Michigan Votes to Legalize Medical Marijuana
Monday November 10, 2008
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The ballot question put before voters on Nov. 4 explained that the law would not only allow physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering from "debilitating medical conditions," it also would permit registered individuals to grow marijuana in locked facilities for these patients.
The law would control the use and growing of the plant through an identification card system, which will be established by the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Voters approved the initiative by a wide margin: 63% to 37%. The law takes effect Dec. 4, but the Department of Community Health has four months to develop rules for regulating the growth and distribution of the drug, department spokesman James McCurtis told The Detroit News. An estimated 50,000 Michigan residents are likely to qualify as patients eligible for medical marijuana, McCurtis said.
When the law becomes effective, Michigan will be the 13th state in the nation to allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for specified medical conditions. Laws are already in place in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
To comment, e-mail editorMW@nursingspectrum.com.
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