"We need to go a step further and broaden the mantle of protection for medical marijuana patients," says Brandy Zink, a local spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access. "We realize this is a large undertaking but we're not rushing into anything. We don't want to rush and do something hasty."

Zink says the conversation includes incremental approaches, such as the recent initiative passed in Kalamazoo making simple possession of marijuana the lowest law enforcement priority. Some people in Flint are looking at some kind of initiative that would only apply to that city. Others in the state are considering initiatives aimed at "rescheduling" marijuana as a less dangerous substance in the state or targeting other state laws regarding marijuana.

"Michigan was the first state to repeal the death penalty and the first to repeal prohibition of alcohol," says Zink. "It would make sense that Michigan be the first to repeal the failed marijuana prohibition."

Maybe so, but we've got to work on the numbers — particularly one feisty and obstructionist attorney general.

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