DRUG LAWS WON'T BE ON THE FALL BALLOT, BUT TOBACCO MONEY WILL

Decision Is A Blow To Group That Sought Change In Sentencing Rules

A carefully planned and well-financed campaign to overhaul Michigan's drug
laws crashed Tuesday, as the state Supreme Court declined to place the issue
before voters in November.

Without comment, the court upheld decisions issued last week by the Court of
Appeals and a state elections panel to keep the drug question off the
ballot.

The court also affirmed the lower court's ruling to place another proposed
constitutional amendment -- to redirect spending from the state's tobacco
settlement -- before voters.

The Supreme Court's decision was a crushing blow to the Campaign for New
Drug Policies, a California-based organization that had been working for a
year on the drug crime sentencing overhaul. The campaign, largely financed
by three wealthy businessmen including international financier George Soros,
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to organize the effort and collect
more than 450,000 signatures.

The proposal would have softened Michigan's mandatory minimum sentences for
drug crimes, and required that drug offenders receive treatment instead of
jail for low-level offenses. It also would have allowed inmates in prison
for drug crimes to seek new sentences.

But a technical error in drafting the language for the proposal proved
fatal. The campaign's amendment called for the creation of a new Section 24
to Article 1 of the state Constitution. The state Constitution already has a
Section 24, adopted by voters in 1988 to protect crime victims' rights.

Representatives of the campaign declined to comment Tuesday.

Their Michigan spokeswoman, attorney Maia Justine Storm, issued a statement
saying the campaign will mount another petition drive if the Legislature
fails to enact changes.

"If they continue to try to push off reform for some other day, the people
will have their say," she said.

The Supreme Court's actions leave voters to decide four statewide ballot
proposals on Nov. 5:

* Prop. 1 -- A referendum on whether a law banning straight-ticket voting
should be allowed to go into effect. The Legislature passed the law last
year but the state Democratic Party collected petition signatures to force a
vote.

* Prop. 2 -- A proposal to issue $1 billion in state bonds to finance
municipal sewer and water pollution projects.

* Prop. 3 -- A constitutional amendment to give state employees the right
to collective bargaining and binding arbitration.

* Prop. 4 -- A constitutional amendment to redirect spending of 90 percent
of the state's tobacco settlement revenue (estimated at $326 million in
2003). The money is currently spent on college scholarships for students who
earn high scores on Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests and
a variety of other state programs. The amendment would require that most of
the money go to hospitals, nursing homes and groups that advocate against
smoking.