Pubdate: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 Source: Grand Rapids Press (MI) Copyright: 2011 Grand Rapids Press Contact: http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/171 Note: By the Grand Rapids Press Editorial Board Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan) HOW TO FIX MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MICHIGAN Two things are clear about medical marijuana in Michigan. First, voters more than two years ago overwhelmingly approved the use of the otherwise illegal drug to help cancer patients and others who can benefit from its pain-relieving, appetite-inducing effects. Second, administration of that citizen-approved law is a mess. Local communities are in a quandary about how exactly to regulate the drug. Some have banned it altogether, as Wyoming did in November, in absence of clear regulations from the state. Others, such as Grand Rapids, have adopted zoning ordinances to ensure the caregivers who grow marijuana are licensed as home-based businesses and do not pose a danger to their neighbors. This legal patchwork serves no one well. The Legislature should do what it frequently must when voters approve new statutes - pass enabling laws that respect the will of voters and set in place reasonable safeguards against illegal activity. Newly inaugurated lawmakers, along with Gov. Rick Snyder, have the opportunity to clear away the confusing haze surrounding the law and provide the needed guidance. The absence of legislative action has left a morass that will ultimately be sorted out by courts - not a smart or democratic way to cement public policy. The law, passed by 63 percent of voters in November 2008, allows people to register with the Michigan Department of Community Health to become sanctioned medical marijuana patients. A registered patient must have a medical condition defined under the law - including AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, chronic pain and others - and be certified by a physician. Patients are allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of the drug at one time and grow 12 plants in "an enclosed, locked facility." Qualified "caregivers" can grow plants for up to five patients. To date 83,552 people have applied with the state to become qualified patients and 45,808 have been granted that status. Those numbers alone should light a fire under lawmakers. There is widespread public demand for medical marijuana, coupled with widespread confusion about how it should be regulated. Federal law prohibits marijuana, although the Obama administration has vowed not to crack down on state-sanctioned medical uses. Still, the threat of federal enforcement may be enough to scare people away who legitimately need the drug. In addition, state law faces different interpretations in different jurisdictions. A lot of questions confront those growing and using medical marijuana. If you want to grow the plants, where do you obtain seeds or seedlings, and is obtaining them even legal? How to guarantee that other people in a home where marijuana is grown don't use the drug for non-medical purposes? What about businesses that have strict no-tolerance policies on drug use in the work place? Can those companies legally fire workers who have the drug in their system even if that worker is a registered patient? The ideal would be to have physicians prescribe medical marijuana and pharmacies dispense it, ensuring that family doctors closely supervise its use. Under current laws, however, that would jeopardize the licenses of those health professionals. Meanwhile, Wyoming faces a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union for its blanket ban. Other cities and townships are debating prohibitions and regulations. More guidance is needed from lawmakers. The confusion, like the number of medical marijuana users, is only growing. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake