“We’re lucky, we snuck in under stem cell research as not being the controversial issue,” said Kelsey Maniez, co-founder of Spartans for Medical Marijuana.

The language on the ballot was impressive, as it really made the proposal out to be a compassionate issue, Maniez said.

“It shows we’re not trying to decriminalize anything, or put drugs in the hands of children on the street, this is really about trying to help people,” she said.

Under Proposal 1, only adult patients with doctor approval will be allowed to grow up to 12 marijuana plants, and possess up to 2.5 ounces, for personal use. The marijuana will have to be kept in a locked area.

Michigan is the first state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana for medicinal use.

Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, said that she wasn’t surprised by the overwhelming results because of all of the personal stories people had shared.

‘The medical value of marijuana for some patients is real, and that manifested itself in the vote,” she said. “It’s a solid victory for the patients of Michigan and their families, and that’s what the campaign was about from the beginning.”

David Fox, spokesman for the Michigan State Medical Society, a group opposing medical marijuana, said the group is opposed to smoking in every other way, and that it just doesn’t make sense to smoke a medicine.

Proposal 2, an amendment to the state constitution allowing Michigan families to donate leftover embryos from in-vitro fertilization to be used in human embryonic stem cell research.

Proposal 2 was still undecided 1,408,584 to 1,277,113 votes, with 60 percent of precincts in Michigan reporting.

“The very fact that it’s this close really says that a good chunk of our population understands the need for this,” Gibbons said. “This research, if nothing else, it brings hope to me that answers can be found soon, and that if I am able to have children, I don’t have to worry about passing this terrible disease on to them.”

However, Erin Bierchmacher, vice president of MSU Students For Life, said that there are no clinical cases using embryonic stem cells that have positive results, and that taking a life to try to save a life isn’t justified.

Using adult stem cells, particularly cells from skin and placenta, would be a much more effective way to conduct the research, Bierchmacher said.