Pubdate: Wed, 31 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
Column: Higher Ground

POT AT THE POLLS

Marijuana Law Reformers Aim for Long-Term Change on Election Day

The stakes are high for marijuana laws in next Tuesday's elections.
Three states are voting on some form of a tax-and-regulate law, and
two states are voting on medical marijuana. In Michigan, where voters
said yes to medical marijuana in 2008, there are proposals in five
cities that would further mitigate legal penalties for marijuana
possession and use.

Detroit's Proposal M seeks to legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of
marijuana on private property by adults 21 and older. In Grand Rapids,
Proposal 2 calls for making possession or use of marijuana a civil
infraction punishable by a fine of up to $100. Kalamazoo voters will
decide on amending the city charter to allow up to three marijuana
dispensaries in the city. And in Flint and Ypsilanti, there are
questions on the ballots that, if approved, would direct police to
make enforcement of marijuana-possession laws their lowest priority.

For marijuana law reformers, this is the most significant Election Day
ever. By this time next week, we should see some interesting
developments in the movement. If voters in even one of the three
states where legalization is on the ballot - Colorado, Oregon or
Washington state - decide to approve and regulate the use of marijuana
for adults, it will probably be a long-term game-changer. And, based
on the polls, it's looking very likely that the initiatives in
Colorado and Washington will pass.

"That there are so many initiatives going this fall really speaks to
the fact that public opinion is changing in America against
prohibition and for a wide variety of different reforms," says Morgan
Fox, communications manager for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana
Policy Project. "Washington looks like it's polling very well, and
they have put together a good campaign to appeal to undecided voters;
people who are not the most comfortable with marijuana but also
uncomfortable with the way things are being run now. They got a lot of
respectable establishment figures to not only back the initiative, but
to be its primary spokespeople. People in Colorado are fairly used to
a legitimized marijuana industry. I think there is a good chance it
will pass in Colorado. It's still polling higher than the opposition.
Oregon is not polling well. They had a lot less time to work on their
campaign, but it's always possible."

A recent SurveyUSA poll shows Initiative 502 in Washington favored by
a 57 percent to 33 percent margin. In Colorado, a Denver Post survey
shows Amendment 64 leading 48 percent to 43 percent. A SurveyUSA poll
in Oregon shows Measure 80 losing by a 43 percent to 36 percent
margin. In Massachusetts, a Suffolk University poll shows Question 3,
a medical marijuana initiative, ahead 59 percent to 35 percent. A
TalkBusiness/Hendrix College poll shows just about the opposite in
Arkansas, where Issue 5 trails by a 38 percent to 54 percent margin.

There are no public polls available for initiatives in Michigan
cities, although the general mood of the electorate bodes well for
marijuana reform. Polls show that about 80 percent of Americans
support medical marijuana, and a recent Huffington Post/YouGov poll
shows 59 percent support for outright legalization of the substance.

"What will it mean if a state flips?" asks attorney Matt Abel,
president of the Michigan Chapter of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws. "Hopefully it will hasten the day when there
is federal rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule 1 to 2 or lower, or
out of scheduling altogether like alcohol and tobacco."

Abel and his colleagues at NORML are encouraged by the opportunity for
significant change to marijuana laws on a state level and expect it
will help raise awareness on a national level. "That's what needs to
happen," he says. "These initiatives will at least force the
discussion, if any of them are successful. Washington is likely to
pass, and Colorado is likely to pass. In Michigan, laws in several
major cities will take the drug war down a notch on marijuana at the
local level and allow police to focus (their) resources on violent
crime, which is where we want the focus to be."

If just one state's voters chose to legalize marijuana, it's going to
force the issue at the federal level. So will the government then
stick to its guns and fight a state on the issue, or will it relax its
stance? Given the economic issues facing the nation, I don't think the
feds want to fight a state over marijuana. It also depends on who wins
the White House. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have voiced
their opposition to easing marijuana laws, but a recent editorial from
Medical Marijuana Business Daily, a Colorado-based Internet
publication, argues that, on this issue, voters should favor Obama.
Their editorial says that while Obama has cracked down on medical
marijuana facilities, his policies have allowed them to flourish - and
that the crackdown is basically election-year politics in the face of
an industry that's grown much faster than anybody expected.

It also makes the unfounded assertion: "We expect Obama to ease up if
he is (re-elected) and work to find a tenable solution for states with
regulated MMJ industries." Regarding Romney's attitude, the editorial
referred to statements the candidate made back in May. "I think
marijuana should not be legal in this country," Romney said in an
interview. "I believe it's a gateway drug to other drug
violations."

Still another chilling aspect of a Romney presidency has emerged in
recent weeks. Alternet, a California-based Web news outlet, published
a story titled "11 Enemies of Marijuana Legalization." Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette was one of them. Schuette has a
national reputation as an anti-drug warrior. He's also the chair of
Romney's Michigan campaign. Think about that: Schuette having the
president's ear on drug policy, or worse.

"He could be the U.S. attorney general if things go poorly," says
Abel. "I certainly hope Romney doesn't get elected."

The MMBD article sums up the prospect of a Romney presidency and its
effect on medical marijuana thus: "If you think the situation is bad
now under Obama, consider what will happen if someone who is actually
against the very idea of MMJ is in power. And you can bet Romney will
take a harder line than Obama against states that approve the general
use of marijuana."

Next week, we'll know whether the path to rescinding marijuana
prohibition has grown shorter or if there are more obstacles in the
way. Either way, it behooves you to vote.

Martin Lee, author of Smoke Signals, a Social History of Marijuana,
will speak at a number of Michigan venues Nov. 8-11. On Nov. 8, he'll
be at Ann Arbor's Crazy Wisdom Bookstore; Nov. 9 at Om of Medicine in
Ann Arbor; Nov. 10 at the Robert C. Randall Memorial Wellness Center
in Flint; and Nov. 11 at Woodward Health Solutions in Detroit.
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MAP posted-by: Matt