SpiralArchitect

Medical pot legal today ... but not really
12/3/2008|The Muskegon Chronicle|John S. Hausman

Is medical marijuana legal in Michigan today?

Well, kinda ... but kinda not. Don't light up just yet.

While the law approved by voters Nov. 4 took effect today ((Thursday)), no one can start smoking -- at least legally -- until spring, the deadline for the Michigan Department of Community Health to develop administrative rules. Even then, patients with a qualifying illness would need a doctor's permission and certification by the state to partake.

In November, voters overwhelmingly approved the question of whether seriously ill patients should be able to possess marijuana. Michigan became the 13th state to legalize medical marijuana.

But it has raised questions for patients, police and prosecutors -- with courts possibly asked to provide the answers. It was one of the concerns when area police chiefs announced strong opposition just before the vote.

"We're just not sure how it's going to shake out," said Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler. "The proposal was pretty unclear in terms of how and what can be used.

"Everybody's in limbo, hoping the Department of Community Health will come up with rules." Roesler said statewide law-enforcement groups such as the Michigan Sheriffs Association are expected to develop some kind of enforcement policy that gibes with the health department's rules.

"I think there's going to be a lot of confusion on the part of people thinking that marijuana is now legal," Roesler said.

It isn't, at least in the eyes of law enforcement, the sheriff said.

"It's going to be business as usual until we're told different on how to handle it," Roesler said. "It's going to be a learning curve for everybody."

For instance, lawmakers previously outlawed drivers having any level of illegal drugs in their systems. What happens if a legal marijuana user drives and gets in a crash a couple of days after smoking the drug?

"If it's determined people have marijuana in their system, criminal law now says zero (is the only acceptable level), no exceptions," Roesler said. "So the Legislature has a lot of work to do."

Another issue for sheriffs is jail policy.

"One of the dilemmas I have is, what if a person gets booked into the jail that's on medical marijuana?" Roesler said. "That's a smoke-free facility to start with, and certainly we have rules about contraband in the facility."

Other issues the sheriff sees: Under Michigan law, there's still no legal way to acquire marijuana, or even seeds to grow your own. "Who's going to be the authorized suppliers? Who's going to monitor them?" Roesler said.

Muskegon Police Chief Tony Kleibecker also said his department is continuing drug enforcement as it always has. "All the chiefs across the state are waiting for more information," Kleibecker said. "From our standpoint, nothing changes (today)."

Allegan County Prosecutor Fred Anderson said: "There's a conflict there, and we're not sure how it's going to be sorted out."

Anderson said prosecutors statewide -- along with the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council -- are studying the issue. They expect to hold training sessions before people legally can light up.

"I don't know if anyone has any expectations as to how this is going to go," Anderson said.

Muskegon's hospital network, Mercy Health Partners, also is waiting to see what happens next spring. "It's not like somebody can use at this point," said Mercy spokeswoman Anita Varela. "Anyway, it looks like a bugaboo from the standpoint of where the patient's going to get it."

Some have questioned the referendum's wording, and McCurtis said legal fights are expected.

"We don't know what's going to happen. It will be up to law enforcement to charge a person, up to county and state prosecutors to charge the person, and try it in court, to answer the unanswered questions the law has."

Despite her support for legalized medical marijuana, Debra Negen-Brink, a cancer survivor and registered nurse in Grand Rapids, has concerns about the new law.

Where would a senior citizen get the drug? How could a debilitated person be expected to cultivate his own plants or obtain seeds just to get started?

Brink, 50, with children in high school and college, wouldn't think of asking them to score her weed. She doubted the elderly would turn to adult children or grandchildren, either.

"It should have been dispensed in little joints in a jar," Brink, who does not use marijuana, said Tuesday.

"So we would know what the quality is, and have some regulation. You have to obtain it illegally. Once you get it, it's fine."

Brink used marijuana in 1979 while undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. It proved a godsend, she said. Nothing else worked to stop her from vomiting every 15 minutes for hours on end.

She publicly backed the effort by Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care to allow medical marijuana.