4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 14, 2000
Edited and managed by GEOFF GAGNON PETER CUNNIFFE
students at the Editor in Chief JOSH WICKERHAM
University of Michigan Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwrise noted, unsignededitorials reflect the opinion
420 Maynard Street majority of the Dailys editorial board. All other articles, letters and
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Dail
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Ann Arbor is very close to getting a local
initiative that would legalize marijuana
for iedicinal purposes on the ballot in
November. With only a few days of petition-
ing left, the local Libertarians spearheading
this effort need students and local advocates
of medical marijuana to register to vote in
Ann Arbor and sign the petition that would
put this issue to a city-wide vote.
This initiative is important for the large
number of Ann Arbor residents who have
found that their use of marijuana is a relief
from painful symptoms caused by a myriad
of diseases. Aside from lessening the symp-
toms of glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and
some forms of asthma, marijuana can be
used help cancer and AIDS patients deal
with the effects of powerful drug cocktails
and chemotherapy treatments. It relieves
their pain, but, unlike prescription painkillers
that numb patients, marijuana allows them to
live their lives normally.
This initiative would prevent the sick and
debilitated from getting fined or thrown in
Medical marijuana in Ann Arbor
jail by local law enforcement. The libertari-
an's plan, if it gets on the ballot and passes by
a majority vote, would allow patients the
right to use marijuana with a doctor's pre-
scription and prevents Ann Arbor police
from arresting them.
University professor of psychiatry and
neuroscience Stanley Watson, an investiga-
tor for the National Academy of Sciences,
recently agreed that marijuana merits more
medical research because of its potential in
helping people with cancer and AIDS. Aside
from an outright endorsement of the natural
plant, he recommends doctors prescribe pre-
scription drugs containing 1TI1C, (the active
chemical in marijuana) he thinks that smok-
ing poses respiratory risk to patients, includ-
ing lung cancer. He would prefer a vaporiz-
er.
This is an invalid argument because mar-
ijuana has never received serious cancer
study inside the United States. A recent
study in Spain found that marijuana was
highly effective in treating rats with cancer-
ous tumors. Surveys of Rastafarian elders,
who smoke cannabis in large quantities as
part of their religious ceremonies, showed
abnormally low incidence of cancer, even
when conspared against local control popula-
tions. Clearly more investigations and stud-
ies must be made before clains that marijua-
na fights cancer can be substantiated, but, on
the other hand, claims that marijuana is car-
cinogenic are not clear either. This argument
is more a remnant of the fight against toba
co's carcinogenic potential than marijuana
and should be abandoned until mot
research confirms or disproves it entirely.
It is also unthinkable to suggest th
patients should pay exorbitant prices for
thetic THC when it grows naturally an
abundance in a natural form. Pharmaceutic
companies should not be allowed to pro
from outdated laws prohibiting medicin
use of marijuana. This local initiative is
Arbor's chance to give freedom to the
patients and send a message that the future
medicine does not have to be tied to prof
driven pharmaceutical companies.
So, ifa petitioner on the street asks you
you're registered to vote in Ann Arbor, mal
sure you can answer "yes." Then sigw
petition to help these brave locals get tl
relief from oain they deserve.
r n er, saf a
Auto industry still has a long way to go
-oemu a ove ber
Senate inaction hurts Americans
A s this summer of high gas prices comes
to a close, General Motors and Exxon
Mobil recently announced their plans to
jointly develop fuel cell technologies that
would stretch your gas dollar to the absolute
limit. Well, in the near future, that is.
Their plans revolve around a relatively
new procedure that extracts hydrogen fuel
from gasoline, thereby tapping fuel cell-
powered cars into already existing infra-
structures of energy distribution. This has
been a giant hurdle in the development of
hydrogen fuel cells, as there are no existing
pipelines or filling stations for pure hydro-
gen, the combustible gas that emits no emis-
sions (except water) when used in the cells,
but the country is full of gas stations.
The new fuel cell process, while not as
environmentally friendly as other fuel cell
methods, is a significant step toward increas-
ing the efficiency of gasoline in America's
cars and busses and could be on the road by
as soon as 2005.
While a welcome initiative, GM's other
pursuits have been less than satisfactory and
overshadow this Exxon Mobil venture. They
have recently announced plans to mass-pro-
duce Hummers, the boxy, army-style SUVs.
GM is going for the individually minded
person who seeks peer acceptance by mar-
keting these behemoths to people who could
not be satisfied by their other road hogging,
gas guzzling SUVs.
