4B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, September 30, 1999

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Voting booths sure to light up over medical marijuana

The Michigan Daily* Weekend, etc. 1
Not all local marijuana laws are cre

By Aluta Stei nold
For the Daily
In the year 2000, voters in several states
- including Nevada, Colorado and
Maine - will be asked whether they
think the medical use of marijuana should
be legalized. Many students here at the
University, being of voting age, will be
able to partake in this potentially histori-
cal event.
This time their votes will count.
Most students have been made aware
of the "bad" effects of marijuana and
other drugs whether from health class,
after-school specials or their parents.
However, what the public, especially stu-
dents, often does not find out about, are

the ways such drugs can be helpful.
During the past few years however, a
shift in paradigm has occurred, a change
in the popular conception of disease. It is
a commonplace that hair loss and acid
indigestion are now treated as diseases
and not just facts of life or the result of
poor eating habits. Debates in our
nation's capitol over "helpful" drugs like
Viagra, references by Hollywood such as
in last year's blockbuster "Stepmom," and
classroom discussions now focusing on
the legalization of marijuana, have
emerged accordingly.
The very idea of "medical need" is
constantly being modified. Steven
Hyman, Director of the National Institute

of Mental Health said, "The term 'dis-
ease' - and the border between health
and disease - is a social construct." That
being so, according to Peter Kramer,
author of "Listening to Prozac," the pub-
lie tends to make distinctions between
drugs that give pleasure directly and
drugs that give people the ability to func-
tion in society, which can indirectly lead
to pleasure.
The line between therapeutic and hedo-
nistic pleasure is rather hard to draw.
What separates the good drugs from the
bad? Medical research demonstrates that
cannabis can in fact ease symptoms for
people suffering from glaucoma, cancer,
AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other ill-

nesses that cause pain or "spastic" reac-
tions. For example, cannabis helps to
increase the appetite of those AIDS
patients with wasting syndrome, and
decreases the nausea felt by cancer
patients being treated by chemotherapy. It
gives many patients a greater ability to
cope with disabling and life-threatening
illness.
Under federal law, marijuana continues
to be illegal to possess or use. However, in
some states, including California, it is
legal when used for medical necessity.
According to the California court system,
medical necessity means patients have
found every legal alternative to marijuana
ineffective in treating their conditions, and
they would suffer imminent harm without
access to the drug.
The legalization of the drug would
allow doctors to give their seriously ill
patients the option of using marijuana to
ease certain symptoms and treatment side
effects related to AIDS and cancer.
The most recent voters to approve the
legalization of marijuana for medical use
were the residents of Washington, D.C.

But since they are under the direct juris-
diction of Congress, the measure has one
obstacle left.
After the proposal is submitted on
Capitol Hill, Congress will have 30 leg-
islative days to pass a resolution of disap-
proval. If it does not pass one, the measure
will become a law. The Clinton adminis-
tration is in opposition to the bill, and
worries about the message America's
young people would receive if such an act
is passed
Though not harmless, marijuana has
never to this date been shown to have
caused a single death. On the other hand,
legal medications such as Tylenol, Advil
and aspinn are the principal cause of
between 45,000-200,000 American
deaths each year.
These are some of the subtleties of the
issue which are often glossed over.
Whether and where the medical use of
marijuana will be legalized is still
unknown. Though most students with the
chance to vote on this issue may never be
directly affected, by voting they will be
taking part in potentially historic changes.

I

...... .m

JOIN. US IN CELEBRATING
OUR NEW SEASONI
UMS Co-Commission!
Songs and Stories from
Moby Dick
by Laurie Anderson
Thursday, September 30, 8 p.m.
Power Center
Laurie Anderson transforms the cornerstone of Ameri-
can literature into a multi-media odyssey infused with
stunning visuals and haunting harmonies.
betroit Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Jarvi, conductor
Sergei Leiferkus, bass-baritone
Estonian National Male Choir
UMS Choral Union
Sunday, October 3, 4 p.m.
Hill Auditorium
PROGRAM:
Kapp Nordic Coast
Grieg Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Shostakovich Symphony No. 13, Op. 113
Amoi I"rnandez"
Ballet Folklorico de. Mexico
Tuesday, October 5, 8 p.m.
Power Center
"As overwhelming as first love!"
University MAisical Society - 764.2538

