While we don’t know who our next President will be, we do know now what proposals will be on the ballot. And while a lot of attention has been paid to a government reform proposal that didn’t get on the ballot, another once hotly controversial initiative did make it -- medical marijuana. Michigan voters will decide whether to allow people to seek a doctor’s approval to not only use but possess small amount of the drug and to grow the plants. But what are the potential legal and ethical implications of the law if it does pass? Lance Gable teaches law at Wayne State University; he is an expert on public health law and bioethics. Michigan Radio’s Jack Lessenberry spoke with him.
I’m not particularly offended by pained people seeking relief from marijuana if they are desperate for help, but since when are medicines legally approved by ballot initiative? Isn’t that why we have the FDA? It should be science that decides the effectiveness and risks associated medicines, not ‘the majority.’ I also find it hard to belief that there aren’t other less carcinogenic pain relievers already available.
Posted by: Mike | August 25, 2008 at 02:10 PM