cannabisnews.com: Judge's Decision Halts Placement of MMJ Initiative





Judge's Decision Halts Placement of MMJ Initiative
Posted by FoM on September 07, 2000 at 09:19:30 PT
By Bob Hoffman, News Staff Reporter 
Source: Michigan Live
Efforts to place a proposal on the November ballot to legalize the medical use of marijuana in Ann Arbor were dealt a severe, if not fatal, blow Wednesday.Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Melinda Morris dismissed a lawsuit filed by local Libertarians, saying the party was ultimately responsible for knowing the correct deadline to file its petitions - not the date they were mistakenly given by interim City Clerk Yvonne Carl.
Morris' decision can only be reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court. David Raaflaub, the attorney representing the Libertarians, said his clients will decide before the end of today whether an immediate appeal will be filed in Lansing.Nonetheless, he admitted, "it will take a lot of work" to place the initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot. Raaflaub said Libertarians assume that the last deadline for ordering a ballot change is Friday, 60 days before the election.Morris at Wednesday's hearing did clear the way for a possible 2001 referendum on the issue. The judge ordered the city to return the petitions to the Libertarians, which Raaflaub said will be resubmitted along with more petitions well ahead of next year's deadline.The city had argued that the petitions, because they had been submitted, were "proprietary" and no longer belonged to the Libertarians.City Attorney Abigail Elias, making a rare court appearance, argued the interim city clerk's error should not affect the letter of the law."We think the court did the right thing," she said afterward. "People are responsible for knowing and following the law."Libertarians filed petitions containing 5,970 signatures on Aug. 15 - nearly 1,700 more names than the law required. The filing was meant to coincide with the state's deadline for ballot initiatives.But the marijuana law would have changed the city's charter and Ann Arbor's deadline for a charter change is 90 days before the general election. That was Aug. 9, or six days earlier than when the petitions were submitted.Elias told the judge that Libertarians might share some of the blame because they never said they were attempting to change the city's charter in repeatedly asking Carl about the deadline. But, Raaflaub said afterward, that the charter change was "certainly" discussed with Carl and his party could "file affidavits to that effect."If passed by voters, the proposal would have given residents the right to possess marijuana with a doctor's permission. Seven states and the District of Columbia now have similar laws. Ann Arbor would have been the first city to legalize the medical use of marijuana within a state that classifies such use as illegal. Proponents say marijuana helps ease pain for people with multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS and other diseases.Reporter Rob Hoffman covers Ann Arbor city government. He can be reached at (734) 994-6864; e-mail at: rhoffman aa-news.comBy Bob Hoffman, News Staff Reporter Published: Thursday, September 7, 2000Source: Michigan Daily (MI)Copyright: 2000 The Michigan DailyContact: daily.letters umich.eduAddress: 420 Maynard StreetAnn Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327Web Site: http://aa.mlive.com/news/Related Articles & Web Site:Libertarian Party of Washtenaw Countyhttp://www.arrenkyle.com/lpwc/page.cgi Voters May Decide Pot Issue  http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6731.shtmlReefer Sanityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6714.shtmlStudy Finds Pot Safe for AIDS Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6390.shtmlCity Vote Sought on Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4398.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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