WHAT:
With the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act on the Nov. 6 ballot, Wayne State University is hosting a debate and panel on marijuana legalization in Michigan, featuring Washington D.C. drug policy expert Kevin Sabet and Barton Morris of Royal Oak's Cannabis Legal Group. The debate and panel discussion presents both opposing and supporting arguments for the legalization of marijuana in Michigan, along with Wayne State’s scientific research on marijuana use and its effects.
The event will cover:
- A brief history of marijuana and cannabis use
- Some of the pharmacology/toxicology of marijuana
- An overview of the current statewide ballot initiative proposing to legalize and tax recreational marijuana use
- Some of the issues relating to marijuana use and stoned driving
- Arguments supporting the legalization proposal
- Arguments opposed to the legalization proposal
WHEN:
Tuesday, Oct. 23, from 2-4 p.m.
WHERE:
Wayne State's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
249 Mack Avenue, Detroit, MI 48301
Lower-level auditorium
WHO:
- Former White House drug policy advisor Kevin Sabet, who co-authored President Barack Obama’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy and is the only drug policy staffer to have served as a political appointee in both Democrat and Republican administrations
- Cannabis Legal Group Principal Attorney Barton Morris, the only attorney in Michigan certified by the American Chemical Society as a forensic lawyer-scientist maintaining a focus on marijuana related science
- Wayne State Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Randall Commissaris, who is researching the impact of marijuana on driving ability
- Wayne State Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Christine Rabinak, who recently spoke at a Congressional briefing on the use of cannabis products to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:
Sabet (opposed) and Morris (supporting) will present arguments related to the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. Commissaris will outline his research on marijuana's effects on driving ability. Rabinak will discuss medical uses of cannabis. Media will have the opportunity to interview all participants. Television media will be allowed to film all aspects of the debate.