Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Both sides in the debate over a Michigan medical marijuana proposal are sparring over TV ads, with backers showing suffering patients and opponents warning that California-style pot shops could open.
Critics of the measure plan to air a 30-second ad Thursday that shows sinister-looking men standing outside a storefront labeled "Cannabis Company" while children walk by or stop to talk to them.
According to the ad, hundreds of pot-smoking clubs opened in California after voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 1996. "They grow pot there, they smoke it there in every neighborhood just blocks from schools," the announcer says.
Supporters of Michigan's measure, which would let severely ill people use marijuana to relieve pain, said any comparisons to California's law are misleading and just scare tactics.
No pot shops have opened in 11 other states that have allowed marijuana use for medical purposes since the passage of California's law, according to Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for the group that supports the proposal, Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care.
Proposal 1 would let registered caregivers grow 12 marijuana plants per patient in a locked facility. Each caregiver could supply a maximum five patients and could be compensated for costs.
"It's limited," Byrum said of the Michigan proposal. "It's not like a retail store. You can't sell it for profit. I don't know how you're going to have commerce at that point. You simply cannot factually assert the California law is going to be transplanted into Michigan under Proposal 1."
The ad was defended by Citizens Protecting Michigan's Kids, the anti-Proposal 1 group that created the ad. Spokesman Matt Resch said the Michigan measure would not prohibit pot shops from opening.
"I could have my buddy, who also is a caregiver, we could pair up and have a nice little greenhouse going," he said. "It's just another example of how this thing was poorly written and offers a lot more questions than answers."
Byrum responded that Michigan's proposal is much more extensive and detailed than California's, and offers more safeguards.
Supporters began running ads last week featuring a woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis and experiences blindness from optic neuritis, and a retired physician who helped his wife of 51 years by procuring marijuana to ease her symptoms of chemotherapy as she underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.
Under the proposed state law, the Michigan Department of Community Health would set up a medical marijuana registry system and issue ID cards to qualified patients. To qualify for marijuana use, a person would have to have a debilitating medical condition such as cancer.
Patients would need written certification from their doctor saying they needed access to medical marijuana. They also would have to pay application and-or renewal fees set by the state.
The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care has reported raising more than 10 times the amount Proposal 1 opponents have raised, $1.5 million to $125,500, through Oct. 20.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: the International Herald Tribune
Copyright: 2008 the International Herald Tribune
Contact: International Herald Tribune
Website: Michigan's medical pot law prompts airwaves fight
Critics of the measure plan to air a 30-second ad Thursday that shows sinister-looking men standing outside a storefront labeled "Cannabis Company" while children walk by or stop to talk to them.
According to the ad, hundreds of pot-smoking clubs opened in California after voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 1996. "They grow pot there, they smoke it there in every neighborhood just blocks from schools," the announcer says.
Supporters of Michigan's measure, which would let severely ill people use marijuana to relieve pain, said any comparisons to California's law are misleading and just scare tactics.
No pot shops have opened in 11 other states that have allowed marijuana use for medical purposes since the passage of California's law, according to Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for the group that supports the proposal, Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care.
Proposal 1 would let registered caregivers grow 12 marijuana plants per patient in a locked facility. Each caregiver could supply a maximum five patients and could be compensated for costs.
"It's limited," Byrum said of the Michigan proposal. "It's not like a retail store. You can't sell it for profit. I don't know how you're going to have commerce at that point. You simply cannot factually assert the California law is going to be transplanted into Michigan under Proposal 1."
The ad was defended by Citizens Protecting Michigan's Kids, the anti-Proposal 1 group that created the ad. Spokesman Matt Resch said the Michigan measure would not prohibit pot shops from opening.
"I could have my buddy, who also is a caregiver, we could pair up and have a nice little greenhouse going," he said. "It's just another example of how this thing was poorly written and offers a lot more questions than answers."
Byrum responded that Michigan's proposal is much more extensive and detailed than California's, and offers more safeguards.
Supporters began running ads last week featuring a woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis and experiences blindness from optic neuritis, and a retired physician who helped his wife of 51 years by procuring marijuana to ease her symptoms of chemotherapy as she underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.
Under the proposed state law, the Michigan Department of Community Health would set up a medical marijuana registry system and issue ID cards to qualified patients. To qualify for marijuana use, a person would have to have a debilitating medical condition such as cancer.
Patients would need written certification from their doctor saying they needed access to medical marijuana. They also would have to pay application and-or renewal fees set by the state.
The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care has reported raising more than 10 times the amount Proposal 1 opponents have raised, $1.5 million to $125,500, through Oct. 20.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: the International Herald Tribune
Copyright: 2008 the International Herald Tribune
Contact: International Herald Tribune
Website: Michigan's medical pot law prompts airwaves fight
