Medical Uses of Marijuana - From About's Arthritis Guides Carol and Richard Eustice.
I must admit I was caught a bit off guard. First, I doubted the law would pass, but more importantly, I found that I really didn't understand how the law would work if it did pass. After the third call that morning, I figured I better do my research and learn about my state's newest law. Here's what I found out.
What Did the Ballot Say?
With all the confusion surrounding recent elections, the 2004 Presidential election, for example, election officials have taken great care to make proposals, such as Proposal 1, easily understood for the voter. I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy, but in the past, some of Michigan's ballots have been far from simple to understand. But I have to say, the wording for Proposal 1 was, in my opinion, easy to understand. After voting, I felt comfortable that I understood the proposal and voted the way I wanted. But still, I suspect a number of people did not understand how the law would work. Here is how the proposal appeared on Michigan's ballot.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.
Should this proposal be adopted?
- Yes
- No
The next day, while fielding my calls for Michigan's new legal "pot," I realized that my patients didn't understand the new law at all. And why should they; after all, I can't expect them to understand all the legalize as if they were lawyers or election officials. It became obvious to me that I needed to research this law and come up with a plan on how to teach my patients about the law that Michigan voters just passed.
The New Law - Why Was It Brought to the Ballot
The writers of this new legislation didn't draft the law on a whim. It wasn't word of mouth or anecdotal information that brought this proposal to the ballot. The benefits of medical marijuana have been well documented in scientific literature. The State of Michigan cited in its legislation the March 1999 report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine that showed marijuana could be beneficial in treating or alleviating the pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions, including HIV, glaucoma and cancer.In simple terms, this new law will put in place protections against arrest and prosecution of those people using marijuana for medical purposes. The basis of this protection stems from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report that shows 99 out of every 100 arrests for marijuana possession are done at the state jurisdiction. Putting Proposal 1 in to place will, in effect, protect seriously ill people from being arrested for the use of medical marijuana. While marijuana is against Federal Law in most circumstances, state law enforcement is not required to prosecute marijuana cases under Federal Law. States, such as Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island, Washington and now Michigan, who have medical marijuana laws in place, in effect, protect those people using marijuana for medical purposes by eliminating the ability to arrest and prosecute at the state level. To most, this sounds great, but keep in mind there are limitations and restrictions that if exceeded will result in arrest and prosecution.
How Will the System Work?
The biggest misconception that I have seen thus far is the belief that patients will get marijuana prescriptions from their doctor, take those scripts to their local pharmacy, fill the script and start to smoke. Actually, the system is not that way at all. The doctor's role will solely be to confirm and document your illness. Your HIV specialist, for instance, will provide documentation attesting to your HIV infection, which is one of the qualifying illnesses under the new law. To legally use medical marijuana, patients will have to apply for an identification card through Michigan's Department of Community Health (MDCH). That card will allow the holder to use, carry and grow a limited amount of marijuana to treat their symptoms. Again, the law does not provide a means of getting a marijuana prescription from your doctor. Doctors will not be prescribing medical marijuana.
Important Facts About the New Law
Here are some important facts to remember:- Doctors will not be writing marijuana prescriptions. They will only be attesting to qualifying illnesses.
- The Michigan Department of Community Health will be issuing registration cards that will allow the holder to possess, grow and use a limited amount of marijuana to treat symptoms.
- Abuse of the card, such as possessing or growing amounts that exceed set limits, selling your card or your marijuana or operating a vehicle under the influence, will result in arrest and prosecution.
Page 2 - Michigan's Medical Marijuana Act - Myths, Questions, and Answers
