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Initiative Seeks to Legalize Marijuana

Stacey Range | Lansing State Journal | 05/06/2005

Marijuana would be sold and regulated in Michigan the same as liquor under a proposal activists are hoping to get on the 2006 ballot.

Win-the-War, an activist group based in Sterling Heights, started gathering signatures last month to put the initiative legalizing marijuana before voters. The group's petition wording was approved Thursday by the Board of State Canvassers.

If approved, the citizens' initiative would push Michigan further than any other state toward legalizing marijuana and condone the possession, purchase or sale of pot and hemp products by adults 21 and older.

"This is about controlling and regulating marijuana to take it off the streets and out of the black market," said Bruce Ritchie, the effort's executive coordinator.

In addition to legalizing pot for adults, the measure would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients under 21.

East Lansing resident Carrie Hale said she would vote against the measure. Hale, 71, recalls a speech she heard in the 1970s by a recovering drug addict who referred to marijuana as a gateway drug.

"That has always stuck with me," she said.

The group has collected about 12,000 of the needed 317,757 valid signatures for the measure to appear on the ballot.

Signatures must be collected by Oct. 1.

Eleven states have passed medical marijuana laws since 1996, but none have permitted an outright decriminalization of pot.

Detroit and Ann Arbor passed medical marijuana initiatives last year, but the new laws are in limbo as the U.S. Supreme Court ponders whether to allow patients to circumvent a federal ban on marijuana.

This initiative would set up a conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act. Ritchie said he's sure passage would be challenged by the federal government, but believes there's protection for such a measure in intrastate commerce laws.

Ritchie also said the War on Drugs is a failed effort that wastes taxpayers' money and disrupts the liberty of otherwise law-abiding citizens. He believes it's more practical to tax and regulate the drug.

"Our prisons are overflowing, and our courts are overcrowded," Ritchie said. "We provide better protection for our children by taking it off the streets."

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III disagrees.

"Seeing how well we have controlled the availability of liquor to minors, I don't have a lot of faith that this would take pot away from children," he said.

Dunnings, who also serves as president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, said he couldn't speak for the association but that he personally opposes legalizing marijuana.

"I have never known anybody to be made smarter by the use of marijuana," Dunnings said.

For the state effort to be successful, the group will need money and volunteers.

So far nearly 400 volunteers, including about 20 in the Lansing area, have been gathering signatures, mostly on university and college campuses and at concerts, Ritchie said.

"It's still a grass-roots movement, excuse the pun," Ritchie said.

The group has only $3,000 to $4,000 to fund the campaign. Ritchie said he's hoping to get a $5,000 grant from the Marijuana Policy Project of Washington D.C.

The group also is raising money through an online raffle.

The prize if the initiative passes: a pound of pot. If it fails: A trip for two to Amsterdam

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frolf17

"I have never known anybody to be made smarter by the use of marijuana," Dunnings said.


.... yeah and i have never known anybody to be made smarter by the use of alcohol or by listening to moronic politicians blow hot air

Buzzby

Actually, surveys have shown that it is much easier for kids to obtain pot from the black market than to acquire alcohol from more legitimate channels. It follows that pot distributed through the same kind of controlled channels would be less available to children. The "absolute non-availability" provided by prohibition translates into free availability through the black market.


Since when is that a criteria for making something illegal? If it was we'd have to ban 90% of what's on TV. And all sports...


To participate in the raffle go here and click the "Buy Now" button.

See the text of the proposed amendment to the Michigan constitution.

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king cola

East Lansing resident Carrie Hale said she would vote against the measure. Hale, 71, recalls a speech she heard in the 1970s by a recovering drug addict who referred to marijuana as a gateway drug.

Yea, like alcohol isn't a gateway drug, or tobacco isn't a gateway drug! I'm not sayin they should be illegal, i mean i drink alcohol, i tried alcohol and tobacco before i tried marijuana, then again a lot of people have, therefore those would probably get considered gateway drugs to marijuana as supposedly marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs like cocaine!

