Medical Marijuana Is In, With Stem Cell Research and Government Reform Questions Likely. Michigan voters, who once faced a daunting list of potential ballot questions this November, may decide only a handful of issues after all. The deadline for turning in 380,000-plus petition signatures is only a couple of weeks away and, of the 10 ballot committees that launched campaigns, only a few remain active. Ballot watchers say just two or three are likely to make it to the finish line. [continues 898 words]
Supporters Gather Signatures to Ensure the Initiative Will Go Before Public in November. LANSING -- An initiative to legalize marijuana for medical use likely is headed for the November ballot in Michigan, following certification Monday of supporters' petitions by a state elections panel. The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, which collected nearly a half-million petition signatures last year, easily surpassed the required 304,101 valid signatures to qualify, the Board of State Canvassers decided on a 3-0 vote. The initiative now goes to the Legislature, which has 40 days to consider it. If lawmakers approve the measure, which is unlikely, Michigan would become the 13th state to allow medical marijuana use. If lawmakers reject the proposal or fail to act within that time frame, it automatically goes on the November ballot. [continues 265 words]
Backers Can Gather Signatures to Put Legislature, Health Care Plans on '08 Ballot. LANSING -- Petition forms calling for a part-time Legislature and mandating universal health care in Michigan won approval Wednesday of a state elections panel, paving the way for circulators to begin gathering signatures next month. Both measures would go on the general election ballot in November of 2008. The Board of State Canvassers voted 4-0 to approve the part-time Legislature petition, which calls for a constitutional amendment that would slash the legislative session schedule from year-round to four months, reduce lawmakers' salaries and limit their benefits. [continues 532 words]
But Some See Shades Of Waco, Ruby Ridge In Deaths Of 2 Men VANDALIA -- This poor, conservative farming village in southwest Michigan, where federal agents killed two men at a campground that promoted marijuana use, isn't an anti-government enclave or a haven for extremists, residents say. "This is a nice, quiet town. The people here are not what you would call revolutionaries," said Dale Williams, owner of Trail's End Bait Shop. The confrontation at Rainbow Farm, in which Thomas Crosslin and Rolland Rohm died, "was coming for years, with those people out there advertising marijuana," said Williams while selling bait to a customer. [continues 697 words]
