A committee developing a voluntary drug-testing program for Jackson Public Schools had hoped to extend the athletic code of conduct on drug and alcohol use to any student who participates in high school extracurricular activities.

But the district plans to propose keeping that code to athletics for now, said Ben Pack, assistant superintendent for human resources and secondary curriculum.

A board policy on the new voluntary drug testing program for Jackson students will be considered Monday by the school board.

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Everyone knows Walter Cronkite was "the most trusted man in America" and someone whose rare expressions of personal opinion -- such as on the Vietnam War -- could powerfully influence the views of middle America. But fewer are aware of a passion of his that he came to relatively late in life -- ending the nation's disastrous war on drugs.

I first learned of Walter Cronkite's interest in the drug war back in 1995, when a producer for "The Cronkite Report" -- an occasional series on the Discovery Channel -- called to ask for my help on a documentary that he and Cronkite were doing on the drug war. The one hour report that resulted provided a devastating critique of the nation's drug policies.

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3,000 Registered Marijuana Patients Seek Out Sources

Now that people have had a couple of months to register as patients under the new medical marijuana law, it makes you wonder: How does the whole thing work? Do you just call up a pot grower and put in an order? To find out, I called up a friend of mine, Bob Heflin, who had "come out" in a recent newspaper letter supporting legalized medical marijuana. The weird thing is I had known Bob for years and had no idea he smoked pot. I had much to learn.

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Marijuana now can be used legally by patients in Michigan with certain medical conditions, a state identification card and a recommendation from a doctor. For the most part, it seems the state's voters are getting about what they expected from the program they approved in last November's election. Not a lot more, not a lot less.

The state started issuing ID cards in April to approved users, including some with HIV/AIDs, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. Now there are more than 2,000 approved users statewide. Dozens of other people have been licensed as "caregivers," who may legally grow and supply users with marijuana.

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Nearly 2,000 State Residents Are Authorized to Use Pot

KALAMAZOO -- Steve used to take prescription painkillers such as Vicodin after he tore the tendons in his right hand about six years ago.

Now he's using fewer pills. Instead, he smokes marijuana to ease the pain.

"No, it's not a cure-all," said Steve, 37, of Kalamazoo. "It helps so I don't have to take a handful of pills every day."

Steve is among nearly 2,000 residents in Michigan, including 190 in southwestern Michigan, who are legally using marijuana to treat serious ailments such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

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In response to the June 21 Other Voices titled "Economic case for legalizing marijuana hard to argue with" by April Marshall: Actually it is very easy to argue against legalizing marijuana.

The statistics quoted by Ms. Marshall are exceptionally inaccurate and totally disregard the nature of marijuana as a drug. The states will not realize any so-called profit and will end up making their citizens pay more. It is the common fallacy of those advocating marijuana to compare it with both alcohol and tobacco. This is comparing apples to oranges and doesn't work. It is true they are both round and, in this case, they are mood-altering and addictive drugs. Beyond that, all comparisons break down.

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ESCANABA - Medical marijuana is causing quite a stir in Michigan, from those who must enforce a law they may not like to those who would utilize the newly-legalized medicine.

A decision in Alger County Circuit Court recently affirmed that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) could be applied retroactively. In Delta County, an opposite finding was held.

James Howard Peterson, Munising, was charged with manufacturing of marijuana after police seized two marijuana plants from his Alger County home Nov. 3 - the day before the MMA was passed by popular vote. On April 8, Alger County Circuit Court Judge William Carmody granted Peterson's motion to dismiss. He stated the effective date of the act was Dec. 4, but maintained the law could apply retroactively.

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MARQUETTE - The U.P. Compassion Club would like residents to know they are available to assist with obtaining legal medical marijuana for those who are in need of it.

Ron Pihlainen, Marquette, vice president of Compassion At Last, Medical Marijuana (CALMM), said he saw the several news items in the Daily Press and Mining Journal of Marquette regarding the new Michigan law. In the articles, Delta County Prosecutor Steve Parks discussed the issue from a legal standpoint. An official from UPSET also talked about problems he saw from a law enforcement angle. Pihlainen said CALMM wanted to respond and let residents know they are available as advocates.

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I have bad news and really bad news about the war on drugs.

The bad news is that the good guys are still losing.

The really bad news is that continuing this futile battle is about to get a lot more expensive. And for that you can blame the U.S. Supreme Court -- or, if you take the long view, the criminal-coddling crowd that gave us the Bill of Rights.

In a 5-4 decision Thursday, the justices ruled that prosecutors are forbidden to use crime lab test results against criminal defendants unless the analysts who produced them are available to testify in court and face cross-examination by defense attorneys.

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The citizens of Kalamazoo voted 3 to 1 for the legalization of medical marijuana last November. Most disabled veterans supported this vote because medical marijuana has a very personal effect on our lives, our well being and our health.

Thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are now diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and medical doctors report the medical use of marijuana is very therapeutic for veterans suffering the painful symptoms of PTSD. (Google Phillip Leveque, combat veteran, physician, pharmacologist, and forensic toxicologist, authority on PTSD and cannabis treatment.) The suicide rate of returning veterans has skyrocketed into shocking numbers from the adverse effects military service has had on their lives.