A recovering drug addict, these people go to rehab, then say yea i used marijuana, then went onto cocaine, OMG it was the pot that made you go onto cocaine right! That's bullsh*t, my father was a drug addict years ago, he never went to rehab. He managed to get the willpower to get himself to quit. I've been educated through him about hard drugs as well as Dare but i will listen to him over anyone else on the subject. He smoked his pot, he liked it so what. He got started on cocaine cause one of his friends did it and told him it wasn't addicting, he said that was plain bullsh*t after he tried it. Not to mention it was about 97% pure,...he got himself to quit that addiction, but not once does he blame marijuana for it and is in support of legalization. As for hard drugs hes against it's use.

I have another friend, hes actually my best friends older brother, but i'm still friends with him too, he had a heroin addiction, hes recovered from it, but doesn't blame pot for him doing it, in fact he is still in support of marijuana, but not heroin.

The only reason why pot is a gateway drug is because it's illegal, it's on the street, and seeing that it's a black market drug, some of these dealers sell other black market drugs besides marijuana. A customer comes over to buy some pot, eventually that dealer will say hey, maybe you would want to try some of this stuff. They might recommend it hoping the person will say yes because harder drugs bring them in bigger cash than selling pot. I'm not one of these people but some say alright i will try it, then get hooked on it.

If alcohol were still illegal it would probably be considered a gateway drug to marijuana if dealers were selling alcohol and other illegal drugs!

Just because someone started off on pot before going to a hard drug doesn't make it a gateway drug in my opinion. I smoked pot for a few years but you don't see me shooting up. Oh yea i tried hash too, who cares, hash and marijuana come from the samething.

frolf17: yeah and i have never known anybody to be made smarter by the use of alcohol or by listening to moronic politicians blow hot air

Well said man, people go to politicians for wisdom Then people wonder why theres so much b/s that goes into the papers. A politician just gives opinion and usually lies, if they ever tell the truth they don't get too far with their views, with lies you can just keep going.

Marijuana made guys grow breasts(false), ok let's try this one, pot is the most dangerous drug known to mankind, it makes people violent and go on killing sprees(false), ok uh marijuana is the most harmless drug and makes people not want to fight in times of war!

People talk of flip flopping, that's all politicians do. When one lie doesn't work they go to another, maybe using the truth sometimes but then stretching it to work in their favor, like pot making people violent which is false, so then they go to the opposite which would then be the truth saying it's the most harmless drug and makes people peaceful, then they add onto that sayin "and not want to fight in war"

Ban alcohol, ban pot, ban fireworks, ban howard stern, where does it end? These politicians never give up, why don't they just say to ban life while they are at it If people don't like somethin they don't have to do it, alcohol is legal but not everyone drinks it do they! I'm 21 years of age now and i actually drink less than i did when i was drinking under age illegally.

In each thing they try and get banned, they always use the scare tactic, "think of the children" Let the parents think of their own children and stop bringing politics into everything.

That one woman heard some recovering drug addict say pot was a gateway drug, so because of that one person she says, "WELL I'M NOT VOTING FOR IT"! I have friends who were abusing legal percasettes, maybe she would want pain killers takin off the market!

People are afraid of change is all it amounts to. Pot was legal for 3000 years, politicans ruined it with lies for the past 80 years. A lot of these people don't even know the truth of why pot was banned in the first place and just think it was banned because it's supposedly dangerous People don't take the time to do research themselves and find out the facts of why it really was banned. Instead they rather be lazy and let the press and false gov information about pot be their education/teacher.

"Our prisons are overflowing, and our courts are overcrowded," Ritchie said. "We provide better protection for our children by taking it off the streets."

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III disagrees.

