Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2012
Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
Copyright: 2012 C.E.G.W./Times-Shamrock
Contact:  http://www.metrotimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1381
Author: Larry Gabriel

THE NON-CAMPAIGN FOR PROPOSAL M

Push to Decriminalize Small Amounts of Weed in Detroit Finds Little Opposition

Maybe anti-Proposal M forces were out this past weekend campaigning. 
Maybe they're crashing the phones on radio talk shows this week. 
Maybe, with less than three weeks before the election, they got 
loudspeakers and made their voices heard. Well, that's what Lawrence 
Kenyatta, co-chair of the advocacy committee at the Partnership for a 
Drug Free Detroit, hoped would happen.

"We are going to step our game up so that we will be prepared to 
educate Detroiters on the negative effects this will have on the city 
of Detroit," says Kenyatta. "It's an all-hands-on-deck call to action 
that will basically consist of soldiers who are in treatment 
facilities. We're mobilizing our troops."

The Partnership opposed the little-known Detroit medical marijuana 
law that passed in 2004. Whatever effort they put forth this year 
will be done by volunteers. Kenyatta says they are fighting on a 
"very low budget" - basically contributions from "prevention 
providers" as they call themselves.

Proposal M, which would allow the possession and use of as much as 1 
ounce of marijuana by adults 21-and-over on private property in 
Detroit, is on the Nov. 6 ballot. There is nothing in the proposal 
about where adults can procure marijuana, but there doesn't seem to 
be much lack of access to the currently illegal substance.

The surprise for me is that I haven't heard much pro or con about 
Proposal M. With a presidential election on tap, Senate and House 
races, and several statewide proposals on the ballot, Proposal M is 
not getting a lot of attention.

A couple of weeks ago, the Partnership for a Drug Free Detroit, a 
coalition of 31 prevention providers, held a rally at the Mack Alive 
Community Resource Center and invited substance abuse recovery groups 
and religious leaders to speak. A news report said fewer than 50 
people attended. That says a lot about the lack of traction on this issue.

"Of all the community groups that I deal with on a daily basis, I 
haven't heard anybody say it's a burning issue," says ARISE Detroit! 
Director Luther Keith. Keith does not advocate marijuana use, but he 
is a community activist who has a good sense of street-level concerns.

A couple of decades back, this probably would have been a major 
fight, with Bible-thumping and flag-waving against marijuana. But 
this is another day.

Maybe getting over the hump of medical marijuana in this state has 
smoothed prospects for semi-legalization. Then again, maybe we're 
just gearing up for something bigger in the long run.

Voters in Colorado, Oregon and Washington will decide on legalization 
in those states Election Day. If one of those initiatives wins, the 
game will change for activists across the country. It could be the 
domino that begins a state-by-state toppling of marijuana laws - 
similar to the way medical marijuana laws have worked their way 
around the country. There are currently 17 states with medical 
marijuana laws, with Arkansas and Massachusetts voting on MMJ next month.

In any case, Tim Beck, one of the leading activists of the Coalition 
for a Safer Detroit - which helped get Proposal M on the ballot 
through a petition initiative and a long battle in the courts - feels 
pretty good about the prospects here. There isn't much money in the 
coffers of the Coalition, but he envisions at least 60 percent of 
Detroit voters favoring Proposal M on Nov. 6.

"There aren't any Detroit-specific polls, but 72 percent of the 
American population believes people should not go to jail for 
possession of small amounts of marijuana," says Beck. "Our plan is to 
lay low and let other people start screaming first, but nobody's screaming."

We're not hearing screams, but there are solid endorsements for 
Proposal M. The Fannie Lou Hamer PAC last week decided to urge voters 
to vote yes. Michigan's 13th Congressional District Democratic 
organization has endorsed the proposal, while 14th Congressional 
District Dems decided not to take a position. The NAACP position is pending.

"Most of these organizations are just torn by infighting on the 
issue," Beck says. "They just don't know what to do."

State Rep. Fred Durhal Jr. and state Sen. Coleman Young Jr. both 
support Proposal M. Community activist Lamar Lemmons Jr., a former 
state representative, is also on board.

Mayor Dave Bing has been silent, likewise the Detroit City Council. A 
couple months ago, then-Detroit Chief of Police Ralph Godbee said 
that if Proposal M passed, police would just arrest people under 
state law. However Godbee, who resigned last week in a sex scandal, 
is out of the picture.

Practically speaking, passing Proposal M won't make a big difference 
on the ground in Detroit. Almost anyone who wants marijuana seems 
able to get it. A sudden surge of new users just because a local 
ordinance changed is unlikely. Mainly, it would signal that things 
are changing, possibly emboldening activists to consider further 
actions. But to some it will be a signal that they need to fight 
harder against drugs.

"We're not stepping alone," Kenyatta says of the Partnership for a 
Drug Free Detroit. He brings up familiar arguments against marijuana: 
It is a gateway drug to harder stuff; it contributes to domestic 
violience; it stifles motivation.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom