After a false start earlier this year, a cannabis reform group has been given the nod by the State Board of Canvassers (SBOC) to go to the polls and vote to legalize pot in Michigan.
Known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the reform group collected 365,384 signatures – 112,861 more than the SBOC’s required amount – and presented them to Ruth Johnson, Michigan’s Secretary of State. Members of the SBOC were unanimous in their vote to allow the public to go to the polls on November 6 to decide whether or not marijuana should be regulated in the same way as the state’s alcohol laws.
This follows an attempt earlier in the year by a weed coalition group which, while managing to gather the required number of signatures, couldn’t meet the six-month deadline in which to present them to the SBOC.
Proponents Versus Non-Reformists
A spokesman for the reform group, John Truscott, says the hard work will now begin to persuade the public to approve the new law at the polls later this year. But they will face some stiff opposition from Scott Greenlee, the Healthy and Productive Michigan political action committee’s executive director. Greenlee says his mother told him not to jump off a bridge just because his friends chose to do so. He opposes the legalization of marijuana because the federal government still regards it as an illegal substance. Greenlee says people can’t just simply pick and choose which laws they want to follow.
But despite this opposition, the reform group is calling on the State of Michigan to:
- Approve the sale and possession of weed for recreational use
- To limit these sales and possession to two-and-a-half ounces
- To allow people with medical marijuana cards to have up to 10 ounces of weed at home
- To set excise tax on retail sales at 10 percent
- To set sales tax at six percent
The new law, if approved, restricts the use of marijuana for recreational purposes to adults of 21 years and older.
More States are Planning to Join the Bandwagon
Six more states are expected to join the bandwagon before the end of this year. To date, there are now nine US states, and Washington DC, that have legalized pot for adult recreational use, while medical pot dispensaries are legal in 29 states.
This is where you can light up without fear of stepping on any toes:
- Alaska
Alaska grabbed the opportunity to generate huge sums of marijuana tax dollars by attracting tourists to their recreational pot retail outlets. Apparently, about $2 billion annually is spent in Alaska by hungry “weedsters”.
- California
California went “green” at the beginning of 2018 but not all residents can light up legally. Central Valley cities like Bakersfield and Fresno have banned recreational weed sales.
- Colorado
This state has become famous for its weed dispensaries which outnumber McDonalds and Starbucks outlets. Colorado fully legalized marijuana way back in 2012.
- Maine
While Mainers can legally light up, there are no pot shops from which to buy the product. Lawmakers are now in negotiations with Governor Paul LePage in an attempt to change the current situation.
- Massachusetts
Lawmakers put a hold on the opening of marijuana dispensaries until July 2018, but in 2016 Massachusetts gave residents the go-ahead to possess up to one ounce of weed and to cultivate a maximum of 12 plants.
- Nevada
This state began selling recreational marijuana in July 2017 and has already earned almost $20 million in sales tax. Sales are limited to one ounce of weed and an eighth of an ounce of concentrates and edibles. Only residents living at least 25 miles from their nearest dispensary are legally entitled to obtain a grower’s license.
- Oregon
This state legalized weed back in 2015. Residents can have up to one ounce of marijuana and four plants. Edibles may also be given as gifts. Last year, Oregon spent $85 million on local government, public health, schools and state police obtained from taxation on the sales of marijuana.
- Vermont
This Green Mountain state will allow adults to possess up to one ounce of weed and to grow two plants, effective from July. However, production and the sale of weed is excluded.
- Washington
Recreational use was legalized in 2012, and since then the state has collected a whopping $1 billion in sales. Here too residents can possess up to one ounce of weed, but only those with medical cards can obtain a grower’s license.
- Washington DC
Residents voted to legalize recreational weed towards the end of 2014 and are allowed to possess up to two ounces and to give up to one ounce as a gift.
Conclusion
The decriminalization of marijuana for recreational use is gaining in popularity.
Apart from Michigan, six more states are expected to go to the polls before the end of 2018.
The huge amounts of money collected from taxes on the sale of weed is injecting much-needed funds into state coffers and, despite efforts by conservative groups strongly opposed to marijuana, the attraction of a lucrative financial gravy-boat appears to be outstripping the federal government’s continued hard-nosed attitude towards pot.
