Detroit Election Commission's rejection of marijuana measure defies even stoner logic

Pot shot
Detroit Election Commission's rejection of marijuana measure defies even stoner logic

By News Hits staff

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Speaking of boggled minds, News Hits dodged a green bullet when no one took us up on our offer to bet an ounce of purple kush that Wayne Circuit Court Judge Michael Sapala would overrule the Detroit Election Commission and order that a marijuana legalization measure be placed on the Detroit ballot for the November election. Whew.

But we're still perplexed. Sapala ruled that, because the measure conflicted with state law, the commission had a right to keep it off the ballot. But back in 2004, Detroit voters passed a similar measure allowing the city's residents to use pot for medical purposes — four years before the state law was approved.

How could that have been allowed on the ballot? Likewise, the state's medical marijuana law conflicts with federal law, which allows no legal use of pot, no matter how much it might help some poor bastard suffering from cancer and wasting away from chemotherapy. So why was that allowed to go before voters?

Sapala will be asked to reconsider his decision, but chances appear to be slim that he'll change his mind. And so supporters, the above-mentioned Tim Beck being in the lead, have acquired the services of a high-powered lawyer from the Honigman Miller firm to take the matter before the state Court of Appeals.

But don't expect that to be done in time for November's election, says Beck.
"We're going to take our time and do it right," he promises.
All this fuss over a weed that grows wild.

News Hits is edited by Curt Guyette. Contact him at 313-202-8004 or NewsHits@metrotimes.com.