MICHIGAN MEDICAL POT DRIVE IS UNDER WAY

LANSING, Mich. -- Marijuana laws in Michigan would be transformed under a
proposed amendment to the state constitution to legalize the drug that
backers hope to place before voters in 2006.

A group in Sterling Heights called Win-the-War has begun circulating
petitions for a proposal to regulate marijuana in Michigan in the same way
as liquor, and hopes to collect more than 320,000 petition signatures by
Oct. 1.

The Board of State Canvassers approved the form of a petition being used by
the group, but made clear it was not endorsing the proposal.

In addition to legalizing pot for adults, the measure would allow doctors
to prescribe medical marijuana to patients under 21.

Detroit and Ann Arbor passed medical marijuana initiatives last year, but
the laws are in limbo as the U.S. Supreme Court ponders whether to allow
patients to circumvent a federal ban on marijuana.

Eleven states have passed medical marijuana laws since 1996, but none have
permitted an outright decriminalization of pot.