Michigan Cities To Vote On Cannabis Depenalization Measures Next Week
By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Voters in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, and Washington will not be the only ones deciding on marijuana policy on Election Day.
Voters in four Michigan cities — totaling over a million people — will also decide on Tuesday whether to legalize or depenalize the adult use of cannabis.
Voters in Detroit will decide on Proposal M, which removes criminal penalties pertaining to the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over age 21.
In Flint, Michigan voters will decide on a citizens’ initiative to amend the city code so that the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana or cannabis paraphernalia by those age 19 or older is no longer a criminal offense.
Grand Rapids voters will act on Proposal 2, which seeks to allow local law enforcement the discretion to ticket first-time marijuana offenders with a civil citation, punishable by a $25 fine and no criminal record.
In Ypsilanti, voters will decide on a proposal to make the local enforcement of marijuana possession offenses the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.
Under state law, possessing cannabis is a criminal misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
More information on this year’s cannabis-centric state and local initiatives may be found at NORML’s Smoke the Vote page here.
Source: NORML
