Law Michigan MMJ

[Baron23]

Down to the wire now.


Recreational marijuana proposal deadline is Tuesday for Michigan lawmakers

Petition to go on ballot unless lawmakers act today


LANSING, Mich. - The future of the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan will take a major step forward, or backward, on Tuesday.

The deadline for Michigan lawmakers to act on the petition that allows Michigan residents to vote on the legalization of recreational marijuana is set to go on the ballot Tuesday. That is, unless legislature acts.

The proposal was initially cleared by the Board of State Canvassers, thus beginning the 40-day clock for Michigan legislature.

If lawmakers do nothing, the proposal will be on the ballot this fall. However, the legislature could adopt the bill and force lawmakers to amend it at a later time.

The House goes into session Tuesday afternoon, but those in favor of furthering the conversation of the legalization of recreational marijuana believe they have until 11:59 p.m.

One thing is certain -- at the end of the day, the case of legalizing marijuana will be closed or put on the ballot this November.

 

[BD9]

Well Michigan voters, it's in your hands now.

http://www.wndu.com/content/news/Mi...alizing-recreational-marijuana-484621841.html

A citizen-initiated measure wasn't approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature before a 40-day deadline passed Tuesday. That means the ballot initiative will get a public vote in November.

Michigan has allowed medical-marijuana use for nearly a decade. If the ballot measure is successful, Michigan would become the 10th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

The proposal would allow people age 21 or older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana outside their home and grow up to 12 plants at home. A 10 percent excise tax on marijuana would be assessed at the retail level.

The Michigan Senate leader wanted legislators to pass the bill to make it easier to change later, but support was lacking in the House.

 

[Baron23]

A citizen-initiated measure wasn't approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature before a 40-day deadline passed Tuesday.

Great news....democracy will have its day despite some in the professional political class (f' them haha).

 

[momofthegoons]

Dispensary owners talk shop, potential recreational pot use in Michigan

FLINT, Mich. -- If voters say yes in November, Michigan would become the ninth state to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

A measure wasn't approved by the legislature before a deadline passed Tuesday.

That paves the way for Michigan voters to decide.


A Rose City man who has a medical marijuana card says the people should decide.

"Michigan could use the revenue that marijuana pays," says Brian Dalton.

Owner of Flint’s oldest medical marijuana dispensary says if Michigan pot proposal passes in November it will help his business. @nbc25fox66


Among other things, the proposal would tax marijuana sales with a 10 percent excise tax and a six percent sales tax.

People with a medical marijuana card wouldn't have to pay the sales tax.

The owner of Flint's oldest medical marijuana center expects the lame duck state legislature will attempt to amend it if it passes.

Ben Horner, of Michigan Organic Solutions says, "It's deeply political. People are happy it's going on the ballot because it's less likely to be re-written by the legislature."

If the ballot proposal passes, it would allow adults to own 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use, but they could keep up to 10 ounces at their home.

Tax revenues would be split: 35% for schools and 35% for roads. The rest would be split between communities and counties.

The owner of a Genesee county grow shop is leery of hidden loopholes, but supports the concept.

Clio Cultivation owner Buddy Dalton says "Any time there's something on the ballot you have to read every word, you have to read the fine print. If there's some sort of corporate structure where there's no growing in your home I think there would be a backlash."

 

[momofthegoons]

A little something from the cover of Rolling Stone magazine......

Why Pro-Pot Advocates Are Happy Michigan Didn't Just Legalize Weed

Republicans tried and failed to legalize marijuana – but some say waiting for a ballot initiative in November will be better for the state

Advocates are confident that the ballot initiative legalizing marijuana will pass in November.

On Tuesday, the Michigan state legislature briefly considered a law that would have fully legalized recreational marijuana for adults in the state. It didn't make it to a vote – Republicans leading the effort abandoned it when they realized they did not have the numbers – and because Tuesday was the deadline for the legislature, that means they can no longer consider it.

But, it turns out, that's a very good thing. According to marijuana advocates, passing this through the legislature instead of as a ballot initiative – as it was originally intended – would leave the bill open for partisan changes. "The intent [of pushing it through the legislature] is not in the interest of public opinion," says Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML. "It's in the interest of political expediency."

