Detroit, MI: Patients who use cannabis medicinally under a doctor’s supervision should not be subject to criminal penalties, according to a resolution unanimously adopted by delegates of Michigan’s Democratic Party at the organization’s 2007 state convention in Detroit.
Approximately 1,500 delegates backed the resolution, which was introduced by Benzie-County NORML and Michigan NORML.
“There were no dissenting voices whatsoever at the convention,” Michigan NORML Executive Director Tim Beck said in an interview on Monday’s edition of the NORML AudioStash. “Support for medical marijuana is [now] an official part of the Michigan Democratic Party platform.”
Patients who use cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation “should not be subject to criminal sanctions,” the resolution states. It adds, “[L]icensed medical doctors should not be criminally punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people.”
The unanimous endorsement comes just days after voters in Flint passed a municipal measure shielding medicinal cannabis patients from local prosecution. Flint is the fifth Michigan city since 2004 to pass medical marijuana legislation.
Legislation to enact statewide protections on the possession and use of medicinal cannabis is pending before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or visit Michigan NORML online at: http://www.minorml.org. An interview with Michigan NORML’s Tim Beck is available on the March 5, 2007 edition of the NORML Daily AudioStash at: http://www.normlaudiostash.com. Text of the resolution is available online at: http://www.michigandems.com/resolutions.html.