LANSING – Although Michigan voters easily approved the medical marijuana ballot proposal, Proposal 2008-1, earlier this month, the voter-initiated law’s language is causing some confusion.

The law legalizes marijuana for medical use, but it does not stipulate how patients can obtain the drug, nor does it change the federal law criminalizing marijuana for all purposes.

The law goes into effect December 4 and that is when the Department of Community Health is beginning a review process to determine how exactly it will implement the program. The department has until April 4, 2009 to get the program in order, and between those two dates DCH will hold a public hearing to determine the public’s response to what officials have decided.

“We’re going to mirror the law and comply with it,” James McCurtis, spokesperson for DCH said. “We have to set fees, it’s going to be a self-paying program, so public dollars will not be used. We’re also going to set the rules for the type of illnesses these patients will have, and what type of criteria they will need to meet.”

However, McCurtis said it’s still questionable how patients can legally obtain medical marijuana.

“The law allows you to have possession of the marijuana and allows you to grow marijuana,” he said. “State law allows you to possess it but doesn’t allow you to go buy it, the question is where are people going to get their medical marijuana from as buying it is illegal.”

Dianne Byrum, spokesperson for Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, which supported the ballot measure, said before her group can make recommendations to the public on how to become registered with DCH, they need a copy of the draft rules, which are yet to be published.

However, Byrum is not offering an explanation on how to obtain the drug.

“We don’t answer the question onto how to obtain the first seed,” she said.

“The criminality of marijuana is still the same,” said Shannon Akans, spokesperson for the Department of State Police.

Law enforcement is waiting to see the stipulations the department makes before it can decide how it will enforce the federal law.

“It’s a health care issue, we’ll be looking to community health and we’re not sure what’s going to be the rules based on what the DCH promulgates,” Sgt. Matthew Flint of Ingham County said. “They have to give us guidelines first, which will be handed over to the prosecutor, and then they will train us (on how to enforce the law).”

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