Stem cell, medical marijuana props approved
Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Michigan voters easily approved a law Tuesday to allow the seriously ill to smoke marijuana, while a proposal to ease restrictions on stem cell research research won by a tighter margin.
Michigan became the 13th state -- and first in the Midwest -- to legalize medical marijuana. While backers said it would help as many as 50,000 residents ease the pain of cancer, Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, Proposal 1 drew widespread opposition from law enforcement, business groups and health organizations.
Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care which championed the proposal, said the opposition ads didn't work.
"This is a victory for the patients and their stories resonated with voters," she said. "The scare tactics from the opposition were over the top and not believable."
Said Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Bill Schuette, spokesman for the group opposed to medical marijuana: "We waged a good fight and talked about the unintended consequences. But we were underfunded and came up short."
Mike Chaffee, 48, an accountant from Troy , said medical marijuana is an "alternative to high-cost drugs" and allows patients to "decide what's best for them."
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2 comments:
I don’t believe there should be strict laws prohibiting the use of marijuana to warrant prison time but I do not believe marijuana should be a legally obtainable product. In my opinion, the medical marijuana movement is a first step, emotional appeal, to legalize marijuana. Those who argue to legalize medical marijuana always underline the benefits of smoking marijuana. But what about the health risks of smoking marijuana? Could smoking marijuana aggravate a patient’s current condition? If a man begins smoking marijuana to relieve pain from colon cancer but then develops a lung disease does the benefit of smoking marijuana outweigh the health risks? Smoking marijuana should be explored in combination with diseases or conditions to determine health risks before society begins to legalize medical marijuana.
Devin Johnson
In my opinion, I believe that legalizing the use of marijuana is just taking it to the next step which is legalizing the use of marijuana for every citizen, and not just for the sick patients. They do have a very valid reason as to why they want legalize marijuana, but I believe they should go into more detail, because every person has a different reaction to medication, and more if they are sick.
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