What if Proposal 1 legalizes medical marijuana?
Stephanie Steinberg and Elin Bergman
Daily Staff ReportersNovember 3rd, 2008
Michigan voters will decide today whether to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. If Proposal 1 passes, Michigan will be the nation's 13th state to allow patients with severe illnesses to grow and own marijuana.
The proposal says physicians can prescribe marijuana for registered patients with “debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, (multiple sclerosis) and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health.”
Public Health Prof. Peter Jacobson said medicinal marijuana could be therapeutic for chemotherapy patients.
“Many users of medical marijuana also report that it acts to diminish pain and allows patients to be more relaxed,” he said.
According to a poll reported by the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, Michigan voters support the proposal 61 percent to 30 percent, with nine percent undecided.
If the proposal passes, the Department of Community Health would establish an identification card system, both for the patients permitted to use marijuana and for those allowed to grow marijuana.
Individuals registered to grow marijuana would be instructed to do so in an “enclosed, locked facility.”
Opponents to Proposal 1 include Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Attorney General Michael Cox. Granholm has argued that the proposal would open up the possibility for the legalization of marijuana in the future.
A coalition group called Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Kids opposes the medical marijuana law, pointing to several loopholes in the proposal. One is that anyone arrested for a marijuana offense would be able to invoke medical reasons in court.
Public Health Prof. Donald Vereen said he would be more supportive of the bill if it acknowledged the fact that it will make marijuana more available and thus “puts young people more at risk.”
The proposal also would allow doctors to interpret what constitutes a “debilitating medical condition” that could be treated by medical marijuana.
Public Health Prof. Peter Jacobson said, if passed, the interpretation would depend on the situation.
“If the term is not defined, then each treating physician will make that determination. In the alternative, the state licensure board or medical professionals will devise guidelines to define the term,” he said.
Under the proposal, patients would have a say in what type of medication they would like, which could include medicinal marijuana. Jacobson said "it is ultimately the physician's decision on what therapeutic dosage to prescribe."
Jacobson said patients cannot become addicted to the drug as a result of medical use. Some researchers argue marijuana is psychologically addictive, but there is no evidence of physical addiction, as is the case for many other drugs.
Jacobson added that doctors will not stop prescribing other pain relievers in favor of marijuana.
“There's no indication in California that physicians routinely substitute medical marijuana for other pain relievers,” he said. “Doing so could also expose physicians to liability litigation.”
Jacobson does not believe that the proposal will lead to any significant increase in marijuana use among the general public.
“People who want to take it to self-medicate for a range of non-life threatening issues may try to obtain prescriptions,” Jacobson said. “In my opinion, the risk is minimal. Those who want to smoke marijuana already have easy access to it.”
Jacobson said the passage of Proposal 1 would have only a minimal effect on Ann Arbor.
“Some students may take it as a signal that smoking marijuana will not be penalized, but medical and recreational use will be treated quite differently,” he said.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:10:08 -0400