Proposal 1 passes by wide margin
Adam KaminskiProponents of a ballot proposal to allow Michigan residents to use marijuana for treating medical ailments celebrated an overwhelming victory Wednesday morning.
"I'm really pumped about it," said Stacey Pasquerelli, a Linden junior who has been trying to start a National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws chapter at CMU. "If you know anyone with cancer, this should be a big victory for you. Something so simple could help so many dying patients."
The measure passed by a wide margin. With 33 percent of the precincts reporting, 63 percent, or 847,244 people, voted "yes." Thirty-seven percent, or 491,593 voters, were opposed.
The proposal removes state penalties for registered patients to buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana. Twelve states have adopted similar proposals, which allow severely ill patients to use the plant to relieve pain, nausea and other symptoms.
Opponents tried to warn voters that adopting the proposal could lead to "pot shops" and smoking bars that are common in states like California, which legalized medical marijuana use in 1996.
The federal drug czar, John Walters, campaigned in Michigan in mid-October against the proposal, accusing proponents of using people in wheelchairs to garner public sympathy.
Proponents, including the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, sold the proposal based on the help medical marijuana could give to people with cancer and AIDS.
Leaving Precinct 4 at the Mount Pleasant High School early on Tuesday, Gaylord senior Brett Driver said he voted in favor of the proposal because of a partially paralyzed cousin who uses medical marijuana in California.
"It's helped," he said. "It seems like less of a struggle for him, helps him get moving, loosen up his joints."
But CMU alumna Rachel McCormick saw the proposal as a "slippery slope" and voted "no" over concerns that it could lead to marijuana abuse.
"There's so many other alternatives," she said. "Why does it have to be marijuana?"
Inescapable from the debate over medical use was the legalization of recreational use. Several local voters openly spoke of their wish to see the drug legalized, regulated and taxed.
"The criminalization of marijuana is silly," said English language and literature professor Ronnie Apter. "We should treat it like cigarettes and alcohol, with restrictions on use. It's a big burden on the criminal system without much gain."
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