Two Days, Two Newspaper Endorsements of Proposal 1

[Ganjarden]

Following hot on the heels of yesterday's Detroit Free Press endorsement of the medical marijuana initiative, the Detroit News followed suit this morning. Together, the Free Press and the News boast the overwhelming majority of Detroit's readership, so these endorsements carry substantial weight in Michigan's largest metropolitan area.

Today's endorsement not only rightly emphasizes that medical marijuana is an issue of compassion and common sense, but also stresses the safeguards written into the initiative. The editors conclude:

"Proposal 1 seems to have been written to anticipate and address concerns that it is a backdoor route to full-blown legalization. The standard for obtaining a registry card is high and the penalty for misuse is steep.

"Proposal 1 won't make pot any more publicly visible or available than it already is; all it will do is allow doctors, primary caregivers, and most importantly patients another option in managing serious and painful illnesses. Vote yes on Proposal 1."

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care (MCCC) is a grassroots organization devoted to passing Proposal 1, the medical marijuana initiative on the November 2008 ballot. Proposal 1 will protect seriously ill Michiganders suffering from illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis from the threat of arrest and jail for simply trying to alleviate their pain.

If Proposal 1 is passed by a majority of voters on November 4, Michigan law will allow these patients - some of the most vulnerable members of our community - to use, possess, and grow their own marijuana for medical purposes, with their doctors' approval. It will create a registry of patients and a system of ID cards, so that law enforcement will easily be able to tell who is a legitimate participant in the program and who is not, and establish penalties for false statements and fraudulent cards. And by maintaining current prohibitions on public use and driving under the influence of marijuana, Proposal 1 will ensure that the law does exactly what it sets out to do - protect the seriously ill from the threat of arrest and jail, and do so responsibly.

This is an issue of simple compassion and common sense, and is overwhelmingly supported by residents across the state - 67%, according to a September 2008 poll. And in each of five citywide medical marijuana votes - in Flint in 2007, Traverse City and Ferndale in 2005, and Ann Arbor and Detroit in 2004 - medical marijuana won in a landslide.

PROPOSAL 08-1

A LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE TO PERMIT THE USE AND CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA FOR SPECIFIED MEDICAL CONDITIONS

The proposed law would:

Permit physician approved use of marijuana by registered patients with debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, MS and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health.

Permit registered individuals to grow limited amounts of marijuana for qualifying patients in an enclosed, locked facility.

Require Department of Community Health to establish an identification card system for patients qualified to use marijuana and individuals qualified to grow marijuana.

Permit registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana.


News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Gather Inc.
Author: Richard Owl Mirror
Contact: Richard Owl Mirror
Copyright: 2008 Gather Inc.
Website: Two Days, Two Newspaper Endorsements of Proposal 1

[Soniq420]

outstanding endorsements

with minimal organized opposition - this baby has a great chance of passing

we can all only hope