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A

By Jenni Glenn
Fine & Performing Arts Editor
Busted. The police, breaking up a
party after a noise complaint, catch sev-
eral people smoking marijuana. The
offenders wonder what penalty they
face, but the answer remains unclear.
Breaking the law usually involves a
standard punishment. This does not
hold true, however, for smoking mari-
juana on campus.
Depending on which law enforce-
ment agency catches the offender, the
punishment varies.
Ann Arbor police, for example, tick-
et those smoking pot as opposed to tak-
ing them into custody, according to Ann
Arbor Police Department Sgt. Michael
Logghe. "Since it's a civil infraction in
the city, if you're smoking a marijuana
cigarette, once we find you with that,
we give you a ticket and you take care
of it through the court," Logghe said.
Normally, the ticketed individual
ends up with a $25 fine plus whatever
court costs they have incurred. Because
smoking marijuana is a civil infraction,
the ticket doesn't remain on the person's
record.
Ann Arbor uses this method of
enforcement under a city ordinance.
The city council passed the ordinance
in the 1970s due to the more liberal
standards of the time.
Although several campaigns have
attempted to make the penalty harsher
over the years, Logghe said the only
success was to raise the fine from $5
about seven years ago. The police
"think it's a serious crime, but we're
bound by the city ordinance" he said.
The local punishment remains liberal
INNERZONE
Continued from Page 6B
mula, "Programmed" is a difficult
album rich in reward in which no two
songs sound alike or share similar
motifs.
"I feel as though I'm an ideas
manCraig explained. "1 sit around
and idealize about everything,
whether it's about records or it's
about politics. I just sit around with
theories all the time. So by doing
Innerzone Orchestra it was almost
like a computerized darkside, but
within the mindset of trying to make
it as live as possible and do as much
that had human feel to it without it
being human."
One of the album's standout songs,
"Galaxy" blends the computerized
beats of Craig with Mora's sporadic
percussion while synthesizer, piano
and acoustic bass mingle melodical-
ly over the unsteady rhythms. Other
songs seem based upon eccentric
concepts, such as Craig's collabora-
tion with Plastikman. After watching
parts of "Blade Runner" for inspira-
tion in Plastikman's studio, the two
techno legends created
"Architecture," a dark and modularly
swirling experiment in minimalism.
Built around a mourning violin,
the nine-minute epic "Blakula" truly
evokes the spirit of the legendary
cinematic African-American horror
icon. The gothic tone of "Blakula" is

compared to more stringent punish-
ments under state law. State law classi-
fies marijuana use or possession as a
misdemeanor punishable by 90 days to
one year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.
"In a lot of other cities, it's a misde-
meanor," Logghe said.
Those smoking marijuana on campus
may be subject to these harsher penal-
ties. When the Department of Public
Safety enforces the law against marijua-
na use and possession, they apply a
stricter penalty than the Ann Arbor
police because they are not subject to
the city ordinance.
In addition, DPS takes offenders into
custody, and the arrest may end up on a
permanent record at the court's discre-
tion. "If the University of Michigan
police catch them, they're going to
charge them under state law,' Logghe
said.
The DPS charter, Public Act 120,
comes from the state, and, consequent-
ly, the organization enforces state legal
standards. "That (Public Act 120)
authorizes us to enforce state laws on
any university owned or leased proper-
ty or any street or highway contingent
to that property," DPS Sgt. Jesse Lewit
said.
Although the marijuana possession
law is enforced differently by each
agency, both police departments con-
sider it a felony to cultivate or possess
marijuana with intent to distribute. A
typical charge is four years in prison.
Logghe said, "It's up to the prosecutor
to decide what charge. There's a few
different charges, but they're all
felonies."
The police don't arrest as many peo-
ple for intent to distribute or cultivation
juxtaposed with the next song's nor-
mality. A fairly straightforward,
acoustic guitar-driven, vocal pop
tune true to the Stylistics' original
classic, "People Make the World Go
Round" seems downright uncanny in
the world of Innerzone.
Craig explained, "'Programmed'
was an extension of the live sets that
we'd been doing as Innerzone for the
last few years. After I did the jazz
mix with Francisco and Rodney, I
decided that I wanted to take it on
the road."
A percussionist for Sun Ra,
Francisco Mora's presence in
Innerzone inspired Craig to open his
mind to new ways of thinking out-
side the world of techno. "He opened
me up to a lot of ideals that are very
similar to what I felt with electronic
music, but I didn't feel a lot of peo-
ple were plugging into electronic
music," Craig said. "He was my link
to the outside, meaning outside of
commercial music."
There's no denying Craig's pres-
ence outside commercial music. In
fact, Craig may have traveled farther
into his Innerzone than ordinary lis-
teners are capable of venturing. But
anyone vaguely familiar with the
'brave new sounds of Craig's past
artistic output or that of his Detroit
peers will surely treasure his uncom-
promising desire to destroy musical
preconceptions. Come Saturday
night prepared for a challenge.

of marijuana as they do for use.
According to Lewit, the most recent
DPS statistics show more than 100
arrests each year for drug use. Most of
those arrests can be attributed to mari-
juana.
The number of marijuana tickets is
comparatively high in Ann Arbor due to
the University's presence, Logghe said.
"I would think obviously when you

have 30,000 young peol
going to be more of ther
ing with drugs," Logghe
obviously a correlation."
Police officers, of cour,
tickets during Hash Bas
festival promoting pot. T
police try to keep the prol
imum through supervisio
lot of officers on the str

Maurice Townsel, a housing officer for the Department of Public Safe

The Daily C
ON THE MODERN M

"Dimebag" (1.5 to 2 grams):
"Eighth" or 'Nickelbag" (3.5
"Quarter" (7 grams):
Half Ounce (14 grams):
Ounce (28 grams):
Quarter Pound:
Half Pound:
Pound:

grar

Note: Prices are entirely relative de
compressed into bricks, often t
Mexican border, is known as "co
and lies at the lower end of thi
brown and full of se
Pot with a higher THC quotient,
genetic manipulation technique
is greener and far
This is known as
It is bright green, seedless, anc