A BUZZ OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal agents are free to
bust medical marijuana users in states that have legalized prescription
pot, metro Detroit activists say they'll press ahead with efforts to put
the issue on local ballots.

"We've had overwhelming support from the community thus far," says Donal
O'Leary III, chairman of the Ferndale Coalition for Compassionate Care,
which is gathering petition signatures in an attempt to get a medical
marijuana initiative before that city's voters. "We are looking forward to
moving forward."

The same is true in Traverse City and Flint, where similar efforts are
under way.

Activists say they are undaunted by the June 6 decision by the U.S. Supreme
Court, which, on a 6-3 vote, ruled that the feds are allowed to arrest
medical marijuana users in the 10 states that have legalized the use of pot
to treat ailments such as glaucoma and epilepsy, and to reduce the
debilitating side effects of treatments used to fight cancer, AIDS and
other maladies.

Ann Arbor and Detroit already have statutes on the books permitting medical
marijuana. Tim Beck, who led the effort in Detroit, is advising activists
in Ferndale and Flint as they press ahead. As founder of the Detroit
Coalition for Compassionate Care, Beck fought hostile city politicians --
including Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- in his ultimately successful attempt to
get the measure on the ballot. Once the matter was in their hands, more
than 60 percent of the city's voters gave their approval of the proposed
ordinance in August 2004.

Beck anticipates steep resistance to the new campaigns, particularly from
Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca.

Beck isn't blowing smoke. Gorcyca maintains marijuana is a gateway drug
that can lead to cocaine and heroin use, and should not be legal for any
purpose. "It's a very slippery slope," he says. "I've never heard a
legitimate report from any doctor that it has any medicinal value."

Gorcyca might try brushing up on his medical literature. In the last five
years, the New England Journal of Medicine, National Institutes of
Medicine, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of
Pediatric Medicine and the California Medical Association have all
recommended legalization of marijuana for medical use.

Given that kind of support from the mainstream medical establishment, Beck
is optimistic that the people of Ferndale and Flint will see through any
political smokescreens. "I think it's going to win by a wide margin."

As for the Supreme Court vote, "Nothing's changed, we're just moving
ahead," he says.

According to Ferndale's city charter, the group there has 60 days in which
to collect 293 valid signatures. After just a few weeks, the Ferndale group
has already collected 100 names.

In Detroit, police will continue to adhere to the city's medical marijuana
ordinance. Department spokesman James Tate says there have been no arrests
since the Detroit referendum passed last summer. "We have had no cases
where medical marijuana use has come up," he says.

Nationally, Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, says
that instead of deterring efforts, the Supreme Court ruling will galvanize
the push for legalization of medical marijuana in Michigan and elsewhere.

"I would argue it's not a setback at all," he says, citing a 43-2 vote in
Rhode Island's state Senate legalizing medical marijuana there the day
after the Supreme Court ruling. "You might see this continuing as a
boomerang effect, strengthening the movement."

In fact, through their ruling, Mirken says, even some of the justices who
voted with the majority acknowledged that change is needed. "The court gave
a very strong hint that Congress needs to address federal law," he says.