Pubdate: Tue, 20 Sep 2011
Source: Ann Arbor News (MI)
Copyright: 2011 The Ann Arbor News
Contact: http://www.mlive.com/mailforms/aanews/letters/
Website: http://www.annarbor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/20
Author: Kellie Woodhouse, Staff Writer, Higher Education Reporter 

EMU SEEKS TO BAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON CAMPUS

Eastern Michigan University is looking to ban medical marijuana use
and possession on campus, a move that will put the college in line
with other state institutions who have barred the drug, including
Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

The university says that although the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act
of 2008 permits marijuana use with a certified prescription, federal
laws such as the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989 prohibit the drug on
campuses.

Because EMU receives federal funding, it is subject to the federal
act, the school asserts.

The matter will be put to a vote at EMU's Board of Regents meeting
today.

Doug Ordway, owner of the Green Bee Collective, a medical marijuana
dispensary in Ann Arbor, says he is disappointed by EMU's push to ban
the substance.

"They're dependent on federal funding and it's hard for them to
support medical marijuana without getting in trouble," he said. "But
I'd like them to, at the minimum, be neutral on it because they're
going contradictory to the will of the people in Michigan."
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.