Medical marijuana became legal in Michigan on Thursday, a month after being overwhelmingly approved by voters. But patients looking to relieve pain, nausea and loss of appetite don't have the go-ahead to light up just yet.
The new law allows patients with cancer, HIV, AIDS, glaucoma and other diseases to use marijuana to relieve their symptoms on a doctor's recommendation.
Qualifying patients can register with the state and receive ID cards allowing them to legally acquire, possess, grow, transport and use a limited amount -- no more than 2.5 ounces and 12 plants -- of marijuana. They also can designate a primary caregiver to receive similar protection.
But those cards won't be issued until sometime next year, after the Department of Community Health introduces guidelines addressing how applications will be handled, what fees will be charged and other issues. The rules must be finalized by April 4.
Until then, anyone possessing marijuana -- even patients who could later qualify for the program -- can be arrested and prosecuted, though the law allows patients to use a medical-justification defense at trial.
"We have this void where this takes effect now, but there are no rules, regulations or guidance for the people who want to use it or the people who enforce the laws," said Jim Valentine, chief of police in Lowell and first vice president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
Until the cards are issued, Valentine said, officers will continue to arrest marijuana users in his western Michigan community of about 4,000, even if they claim to be patients. He says he'll let the prosecutor decide whether to pursue charges.
"I think we would be doing things backwards if we based our actions on what might happen at the court level," he said.
A medical-marijuana program nearly identical to Michigan's was implemented without major incident in Rhode Island in 2006, said Charles Alexandre, who oversees the program as chief of health professions regulation in Rhode Island's Department of Health.
"It's been very quiet," Alexandre said.
Michigan is the 13th state to allow medicinal use of marijuana, though the state's law doesn't address how patients can obtain it. It's illegal to sell marijuana, even to registered patients. As in every state with a program except California, there won't be legal "pot shops" to supply the drug to patients. Federal law also bans marijuana for any purpose, but federal agencies say they rarely target small-scale users.
"A lot of folks are going to wonder, OK, where do I purchase my marijuana, where do I obtain it?" said James McCurtis, a spokesman for the state Department of Community Health. "Law enforcement agencies, I'm sure they're going to struggle with, 'Who are we going to arrest?'"
The problem exists more on paper than in practice, said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which largely financed the campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Michigan.
"It's an inconvenience, it's not a perfect system, but the reality is that marijuana is incredibly pervasive in our society," Mirken said. "If you're having trouble finding marijuana, go to any city park or any high school. I'm sorry, that's the reality. So it's not that big a problem for folks."
And if any aspect of the program becomes an issue, there are ways to change the law, said John D. Pirich, a Lansing attorney who has worked on past ballot initiatives.
The state legislature can modify the law with a three-fourths majority in both houses, the courts could intervene or a second ballot initiative could modify the first, Pirich said.
"The proof comes in the pudding, and if the act as adopted is so deficient, the legislature certainly has the right to modify it," he said.
"It sounds like it could lead to fascinating kinds of challenges," Pirich said.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: MLive.com
Contact: MLive.com
Copyright: 2008 Michigan Live LLC.
Website: Mich. Medical Pot Law Now in Effect Amid Questions
The new law allows patients with cancer, HIV, AIDS, glaucoma and other diseases to use marijuana to relieve their symptoms on a doctor's recommendation.
Qualifying patients can register with the state and receive ID cards allowing them to legally acquire, possess, grow, transport and use a limited amount -- no more than 2.5 ounces and 12 plants -- of marijuana. They also can designate a primary caregiver to receive similar protection.
But those cards won't be issued until sometime next year, after the Department of Community Health introduces guidelines addressing how applications will be handled, what fees will be charged and other issues. The rules must be finalized by April 4.
Until then, anyone possessing marijuana -- even patients who could later qualify for the program -- can be arrested and prosecuted, though the law allows patients to use a medical-justification defense at trial.
"We have this void where this takes effect now, but there are no rules, regulations or guidance for the people who want to use it or the people who enforce the laws," said Jim Valentine, chief of police in Lowell and first vice president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
Until the cards are issued, Valentine said, officers will continue to arrest marijuana users in his western Michigan community of about 4,000, even if they claim to be patients. He says he'll let the prosecutor decide whether to pursue charges.
"I think we would be doing things backwards if we based our actions on what might happen at the court level," he said.
A medical-marijuana program nearly identical to Michigan's was implemented without major incident in Rhode Island in 2006, said Charles Alexandre, who oversees the program as chief of health professions regulation in Rhode Island's Department of Health.
"It's been very quiet," Alexandre said.
Michigan is the 13th state to allow medicinal use of marijuana, though the state's law doesn't address how patients can obtain it. It's illegal to sell marijuana, even to registered patients. As in every state with a program except California, there won't be legal "pot shops" to supply the drug to patients. Federal law also bans marijuana for any purpose, but federal agencies say they rarely target small-scale users.
"A lot of folks are going to wonder, OK, where do I purchase my marijuana, where do I obtain it?" said James McCurtis, a spokesman for the state Department of Community Health. "Law enforcement agencies, I'm sure they're going to struggle with, 'Who are we going to arrest?'"
The problem exists more on paper than in practice, said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which largely financed the campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Michigan.
"It's an inconvenience, it's not a perfect system, but the reality is that marijuana is incredibly pervasive in our society," Mirken said. "If you're having trouble finding marijuana, go to any city park or any high school. I'm sorry, that's the reality. So it's not that big a problem for folks."
And if any aspect of the program becomes an issue, there are ways to change the law, said John D. Pirich, a Lansing attorney who has worked on past ballot initiatives.
The state legislature can modify the law with a three-fourths majority in both houses, the courts could intervene or a second ballot initiative could modify the first, Pirich said.
"The proof comes in the pudding, and if the act as adopted is so deficient, the legislature certainly has the right to modify it," he said.
"It sounds like it could lead to fascinating kinds of challenges," Pirich said.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: MLive.com
Contact: MLive.com
Copyright: 2008 Michigan Live LLC.
Website: Mich. Medical Pot Law Now in Effect Amid Questions
