Michigan
voters
bring
legal
recreational
pot to
the
Midwest
By
JEFF
KAROUB
APNews.com
DETROIT
-
Michigan
voters
on
Tuesday
made
their
state
the
first in
the
Midwest
to
legalize
recreational
marijuana,
passing
a ballot
measure
that
will
allow
people
21 or
older to
buy and
use the
drug and
putting
conservative
neighboring
states
on
notice.
Three
other
states
had
marijuana-related
measures
on their
ballots.
North
Dakota
voters
decided
recreational
pot
wasn’t
for them
, while
voters
in
Missouri
passed
one of
three
unrelated
measures
to
legalize
medical
marijuana.
Utah
voters
also
were
considering
whether
to allow
medical
marijuana
and to
join the
31 other
states
that
have
already
done so.
Including
Michigan,
10
states
and the
District
of
Columbia
have
legalized
recreational
marijuana.
And
Canada
recently
did so.
But the
passage
in
Michigan
gives it
a
foothold
in
Middle
America
and
could
cause
tension
with
neighboring
Indiana
and
Ohio,
which
overwhelmingly
rejected
a 2015
legalization
measure.
“Troopers
that
work
along
the
state
line are
very
cognizant
of
what’s
going on
up
north,”
said
Indiana
State
Police
Sgt. Ron
Galaviz,
a
spokesman
for the
agency’s
Fort
Wayne
Post,
which
stretches
north to
the
Michigan
line.
He
said if
the
referendum
passed,
“we know
some of
our
citizens
are
going to
go over
to
Michigan
to
partake.”
And
those
who
return
either
under
the
influence
or in
possession
of pot
may
learn
the hard
way that
it
remains
illegal
in
Indiana.
“We’ll
enforce
our laws
as
written,”
added
Galaviz,
a
Michigan
native.
“If
you’re
traveling
to or
through
our
state,
we
really
don’t
want you
bringing
it down
here.”
Kristin
Schrader,
51, a
Democrat
from
Superior
Township
in
Washtenaw
County,
said she
voted to
legalize
marijuana
because
she
doesn’t
want
people
leaving
Michigan
to get
it.
“I’ve
got no
attachment
to
marijuana
myself,
but I
don’t
care to
stand in
the way
of the
train
while
it’s
coming
down the
tracks.
I don’t
want
people
to go to
other
states
to get
it and
spend
their
money
somewhere
else. If
there’s
going to
be an
economic
benefit
to
legalize
marijuana,
I want
it to be
in
Michigan.”
The
Michigan
law will
take
effect
in about
a month,
as the
election
first
has to
be
certified
by the
Board of
State
Canvassers.
Ten days
after
that
certification,
people
age 21
or older
will be
allowed
to have,
use and
grow the
drug,
but the
process
of
establishing
regulations
for its
retail
sale
could
take
about
two
years.
The
measure,
which
was
endorsed
by a
national
organization
of
black-owned
businesses
and a
group of
retired
Michigan
law
enforcement
officers,
will
create a
state
licensing
system
for
marijuana
businesses
and
allow
cities
and
townships
to
restrict
them.
Supporters
say it
will
raise
roughly
$130
million
in
additional
tax
revenue
each
year
that
will go
toward
road
repairs,
schools
and
local
governments.
They
also say
it will
allow
for
greater
regulation
of pot
usage
and for
the
police
to focus
on more
pressing
problems.
Opponents,
including
many law
enforcement
agencies,
prosecutors,
chambers
of
commerce
and
religious
groups,
said
legalizing
marijuana
would
lead to
increased
use by
children,
drug
abuse
and car
crashes.
They
also
said
Michigan’s
proposal
would be
too
permissive
by
allowing
people
to have
up to
2.5
ounces
(71
grams)
of the
drug on
them and
up to 10
ounces
(284
grams)
at home.
Unlike
Michigan’s
measure,
North
Dakota’s
rejected
measure
didn’t
receive
any
significant
funding
from
outside
groups.
It came
as the
state
was
still
setting
up its
medical
marijuana
system,
which
voters
approved
by a
wide
margin
two
years
ago.
In
Missouri,
voters
passed
one of
three
unrelated
medical
marijuana
measures
that
made it
onto the
ballot.
The
constitutional
amendment
will
allow
patients
with
cancer,
HIV,
epilepsy
and
other
conditions
access
to the
drug.
Voters
in Utah
also
were
considering
whether
to
legalize
medical
marijuana.
The
Mormon
church,
which
carries
outsized
influence
in the
conservative
state,
had
opposed
the
proposal
but
recently
joined
lawmakers
and
advocates
to back
a deal
that
would
legalize
it in
the
conservative
state.
Utah’s
governor
said he
would
call
lawmakers
into a
special
session
after
the
midterm
election
to pass
the deal
into
law,
even if
Tuesday’s
initiative
failed.
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