Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
The Michigan Board of Canvassers Monday officially certified that the Michigan Compassionate Care Coalition had handed in enough valid signatures for its medical marijuana initiative to be transmitted to the state legislature. Under Michigan law, the legislature has 45 days to approve the measure. If it fails to act, the measure goes to the voters in November.
Organizers handed in 496,000 signatures, nearly two hundred thousand more than needed for the initiative to qualify. The Board of Canvassers found that 80% of the signatures were valid, leaving the measure qualified by a comfortable margin.
The initiative is almost certain to be on the November ballot, given the Michigan legislature's history of inaction on the issue. The legislature has considered several medical marijuana bills in recent years, but none of them have gained traction despite broad approval for medical marijuana in the state.
The initiative would:
- Allow terminally and seriously ill patients who find relief from marijuana to use it with their doctors' approval.
- Protect these seriously ill patients from arrest and prosecution for the simple act of taking their doctor-recommended medicine.
- Permit qualifying patients or their caregivers to cultivate their own marijuana for their medical use, with limits on the amount they could possess.
- Create registry identification cards, so that law enforcement officials could easily tell who was a registered patient, and establish penalties for false statements and fraudulent ID cards.
- Allow patients and their caregivers who are arrested to discuss their medical use in court.
Twelve states currently have working medical marijuana laws, but they are clustered in the Northeast, Intermountain West, and Pacific Coast. If there are no victories in neighboring state legislatures this year, Michigan could become the first Midwest state to approve medical marijuana.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
signatures for medical marijuana and what ever
I live in lake orion, Michigan. I never seen anyone trying to get signatures for this
I think it would work if you had tv commercials and things like they they do for electing the govenor, it needs to be heard a little louder. i just want to see it before I die. I can't afford it with all the medical set-backs, I never expect to need all this extra stuff, I need it covered by my perscription coverage or government help, or some nice person. since i can't get out much these days.
Never Saw the Signature Aquisition Either
I live in Montcalm county, it boarders Kent county as well as Gratiot county, I know 3,000 people that live around my township alone that would have been valid and signed the petition. Not to mention the rest of my county as well as the others I have mentioned. Hell, they probably could have pulled 300,000 registered to vote signatures out of Kent county alone...T.V. and Radio advertising the movement would be most helpful. Call up 107.3 KLQ they would probably air the advertisements for free.
On another note, we need to know what the bill is going to be called so our less informed voters understand what they are voting for, who knows....It might even bring more voters off the couch and to the polls~ After all thats what the government wants, the younger generation to start voting......Right???
Medical Marijuana
I agree with these comments asking for television adds to reinforce or remind everyone of the issue and the other issues clarifying to some mis-informed. Simply so no one would think is was being made equall to alcohol but a fair medicinal all natural substitute for chemical and synthetic pain killers and asthma or in place of heavy dosage pills. Some feel strongly about not abusing or opening the door to abuse to addictive prescriptions like oxy-cotton which would be harder to find all together in this state if there was more medicinal herbal solutions. Perhaps a commercial could reveal problems from prescriptions and if there was someone who would say it was also a vice it could not be as dangerous as all the chemical make up and alcohol and tobacco, even holding healing propreties that allow the healing client to find their peace and health within and not guided or maintained by a synthetic solution. M is the 13th letter Michigan could very well be the 13th state to accept the medicinal value of the plant; that could be historical given the large pharmacutical company Pfizer or with its ties to Lilly and others, most likely there is a legal or money squabble that will affect the health of many of us that we will have the right to vote on or the right to know about. I think we all have faith in the people and the people vote and decide the fate of the nation, I hope were informed on all of the issues, especially one as important to the sick and those that care for them and their rights pertaining to what they ingest in mind and body or where that medicine came from - synthetic or from the Earth. As confusing as these words are we need a tv commercial to sum it up in 30 seconds, people could collaborate on the internet.
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