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Madison Heights -- Declaring Michigan's medical marijuana act the "worst piece of legislation" he has ever seen, an Oakland County judge on Wednesday dismissed felony drug charges against a couple who say they grew pot for medical reasons.

Torey Clark and Bob Redden jubilantly walked out of the Madison Heights courtroom of 43rd District Court Judge Robert Turner . The judge had heard testimony from the physician who qualified the couple to use medical marijuana under the state's new law.

Clark and Redden were charged with growing marijuana after Madison Heights police raided their home March 30 -- days before the medical pot law took effect -- and found 21 plants. With prior drug convictions, they faced up to 14 years in prison.

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A district court judge dismissed felony drug charges Wednesday against a Madison Heights couple embroiled in one of the first major tests of the state's medical marijuana law.

Calling it "one of the worst pieces of legislation I've ever seen in my life," 43rd District Judge Robert J. Turner criticized multiple ambiguities in the voter-initiated law, including how much marijuana a supposed medical user could possess and still be free from prosecution. Under the law, there are several scenarios in which a person can be in valid possession of a various amount of marijuana.

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LANSING, Mich. | Lynn Allen was born with severe hemophilia. In 1978, Mr. Allen discovered he had been infected with HIV and hepatitis C through a contaminated blood transfusion.

Now in chronic pain, the Williamston, Mich., man, once a rehabilitation counselor and social worker, is disabled, using a wheelchair to get around.

His medication of choice: medicinal marijuana, which has stimulated his appetite and allowed him to maintain his weight. He is among the growing number of Michigan residents who have received state approval to use and grow the herb for certain medical conditions under a new law passed resoundingly by Michigan voters in November.

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Medical Marijuana Draws Debate Throughout State As Patients Seek It

With the automobile industry in shambles, Danny Trevino said Michigan needs a new identity. To him, that identity is medical marijuana. "There are two other states that are going to capitalize (on it) in the country," he said. "It's either going to be Michigan or California. Michigan deserves it. We have nothing, and medical marijuana is a nice way out."

The 37-year-old owner of Hydroworld Hydroponics, 700 W. Barnes Ave., in Lansing, is offering three-day medical marijuana growing classes at his store free of charge.

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Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative last year. A majority of voters in every county supported the issue, which garnered 63 percent of the ballots cast. The clear intent was to allow people with certain medical conditions to obtain marijuana to relieve suffering. What the law didn't provide, however, was a legal means for approved users to acquire the drug.

Legislation recently introduced in the state Senate takes aim at that glaring hole in the law. It proposes a distribution system for medical marijuana that includes state-licensed growers and prescriptions filled by pharmacists.

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We feel Michigan voters made a mistake in November when they approved Proposal 1, the medical marijuana initiative. Doctors questioned the need for pot to reduce pain and nausea, while the law-enforcement community raised serious concerns about the potential abuse and diversion of legally grown "medical" marijuana.

Now that it's law, it's clear that the initiative was poorly written and left many legal questions unanswered. State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, recently introduced legislation he says better regulates the distribution and use of marijuana for medical purposes. We believe that while the Kuipers bill may not be exactly the right answer, it should spur debate on how to fix the existing law.

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Editor:

Tuesday's front page article "New Medical Marijuana Act creates local dialogue" contains opinions which could confuse patients who wish to use marijuana under the authority of the Act, known legally as Initiated Law 1 of 2008.

The act contains an Affirmative Defense section which became law on December 4th. This simply means that if a patient who is otherwise in compliance with the law - to include having a written recommendation from a doctor - the patient has a legal defense in court if arrested.

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Editor, The News:

As a clarification to the article on medical marijuana in the VA, it is important for veteran patients and visitors of the VA medical center in Saginaw and community based outpatient clinics in Alpena, Clare, Gaylord, Oscoda and Traverse City to understand how the new law regarding the use of medical marijuana will be handled by VA medical center police and practitioners.

The legalization of medical marijuana in Michigan is acknowledged. However, pursuant to federal law, VA physicians, nurse practitioners and other licensed clinicians are not authorized or permitted to participate in the recommendation for treatment of or prescribing medical marijuana to a VA patient that would otherwise be legal in Michigan. Furthermore, the VA will not dispense, prescribe or store medical marijuana, and its possession on VA property remains illegal and a criminal offense.

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For some, it's been a godsend -- allowing them to ease chronic pain or minimize the after-effects of debilitating chemotherapy treatments.

But the medical marijuana law, approved in November by Michigan voters, hasn't been without its hiccups as law enforcement, health-care providers and state officials work through the implementation of the law.

To help answer patients' questions and address other concerns, Roger Maufort of Jackson recently founded the Jackson County Compassion Club, a support group for patients who are now allowed to legally use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

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ESCANABA - The new Michigan Medical Marijuana Act is starting a conversation locally. The director of the new U.P. NORML group recently discussed the issue in an interview with the Daily Press.

U.P. NORML is a chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Jerry Glasscock, executive director, said the new act should be regarded as a right declared by the people of the state.

"This right started through a different way, it was a law the people were directly involved in and voted for themselves, instead of a select few voting in Lansing and deciding how we should live," Glasscock said.

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