But by reprehensibly filling our streets
with unmanageable behemoths, GM has
erased much of the credibility in their earth
friendly fuel cell image. They need to take a
cue from Ford, which recently announced
plans to scale back their SUV operations.
Top management at Ford realized that
they will have to answer for the social con-
sequences of their full-blown marketing of
gigantic trucks that damage the earth, pro-
mote global:warming, endanger small car
drivers and consume too much fuel.
Ford likened their situation to that of the
predicament of the tobacco industry several
decades ago. Big Tobacco knew the toxic
effects of their products. They knew that cig-
arettes kill people, cause cancer and
decrease health, yet continued to market
them to the public.
Similarly, automakers have long known
that car drivers are more likely to die in a col-
lision with large trucks and SUVs yet they
continue to market larger and more obscene
vehicles because of the high profit margins
involved. They know that SUVs use too
much fuel, yet continue to promote a public
demand for the vehicles through the tools of
marketing and advertising.
Ford recently announced plans to pro-
mote smaller vehicles and decrease demand
for SUVs. They have also announced a
redesign of Ford Explorers to make them
safer in crashes with smaller vehicles. Ford
should be lauded for these plans, as these
attempts to curry favor may go a long way in
preventing future environmental or personal
lawsuits as more and more consumers go up
in arms over the conquest of our roads by
inefficient and often unsafe trucks.
All automakers should realize the poten-
tial pitfalls in reprehensibly promoting large
vehicles at astronomical cost to the environ-
ment and consumer well-being. GM,
Daimler-Chrysler and the rest of the
automakers should take a cue from Ford and
take steps to answer for their abuses before
they succumb to the same fate as cigarette
manufacturers for their dangerous products.
Automakers should also charge full-force
into fuel cell programs, not simply to meet
clean air standards, but to appease road
raged consumers and save their own skins.
Because, before they know it, their profits
could go up in smoke just like Big
Tobacco's. .
J n President Clinton's final months in
office, the number of judicial
appointees he would normally be expect-
ed to make would decrease. This year, the
number of nominees confirmed has been
particularly small because of politically
motivated stalling by the Republican-led
Senate.
Hoping George W Bush is victorious
this November, Republican Senators have
stalled dozens of Clinton's judicial nomi-
nees so that a Republican president could
possibly fill those positions.
The Republican Congress has pulled
the blindfold from the eyes of Justice and
used it instead to tie her hands behind her
back. Throughout President Clinton's sec-
ond term, the number of justices he has
been given the opportunity to nominate
has grown appreciably. The significance,
however, lies not in the number of nomi-
nations but in the number of nominees
who are still waiting for Senate hearings
that will confirm their positions.
The time for Clinton's appointed
judges is running out; if all goes as hoped
by the Republican majority, the nomina-
tions approved will be those of Governor
George W. Bush. Congress has only to tie
the hands of Justice for six more weeks
before her cry comes too late to be heard.
The 6th Circuit Court, which covers
Michigan, is facing an especially acute
problem with a shortage of judges. This is
a completely unnecessary situation, as
many more than adequate judges have
been appointed by President Clinton for
consideration by the Senate.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge
Helene White, for example, was nominat-
ed in January 1997 and has yet to have a
Senate hearing, making her the longest-
waiting judicial nominee in Senate histo-
ry.
Superficially, the injustice done
nominees, such as Judge White, who w
to hear what will come of their nomir
tions, some for over two years. Benez
the surface lies another manifestation
injustice: Congess' transgressions agai:
the American People. As judges aw
approval, the courts grow more croE
and innocent people are denied thef
dom that bringing their cases to co
might grant; these same delays in he
ings also fail to bring swift justice
criminals.
Michigan and much of the country
being denied a functioning and effect
judicial system by the Senate. Our o
Republican Senator Spence Abraha
who sits on the judiciary comna
should be working to push through :
of these long-waiting and qualif
judges instead of continuing to go alk
with Republican political games.
More universal is the injustice done
all the citizens of America. They ht
elected an official with an understand:
of his right to appoint judges, a ri;
which is effectively being denied. 1
people have elected a congress to ca
out the business of running a gov
ment, including the maintenance
courts.
By failing to do its job, Congress
doing an injustice to the American p
ple. With courts dockets overflowing,
Senate presents the people with th
same old party politics -- and w
unprecedented clarity.
The judges awaiting appointments
the Senate deserve hearings an
American people deserve a working
cial system. The Senate needs to s
abrogating its responsibilities and act
the nominees presented by Clinton w
it returns to session this fall.