingly submit false information on an application for a patient or
caregiver card. Other developing ideas call for cracking down on
drivers who get behind the wheel with marijuana in their system.