Voters to decide on medicinal marijuana issue

GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) (WJRT) -- (02/02/07)--A big effort is under way right now in the city of Flint to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Five cities in Michigan already have medical marijuana ordinances on their books.

On Feb. 27, Flint voters will finally have a say, like Barbara Hoos, who is a breast cancer survivor.

"During my cancer I started smoking marijuana because that was the only way I could eat," she said. "At that point I had to thank marijuana for keeping me alive."

Hoos says she smokes pot every day to deal with the constant pain she's had since her double mastectomy and two back surgeries she needed after a terrible car accident.

She doesn't do it to get high.

"When you're doing it to take away the pain from your injuries and the suffering, the marijuana does not impair (you)," she said.

That is just part of the ongoing debate concerning marijuana. And here's where it gets tricky: Even if it becomes legal in Flint to smoke medical marijuana, it will still be illegal at a state level.

Especially, says Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, because there is no legal way to provide it.

"We don't have that here," he said. "If this passes, all we're going to have is a city ordinance that exempts those users from using it but it still doesn't make it legal to obtain. It's very confusing (and could) result in problems."

They would be problems Charles Snyder doesn't want to deal with, and as a new father, why he's not taking any chances -- even though he suffers from Nail Patella syndrome, a rare and painful bone disorder.

"I can't fulfill me fatherly duties from a prison cell," he said.

While Snyder says he relies on legal prescription meds to fight his constant pain, he's working to change Michigan's marijuana laws -- starting in Flint and for patients like him who suffer from serious medical conditions.

"This isn't something just anyone can access," he said. "This is something well documented and provided by the doctor."

The Flint Coalition for Compassionate Care submitted the 2,000 signatures to get the issue on the ballot. Voters will head to the polls Feb. 27.

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