Michigan and Medical Marijuana

Ok.

So Proposal 1 passed with a 63% majority of the voters. That is great, but a few nagging questions are still out there.

I went to NORML's Michigan chapter to find out what exactly the passing of this proposal means now:

Q: Where are seriously and terminally ill patients in Michigan going to get their medical marijuana?

A: The new law doesn't address that. In the other 12 states where medical marijuana is legal, only New Mexico has the government helping to secure the drug for patients. Michigan's law simply states that a patient can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or grow 12 plants in a secure facility. Law enforcement officials say the drug will have to be obtained in the illegal market and that despite the new law, Michigan patients will still be lawbreakers in the eyes of federal agencies.

Q. Can I start smoking medical marijuana today?

A. Not legally. "There is no medical marijuana program in Michigan until about April 4," said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Heath.

He said the law won't take effect until Dec. 4, and then the state has four months to develop rules and regulations to run the program, which will include the issuance of state ID cards for the estimated 50,000 patients who might qualify under the new law.

Q. Is the medical marijuana law just the first step in a broader agenda to legalize pot use for all adults?

A. Perhaps. A quarter of the U.S. population now lives in a state that allows medical marijuana, so attitudes about its broader use could change. The Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington D.C., spent about $1.7 million on the ballot proposal here.

So don't go out and fire one up on the front porch, because until April 2009 that would be a bad thing.

Namaste.