Smoked out

Anyone who still thinks Michigan's medical marijuana law is just some ruse intended to provide partiers with a get-out-of-jail-free card needs to meet Linda Lott. And municipal officials who think they are doing their residents a service by passing ordinances intended to circumvent that voter-approved law need to take notice as well.

In fact, the Michigan branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is making sure that they get the message that any attempts to infringe on the legitimate rights of patients and caregivers are going to be fought every step of the way.

A resident of Birmingham, Lott has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 28 years. An autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, MS is an affliction that grows worse with time. Now in her 60s, Lott, who is both legally blind and confined to wheelchair, is subject to what she describes as terribly painful spasms that can strike unexpectedly at anytime.

According to the lawsuit, along with prescription drugs, Lott's physician — Dr. Sami Mounayer, the director of neurology at Beaumont Hospital — has also approved her use of medical marijuana, which helps alleviate the spasms and the intense pain they cause. It also helps her to sleep at night.

Her husband of 32 years, Robert, owns a printing business in Livonia. Recently diagnosed with glaucoma, Robert, like his wife, is a registered medical marijuana patient. Pot helps relieve the pressure on his eyes' optic nerves.

In other words, it is hard to imagine a better pair of people to serve as the plaintiffs in what is sure to be viewed as a major test case challenging the expanding pattern of restrictive ordinances being passed by Michigan municipalities.

As ACLU attorney Daniel Korobkin pointed out, "These are exactly the kind of people Michigan voters had in mind when they passed the Medical Marihuana Act."

Last week, the ACLU filed suit on behalf of the Lotts in Wayne County Circuit Court, claiming ordinances passed within the past year by Livonia in Wayne County and Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham in Oakland County are "clearly illegal."

Despite overwhelming approval of the medical marijuana law by Michigan voters in 2008, all three cities passed ordinances declaring, in essence, that it is illegal to engage in any activity or enterprise that is "contrary to any federal, state or local laws."

Because any use of marijuana remains illegal in the eyes of the feds, these ordinances are seen as an attempt to sidestep the will of Michigan voters and put legitimate medical marijuana users and their licensed caregivers at risk of arrest.

When asked previously about the issue, Bloomfield Hills City Attorney William P. Hampton told News Hits that the ordinance in question was not a "medical marijuana ordinance." While it may not make specific reference to medicinal pot, the claim that the ordinance didn't have that as its target is laughable.

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