Pubdate: Wed, 16 Aug 2000
Source: Ann Arbor News (MI)
Copyright: The Ann Arbor News 2000
Contact:  P. O. Box 1147, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
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Author: Rob Hoffman, News Staff

VOTERS MAY DECIDE POT ISSUE

Nov 7 Ballot Probably Will Include Question On Medical Use of
Marijuana

The stage is apparently set for Ann Arbor voters to once again decide
whether to loosen the city's pot laws.

The Nov. 7 municipal ballot will probably include a question that
would legalize the medical use of marijuana if the city clerk's office
validates at least 4,300 of the 5,970 petition signatures turned in
Tuesday. Local Libertarians who launched the year-long petition drive
should find out in the next few weeks whether they were successful.

"Today, we struck a heavy blow for freedom," said Charles Goodman, 25, 
the party's candidate for mayor and the drive's leader. "This is not 
the end. This is just the beginning."  

The ballot proposal would make it legal for residents to possess
marijuana if they have a doctor's permission. The drug is supposed to
relieve symptoms of medical conditions such as AIDS and cancer.

Although several states have passed similar initiatives, Ann Arbor 
would become the only city with such a law in a state where the medical 
use of marijuana is otherwise illegal.  

The vote would come 26 years after Ann Arbor residents overwhelmingly 
approved one of the country's most liberal pot laws, making possession 
subject to a $5 fine. The 1974 referendum was later amended in 1990 to 
increase the fine to $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense 
and at least $100 for further offenses.  

Medical-marijuana advocates say the question should be easily approved 
in a city with such a liberal tradition, which includes the annual pro-
pot Hash Bash. Plus, they say, the issue has been readily embraced 
around the county.  

Since the first legalization question went to the ballot box in
California in 1996, no initiative has failed. So far, seven states and
the District of Columbia have enacted laws. Two more - Colorado and
Nevada - are expected to win approval this fall.

"It's pretty much certain to pass in Ann Arbor," said Chuck Thomas,
director of the Marijuana Policy Project, the Washington-based group
attempting to reform the nation's medical-marijuana laws.

The legalization movement continues to face opposition from law 
enforcement officials and the federal government. U.S. attorneys were 
in a San Francisco courtroom last week, saying that federal anti-drug 
laws take precedence over state legalization efforts.  

Michigan State Police spokesman Dave Verhougstraete has said violators 
would still be subject to the state statute of up to 90 days in jail 
and a $100 fine.  

The medical community has also not rushed to support legalization 
efforts. Shortly after a 1998 statewide initiative was approved, the 
Oregon Medical Association urged its members to refrain from 
prescribing marijuana until the federal government clarifies its 
stance. And last year's report from the government-funded Institute of 
Medicine said the cannabinoids in marijuana were useful in treating 
pain. But the study, led by University of Michigan psychiatry professor 
Stanley Watson, suggested its future use should be limited to yet-to-be 
developed synthetic and smoke-less versions.  

Libertarians spent $3,900 to complete their drive. And Goodman said 
that an even greater amount will probably be spent to get the ballot 
question passed.  

"We will have to fight (during) this election campaign," he said. "And
we will win."
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