This week in review, Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss Michigan'srising unemployment rate, the possible regulationof the state's drug compounding center, and a plan at the state Capitol called "Pot for Potholes."
Michigan unemployment rate increases
Michigan’s unemployment rate went up to nine percent last month. This was the third consecutive month that’s happened. In previous months, the jobless rate went up because people were re-joining the workforce or entering it for the first time. But last month Michigan actually lost jobs, to the tune of 7,000.
Michigan AG wants to regulate compounding centers
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette wants the state to regulate and inspect drug compounding centers. This comes after a meningitis outbreak last year caused by a tainted steroid injection that killed 19 people in Michigan and sickened hundreds.
Lessenberry questions how effective the program would be.
“We should remember the meningitis outbreak happened with drugs that were compounded in Massachusetts,” Lessenberry says. “A lot of drugs are compounded in other states and we’re not an autonomous economy.”
Lessenberry says that rather than Michigan trying to regulate compounding centers, this might be an issue more for the FDA or federal administration in general.
Pot for potholes plan
There’s a new idea in Lansing to fix Michigan’s potholes. A lawmaker want to boost road funding with revenue generated by legal marijuana sales.
Lessenberry says it’s one of the silliest ideas he’s heard.
“It’s hard to believe they would generate enough from marijuana sales to come up with the $1.2 billion a year the governor says we need to fix the roads,” Lessenberry says. “I think conservative would be kind of dubious about encouraging people to smoke marijuana in order to fix potholes.”
