Recreational Marijuana in Michigan

October 22, 2017

State of Michigan Recreational Marijuana — Photo by: Bennian/Shutterstock

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have currently legalized marijuana in some form, and Michigan is one of the states with legal medical marijuana. However, recreational marijuana in Michigan is not yet legal, although many people speculate that the state may be the next state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Petition to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Michigan

A group that supports legalizing marijuana called the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has gotten more than 250,000 signatures for the November 2018 ballot. The proposal would allow any person to possess up to 10 ounces of cannabis at one time in their place of residence and up to 2.5 ounces in their possession outside of their residence or 15 grams of concentrated cannabis. If the petition is successful, Michigan would have the highest limits in the country.

For the petition to make it to the state legislature for a vote, it needs a total of 252,523 signatures, and the people behind the petition are trying to get 350,000 signatures in case some are deemed invalid by the state. If the proposal does not pass at the legislative level, it will go on the ballot in 2018, and Michigan voters will decide. With more than 72 percent of people in a recent Michigan Daily poll being in favor of Michigan legalizing recreational marijuana, many expect it to pass. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol says that cannabis is safer than both tobacco and alcohol, and that criminalizing marijuana wastes law enforcement resources and ruins lives with incarceration. State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, is in support of legalizing recreational marijuana and believes that if it ends up on the 2018 ballot, residents will vote in favor of the proposal.

If the proposal passes in 2018, people aged 21 and over can purchase marijuana and grow up to twelve cannabis plants in their residence. Cities would still be able to ban cannabis businesses in their city limits if they choose to do so, and driving while under the influence would be prohibited, along with consuming weed in public. The plan would grant Michigan residents the highest marijuana possession limits in the U.S.

Abrogate Prohibition Michigan

Abrogate.org

Abrogate Prohibition Michigan is another petition for legal marijuana, and its aim is to abolish the current laws in Michigan that prohibit regulating cannabis and would eliminate taxes, penalties, and fines for cannabis use. The Detroit Free Press reported that medical marijuana profits in the state will grow exponentially after the state begins processing licenses next year, as they have in other states.

Marijuana sales country-wide totaled almost $7 billion last year and is the largest growing cash crop in the country. CNN Money reported that the market is expected to bring in more than $21 billion by the year 2020. Colorado had $90.1 million in recreational marijuana sales in 2016. When Nevada legalized weed in July, sales grossed $3 million in only four days, making half a million dollars in taxes. Michigan may be next if residents vote yes on recreational marijuana next year. You can find more Michigan recreational marijuana news here.

Article by: Niko Mann