 "Photo: N/A")
 "Photo: N/A")
A group of Wayne State students seeks to educate others about medical marijuana and to encourage voters on Nov. 4 to pass the Proposal 1 initiative, which would legalize marijuana for patients.
Jane Stewart, a 50-year-old patient and WSU senior, is in the process of starting the group Warriors for Medical Marijuana, in the hopes of encouraging those registered to vote to do so for Proposal 1 on Election Day.
Ten years ago, Stewart was diagnosed with common variable immunodeficiency, a disease similar to AIDS and lupus, in that it gives a person an increased susceptibility to infections. It is not contagious and is incurable.
"The best thing that I could do is live like 'The Boy in the Bubble,'" she said. "But I did that for many years, I sat at home and I didn't go anywhere. But sitting at home waiting to die is not any way to live."
Under Proposal 1, terminally ill patients could use marijuana with their doctor's approval. It also would permit them, or their caregivers, to harvest marijuana plants for medical use and to possess 2.5 ounces of the substance at any time.
The proposal would also protect patients by requiring them to register as patients and carry identification cards that would allow police to distinguish them from abusers.
Stewart said she was inspired to get involved with the medical marijuana movement when she saw other students around Wayne State petitioning to get the initiative on the ballot.
From there, she decided to intern with the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, a state-wide organization committed to obtaining medical marijuana for patients.
Stewart said starting the group was a part of the internship. Similar groups have already been instated at Michigan State, Central Michigan and the University of Michigan.
An alternative for the pain
At the suggestion of a friend, Stewart started smoking marijuana a couple of years ago to help with nausea caused by her treatment and general pain caused by her disease.
Since then, she said that she has since been able to reduce by half the amount of prescribed opiates, such as Vicodin, fentanyl and morphine, that she was taking before.
Previously, the drugs had caused her concentration and memory problems that prevented her from doing well in school, where she is pursuing dual bachelor's degrees in sociology and psychology.
She has also taken the prescribed marijuana substitute Marinol, a synthetic THC liquid capsule, for two years. Although the medication helps with the nausea and vomiting she may experience, she said the problem is that it takes too long to take effect, while the marijuana is more immediate.
Aside from the quick relief, Stewart said using marijuana could help reduce her medical bills which she said are "astronomical." Every month, her insurance is billed $1,500 for the Marinol capsules alone.
Stewart said she is honest with her doctors and tells them that she smokes. While they would prefer that she only take the pills, she said they also told her to do what she feels would be best for her.
Signs of change … maybe
Stewart thinks medical marijuana has made it on the ballot this year because of the seemingly new, more liberal mindset in politics, as reflected in having the first black presidential candidate and female vice presidential candidate in this year's election.
However, both Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama oppose the legalization of marijuana.
Desiree Kelly, president of WSU's Anti-Drug Wayne student group, said that marijuana legalization is a "terrible idea" because, once it's made legal, people will take advantage of it.
Kelly said that sometimes doctors write prescriptions for symptoms as small as a headache or a sore throat.
"I know it's medically proven to help with cancer patients, asthma and glaucoma, but people are not ready to handle this responsibility," she said. "More laws should be put in place."
Stewart said she understands the potential for abuse if the proposal becomes law, but said there are pros and cons to every decision and the only reasons that prevent marijuana legalization are "politics and money."
"I found a happy medium that works for me," Stewart said. "If I have to smoke a joint so I can get out and not be in a bubble any more, then that's what I'm going to do."
If the proposal passes, Michigan would become the 13th state to sanction the use of marijuana for medicinal reasons.
In Michigan, the growing and using of marijuana for medical purposes is legal under local ordinance in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ferndale and Traverse City, when authorized by a physician. But state law trumps local law.
States that have legalized medical marijuana are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
