Scientists, doctors, patients stand to benefit as Proposals 1, 2 pass

Michigan voters on Tuesday passed ballot initiatives on medical marijuana and stem cell research, and now scientists, doctors and Michiganians suffering from a range of serious diseases stand to benefit.

With the passage of Proposal 1, Michigan becomes the 13th state — the only one in the Midwest and the second largest, behind California — to legalize the use of marijuana for patients with “debilitating medical conditions.”

There are three major elements to the new Michigan law:

1. Those suffering from medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, MS and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health (DCH) will, with a doctor’s approval, be able to register for ID cards as medical marijuana users.

2. Registered patients can grow their own marijuana in limited amounts and in enclosed, locked facilities.

3. Both registered and unregistered patients will be able to assert a medical justification in response to any prosecution involving marijuana.

The measure, sponsored by the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, passed by a nearly 2-1 margin, 63 percent to 37 percent. The law will go into effect on Dec. 4, 2008, at which time the DCH will have 120 days to issue regulations implementing the law. The question, however, is whether this will actually prevent federal prosecutions of those patients who register and follow the law.

California passed a similar law by referendum in 1996, but it did not prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from enforcing federal drug laws that fail to recognize state laws legalizing medical marijuana.

One famous example is Angel Raich, a 42-year-old mother of two with several serious medical conditions including an inoperable brain tumor, chronic pain disorders and seizures. Her doctor prescribed marijuana for her conditions in part because she was allergic to conventional medications. Her doctor testified under oath that without marijuana, her life was in danger. In 2002, DEA agents and the local sheriff’s department raided Raich’s home and destroyed six marijuana plants. She filed a lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that federal law trumps state law in the instance of medical marijuana based on an interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.

Federal actions such as the arrest of Raich are, of course, a matter of discretion. The fact that the Supreme Court says the feds can do so doesn’t mean they have to. Barack Obama’s campaign responded to a question from a voter with a letter saying that he will instruct the Department of Justice to stop such prosecutions:

Many states have laws that condone medical marijuana, but the Bush Administration is using federal drug enforcement agents to raid these facilities and arrest seriously ill people. Focusing scarce law enforcement resources on these patients who pose no threat while many violent and highly dangerous drug traffickers are at large makes no sense. Senator Obama will not continue the Bush policy when he is president.

But because of the ruling in the Raich case, future presidents can reinstitute such prosecutions if they choose. For the next four years, however, those who register and are authorized to use marijuana to help with their medical conditions in Michigan appear to be safe, at least following the late January 2009 inauguration of Obama as president.

Stem cell research

Proposal 2, which passed by a narrower margin, 53 percent to 47 percent, legalizes the development of new embryonic stem cell lines for medical research in Michigan.

The measure reverses a state law passed in 1997 that limited researchers in the state of Michigan to using only those stem cell lines that had already been developed prior to that time. The old law included penalties of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine for the development of new embryonic stem cell lines.

Under the new law, which actually amends the state Constitution, researchers will be allowed to derive new lines from blastocysts (fertilized embryos only a few days old, consisting of no more than a few hundred cells) that are created during in-vitro fertilization during fertility treatment, with the permission of the donors. Such blastocysts are otherwise discarded.

The measure also includes restrictions to prevent abuse of the system, including a ban on human cloning and on the buying and selling of those blastocysts.

This proposal was advocated by Cure Michigan, but both candidates for president also favor embryonic stem cell research. It was endorsed by most of the state’s newspapers, including the conservative Detroit News, as well as by dozens of medical and scientific organizations. Cure Michigan was funded by groups like the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Primary opposition to the proposal came from a group called Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation (MiCAUSE), heavily funded by the Catholic Church and various anti-abortion groups. The Michigan Catholic Conference donated more than $1 million to the group, while various Right to Life chapters gave more than $200,000.

A recent study by Michigan Prospect, a public policy research group, concluded that this proposal would create biotech jobs in Michigan and eventually save the state untold millions in medical costs. The study noted that nearly 800,000 people in Michigan suffer from diseases for which stem cell research is most promising in developing new treatments and possibly even cures.

The passage of Proposal 2 can only be a good thing for Michigan. We have some of the finest research universities in the world, but they have been unable to attract top biomedical researchers or grant money because of our state’s astonishingly draconian restrictions and penalties.

One prominent researcher at the University of Michigan has to fly regularly to California to do lab work that could otherwise be done here. Now she will be able to do that research in Michigan, with all the attendant economic and scientific benefits.