Big surprise, hes a prosecutor, he probably spends more time putting people in jail for drugs than anything else! As for the state, they crowd people into drug/alcohol classes for first time marijuana offenses. Ok well this is your first offense so either take the drug/alcohol program or have this stay on your record, or they get the go to jail or go to the drug/alcohol program, which do you think the people choose? They will avoid the jail time or avoid having the charge on their record for a first offense and take the program, but it then goes down on the state surveys as a percentage of people treated for marijuana addiction. Can't forget to mention these programs get money out of you for the classes.

"Seeing how well we have controlled the availability of liquor to minors, I don't have a lot of faith that this would take pot away from children," he said.

Is this guy really that stupid? lol, Does he really expect everything that gets legalized and regulated to be 100% out of the childrens hands? I can't believe some people get takin in by this, they just don't use common sense.

When i was under age me and my friends were constantly trying to find ways to get alcohol, it wasn't as easy as this guy thinks, if anything some weekends me and my friends would go without alcohol because we couldn't find a way to get it, but once in awhile yea, we would get it if we had a good source, like i don't know, maybe knowing someone who was of age, but that didn't always happen. There was also still a risk of that connectiong going to jail if someone ratted them out.

Now as for pot, your damn right kids will still find a way to get it, it's not going to be out of their hands 100%, but you can bet it will cut down on their supply, less of them will have it here and there. If someone of age gets them pot and get's caught doing this, that person will be arrested anyway. Kids will be arrested for being in possession of marijuana by a minor, much like how it works with alcohol.

This prosecutor is just brain dead and i would love to say everything i just mentioned to his face if i had the chance.

"I have never known anybody to be made smarter by the use of marijuana," Dunnings said.

Again, the guys a prosecutor, people get busted for pot all the time and has to see him. The fact that the person was arrested for pot, of course he will say he doesn't know anybody to be made smarter by the use of marijuana. To him the people who get busted for pot and have to pay a visit to him is just another dumb pot smokin criminal in his eyes. Even though legalization wouldn't make these people criminals anymore.

The prize if the initiative passes: a pound of pot. If it fails: A trip for two to Amsterdam.

That seems like a nice idea. A free trip to Amsterdam where laws make sense. Maybe for the hell of it they should send "Dunnings" there and let him figure out how everything works. Their society functions, just because pot is legal doesn't mean hard drugs have to be, that's just a scare tactic and it gets used once in awhile by some people. Some say well if pot gets legal, what's next? Amsterdam still keeps hard drugs illegal.

Ritchie also said the War on Drugs is a failed effort that wastes taxpayers' money and disrupts the liberty of otherwise law-abiding citizens. He believes it's more practical to tax and regulate the drug.

Speaking of the war on drugs, you know somethin, i found my old DARE papers from 10 years ago that goes back to when i was in 5th grade. I read through my work, reasons for not using marijuana i had written down "it will make you go crazy" and for another i think i said it makes you violent or it will kill you Either way, both turned out to be false, especially if the pot isn't even laced with anything. I'm proud to say i threw all those papers into the trash

Damn right it wastes tax payers money, by the year 2000, since the day it became banned, this country flushed 300 billion dollars of tax money down the toilet just to fight marijuana alone, that's not including other drugs. Tax and regulate the drug means(non laced) as for taxing, it goes to the state/government and not into some un licensed/regulated drug dealers pocket.

If this law passes, i'm sure there will probably be plenty of spot checks surrounding this state, i mean people will probably go to Michigan just to get their pot, not everyone will, but it's not goin to be too much different than people 18 driving to Canada just to drink. In another way this will be good for the state though if people just drive there to get their pot and legally smoke. They will definatly make their money off regulating it.

gob

"East Lansing resident Carrie Hale said she would vote against the measure. Hale, 71, recalls a speech she heard in the 1970s by a recovering drug addict who referred to marijuana as a gateway drug."


Yea...and that would make sugar a gatway drug, I'm sure that all cocaine and heroine useres first tried sugar

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