LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Five years after Michigan voters legalized marijuana use for medical purposes, lawmakers say it's time patients can buy the drug at their corner pharmacy.
Legislation approved last week by a Senate committee would pave the way for the production and sale of "pharmaceutical-grade" cannabis. The measure would create a second medical pot system in Michigan that proponents say wouldn't interfere with the existing law under which patients can grow their own pot or obtain it from caregivers.
The change couldn't occur without federal approval.
The legislation would allow doctors to recommend that patients be issued "enhanced" pharmaceutical-grade cannabis cards differing from those now carried by 129,000 residents.
Critics of the bill are suspicious of efforts to "corporatize" marijuana growing and say concerns about the safety of home-grown pot are overblown.
