Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 2010
Source: Grand Valley Lanthorn (MI Edu)
Copyright: 2010 Grand Valley Lanthorn
Contact:  http://www.lanthorn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5002
Author: Anya Zentmeyer
Referenced: Michigan Medical Marihuana Program 
http://drugsense.org/url/nDFeNDPs
Referenced: Michigan's law http://drugsense.org/url/8mvr7sW8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

GV'S POLICY OUTLAWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

In 2008, 63 percent of Michigan voters said "yes" to proposal one, 
which legalized the use of medical marijuana under physician 
appointment. Surrounding the Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 has been a 
firestorm of controversy, especially concerning the workplace.

Medical Marijuana At GVSU

Section four of the Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 states that medical 
marijuana patients "shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or 
penalty in any manner or denied any right or privilege including but 
not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or 
occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the 
medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act."

Under current university policy, GVSU has a zero tolerance policy 
regarding marijuana usage or possession on campus, even in the case 
of a licensed patient. Matt McLogan, vice president for University 
Relations, said GVSU's policy did not change as a result of the 
Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 and still remains subject to the 
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities Act amendment of 1989, which prohibit controlled 
substances on campus and were not altered by the referendum.

"Smoking is prohibited in all campus buildings," McLogan said. 
"Consequently, students and employees may not use, possess or store 
marijuana on campus. A student or employee with a valid MMA card 
would need to exercise its use off campus, in a lawful place and in a 
manner consistent with the ordinances of the local jurisdiction."

Maureen McElroy, Campus Employment supervisor, said there is no 
current campus-wide policy regarding medical marijuana in place for 
student workers either prior to employment or during employment.

"If an issue would arise we would refer to the Student Code, Section 
208.0 on drugs," McElroy said. "We would then refer the case to 
University Counsel/Dean of Students."

Likewise, Athletic Director Tim Selgo said there is currently no NCAA 
policy that specifically addresses medical marijuana. He said it is 
unlikely an athlete with a prescription would be able to compete at 
an intercollegiate level, given the reasons the medication would 
typically be prescribed.

"Given that, just like any other positive test related to a 
prescribed drug (e.g. ADD/ADHD meds), there is a process to appeal 
with proper documentation to the NCAA Medical Safeguards Committee," 
Selgo said.

Capt. Brandon DeHaan, assistant director of the Department of Public 
Safety, said the recreational marijuana use on campus is currently 
"no more a problem than that of any other substance abuse issue."

Although they have not encountered a student claiming to hold a 
medical marijuana license, DeHaan said in the event the police were 
to encounter a student using, or possessing marijuana for any reason, 
they will seize any paraphernalia or actual marijuana on them prior 
to conducting an investigation -- even if that student claims to have 
a valid MMA card.

"Consumption on campus still presents a problem," DeHaan said. 
"Bottom line, we will be conducting an investigation to determine the 
status or students' legal ability of that MMA card to validate the 
authenticity."

Benjamin Zito, president of the GVSU chapter of Students for a 
Sensible Drug Policy, believes that as it stands, university policy 
leaves no room for students who are more or less confined to 
on-campus residence.

"There could be a freshman with a MMA card living in the dorms 
without any transportation or a place to legally take his/her 
medicine," Zito said. "In such a scenario, I believe that the 
university should reasonably accommodate this hypothetical student."

Great Workplace Debate

In March of this year, Joseph Casias, a Battle Creek resident and 
Wal-Mart's 2008 Associate of the Year, was fired under the pretense 
of illicit drug use after a routine drug screening showed he tested 
positive for marijuana. Casias was not recreationally using the drug 
but rather began the newly-legalized medical marijuana treatment 
under his doctor's recommendation for an inoperable cancer tumor 
located in his sinus. Under Wal-Mart's company policy, Casias was 
then terminated.

Greg Hatt, a 21-year-old former Grand Valley State University student 
and medical marijuana advocate, said he believes current policies 
make medical marijuana in the workplace difficult. He said although 
proposal one indicates an employer cannot discriminate against users, 
Michigan law also says an employer does not have to accommodate a 
patient who uses medical marijuana.

"It's kind of conflicting there because they could say 'OK, well we 
aren't going to accommodate him by letting him work here under these 
circumstances because of policy,'" Hatt, who organized a protest in 
Casias' honor after his termination, said. "Then at the same time 
under the Michigan law, they are discriminating against him for using 
medical marijuana when they allow people with other kinds of 
medicines to work for them."

The medicines Hatt discussed consisted of other potent pain relievers 
such as oxycodone or methadone, which can potentially last up to 24 
hours with side effects such as drowsiness and inability to drive or 
operate machinery.

Zito said SSDP's views agreed with Hatt's own.

"In some cases, especially with marijuana, these punitive measures 
more negatively affect the user than the drug itself," Zito said. 
"Our idea of a sensible drug policy is one that treats drugs, and the 
use of drugs, as a health issue, not a criminal issue. In the case of 
medical marijuana, we feel that a person should be free to use the 
drug, especially if its use effectively alleviates pain when other 
drugs cannot."

Hatt said marijuana is a better option for patients, since it can 
leave little to no residual side effects for those in the work force. 
The only potential side effect to medical marijuana use, he said, is 
a minor respiratory irritation that can be minimized or completely 
eliminated through different forms of ingestion such as vaporization 
or taking the marijuana in an edible form.

"If you take it in very heavy doses, you might have a little residual 
effect," he said. "For example, you may be a little hazier the next 
morning, but it wears off quickly and is really not common. Usually 
there is little to no residual effects to using it."

The most prominent pros of medical marijuana versus other pain 
medication include a more controlled method of dosage, the treatment 
of nausea where other medications bring it about as side effect and 
one of the big hooks - it is all natural.

"You know, a lot of people don't want to use those synthetic, 
man-made concoctions, if you will, that are unnatural," Hatt said. 
"We don't really know exactly what they're doing to our body and they 
have a lot of negative physical effects on the body."

Policy Reform and Protest

Hatt said the human use of cannabis has been documented as far back 
as 7,000 years ago. This history, along with the cannabinoid 
receptors in the brain, has convinced many, including Hatt, that 
marijuana may be something similar to a vitamin that a body needs.

"Humans and cannabis kind of interlock, or go hand-in-hand like we do 
with other things when we use other foods," Hatt said.

With that thought it mind, Hatt and the rest of the Protest for Peace 
are uniting Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. (a symbolic act on the 
part of the organization) under the Transitional Link, a GVSU campus 
free speech zone, to lobby for policy reform in Lansing concerning 
the Michigan marijuana and MIP laws currently set in place. Protest 
for Peace is proposing the legalization of marijuana and the use of 
the revenue created from that legalization to fund the withdrawn 
Michigan promise scholarship as well as support K-12 education in the state.

"We are asking them to take a step into the light and start 
practicing a way of law which is more righteous and based on the 
truth," Hatt said.

More information on Tuesday's 420 Reform Rally can be found on the 
Facebook event page. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake