Pubdate: Thu, 6 Nov 2008
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2008 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://detnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Charlie Cain, Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

QUESTIONS ON BALLOT INITIATIVES REMAIN

The votes were clear: Michigan residents gave the green light Tuesday 
to legalize marijuana for the seriously ill and topple some barriers 
to using embryonic stem cells for medical research.

But the implications of both may be anything but.

One day after the ballot proposals passed by healthy margins -- 63-37 
percent for marijuana and 53-47 for stem cells -- several questions 
remained Wednesday.  Among them:

Q: Will easing Michigan's law on embryonic stem cells lead to new 
jobs and find cures and therapies for juvenile diabetes, cancer, 
multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and 
other maladies?

A: It depends on who's answering.

Paul Long, vice-president of public Policy for the Michigan Catholic 
Conference, which spent $5 million unsuccessfully trying to defeat 
the measure, said the only states that have seen job growth are those 
where tax dollars have been invested in the research. Nothing in the 
measure approved here calls for the spending of public dollars.

Long also notes that in the decade of embryonic stem cell research, 
not a single medical breakthrough has been recognized by the Food and 
Drug Administration.

But University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, where limited 
embryonic stem cell research is ongoing, said voters opened the way 
for "an exciting new era" that "will strengthen our ability not only 
to improve the health of our communities, but also to boost the 
intellectual and economic vitality that is critical to the future of 
our region."

Q: Where are seriously and terminally ill patients in Michigan going 
to get their medical marijuana?

A: The new law doesn't address that. In the other 12 states where 
medical marijuana is legal, only New Mexico has the government 
helping to secure the drug for patients. Michigan's law simply states 
that a patient can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or grow 12 
plants in a secure facility. Law enforcement officials say the drug 
will have to be obtained in the illegal market and that despite the 
new law, Michigan patients will still be lawbreakers in the eyes of 
federal agencies.

Q. Can I start smoking medical marijuana today?

A. Not legally. "There is no medical marijuana program in Michigan 
until about April 4," said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan 
Department of Community Heath.

He said the law won't take effect until Dec. 4, and then the state 
has four months to develop rules and regulations to run the program, 
which will include the issuance of state ID cards for the estimated 
50,000 patients who might qualify under the new law.

Q. Will the easing of embryonic stem cell research lead to human cloning?

A. Probably not.

Nothing in the constitutional amendment, which will take effect 45 
days after the election on Dec. 19, alters the 1978 Michigan law that 
bans human cloning.

But critics of the measure, such as the Catholic Church and Right to 
Life of Michigan, say there is nothing to prevent a future 
Legislature from lifting that ban.

Q. Is the medical marijuana law just the first step in a broader 
agenda to legalize pot use for all adults?

A. Perhaps. A quarter of the U.S. population now lives in a state 
that allows medical marijuana, so attitudes about its broader use 
could change. The Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington D.C., 
spent about $1.7 million on the ballot proposal here. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake