Marijuana - Recap (What do people think?)

Lavigne said that local initiatives, like the one recently passed in Lansing, “are important in expressing sentiments of localities,” which could lead to the eventual changing of the state and federal laws as well.

Lavigne also said that he believes the new ordinance would not lead to a rise in marijuana consumption in Lansing.

“It's just going to protect an activity that people already do, that according to the Michigan Supreme Court in (the case of) People v Sinclair, is a relatively much safer activity than alcohol, narcotics, or other illicit drugs,” Lavigne said. “And abuse of (these) are all more dangerous than consuming marijuana, which has no overdose limit.”

Michigan State University students, including Jess Chan, a sophomore majoring in psychology and linguistics, agreed with Lavigne, who said: "I think (decriminalization) a good thing. It's a drug that a lot of people use obviously, and it's not like it's a particularly harmful one."

Marijuana - Preview (What is the Law?)

Last month, Lansing voters decided to decriminalize marijuana use, following a precedent set by other cities in Michigan.

"The City of Lansing has changed city ordinance to allow people that are at least 21 years old to possess to an ounce of marijuana on private property," Joshua Covert, a Lansing lawyer specializing in drug and alcohol related crimes, said.

However, this law only affects those on private property, not on public grounds.

If they're not on private property, they're not protected," Thomas Lavigne, a lawyer for Cannabis Council based in Detroit, Michigan said. "But these most recent local ordinances are one step ahead than the ones that passed last year. They include protection of transfers on private property."

Covert explained that the law affects anyone in Lansing, not just residents.

State of Mind Review

The JRN 375 class at MSU watched the brief documentary entitled State of Mind during Tuesday's evening class.

State of Mind is part of the Wide Angle documentary series produced by PBS.

This documentary contrasted the different cultures of North Korea and the United States, especially when it came to how the media operate.

The students in the class learned that North Korean media are all government-owned, and, in some cases, can not be turned off.

North Korea also promotes its army during "mass games", where much emphasis is placed on the gymnasts performing before their leaders after over one million hours of practice.

Throughout the games and through the media in general, North Korea consistently blames America for many problems -- including leading the three-year Korean War.

State of Mind Preview

Later today, the students of JRN 375 (International Journalism) will view a documentary entitled A State of Mind as part of their study on international correspondence.

The class, taught by Folu Ogundimu, regularly watch documentaries before posting answers to certain questions posted by Ogundimu on ANGEL, an online MSU portal used to help facilitate class outside of the classroom.

A State of Mind is an installment of the Program Wide Angle created by PBS in 2001 to combat the lack of international news coverage in the United States.

The viewing should happen at the end of the class period, around 6:30 p.m.