First, a little background: The initiative was put together by the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign, and is based on Michigan's successful 2016 medical marijuana initiative. If it passes, it would allow adults to carry up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, keep up to 10 ounces at home and grow up to 12 plants.

In April, the initiative's 360,000 signatures were certified, and the measure was officially headed to the ballot. That's when Republicans in the State Senate decided to try and get their hands on the language. If it were to pass by a popular vote, it would take two-thirds of the House and the Senate to make any amendments – but if they passed it as a law, a simple majority would be able to tweak the law however they want.

"Republican lawmakers wanted to have easier access to making changes, [which] might not have been bipartisan changes that are good for everybody," says Josh Hovey, communications director for the Regulate Marijuana campaign. "Now any changes that are made should have to be far more bipartisan of a solution."

According to Hovey, those in the campaign were nervous that there was going to be some significant restructuring of legalization if it went through the legislature, including stripping Michigan residents of the ability to grow at home. Putting it into the legislature, he says, was an attempt to make the proposal "more of a monopolized system," he says. "That's where there's some relief among the campaign, [since we hadn't] seen anything in writing that it would have been left as written."

However, there are certainly drawbacks to the initiative as is. For example, there's no clause that would expunge convictions for those people – mostly of color – who have been imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses. "We had very much hoped to include expungement, and had included it in the first draft of our ballot language," says Hovey. This, he says, would be something that could be passed by a two-thirds vote after it the initiative goes through. "Our hope is that the legislature will address this issue shortly after passing, and we know many members of our coalition will be urging them to do just that."

This, says NORML's Strekal, is why his organization favors ballot measures over legislation. "Traditionally, we trust voters to make these decisions more than we trust lawmakers," he says. "So we're looking forward to the voters of Michigan being able to cast their vote, to codify that it's the public will to legalize marijuana for responsible adult use."

 

[Baron23]

We had very much hoped to include expungement, and had included it in the first draft of our ballot language," says Hovey. This, he says, would be something that could be passed by a two-thirds vote after it the initiative goes through. "Our hope is that the legislature will address this issue shortly after passing, and we know many members of our coalition will be urging them to do just that."

So, there is no clause in the referendum regarding expungement. So, why the 2/3's needed to add it. Just pass it as separate legislation.

 

[momofthegoons]

Canceled meeting means more delays for medical marijuana licenses

LANSING — The Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board was supposed to give out the first licenses to cannabis businesses next week.

But those businesses will have to wait another month before they can open their doors after Monday's meeting was cancelled on Friday.

The cancellation came after one board member said they couldn't make the meeting and another said they would have a difficult time making it there in time. David Harns, spokesman for the state Department of Licensing and Regulation, wouldn't reveal which members weren't able to attend.

The board was set to award licenses to four applicants that represent four large marijuana growing operations, a secure transport company, a dispensary in Ann Arbor and a processor. They also were supposed to consider pre-qualifying 10 applicants for a variety of medical marijuana businesses.

But 18 months after the law was passed to regulate and tax the medical marijuana market and six months after the state began accepting applications for those businesses, not a single license has been awarded.

"Everyone wants a functional medical marijuana system and that was supposed to be the purpose of this law," said Jeff Hank, an attorney who has marijuana-business clients and who helped spearhead a petition drive to legalize marijuana. "If you don't facilitate the licensing, it makes it harder to do."

Hank said he has clients who are investing six figures into their marijuana businesses with just the hope of getting a license. Another has 15 employees who may have to be laid off because of the continuing delays in awarding licenses.

"It just creates a lot of uncertainty for people," he said. "There needs to be an evaulation of how to make the process more efficient."


A five-member board, appointed by the governor, Senate majority leader and speaker of the House, governs the issuance of medical marijuana licenses in the state. At another board meeting earlier this year, one member was absent and the board split 2-2 on pre-qualifying several applicants, leaving the licensing process in limbo.

"The Legislature should change the law and do away with the board altogether," said Matthew Abel, a lawyer and executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

A proposal to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use will be on the statewide ballot on Nov. 6. That proposal would leave it up to the state Department of Licensing and Regulation to handle the licensing of marijuana businesses. The department does the processing and background checks for medical marijuana businesses, but it's up to the politically appointed board to award those licenses.

"I know vacations and emergencies come up, but this proves even more the intelligence of the legalization proposal that removes the board from being a player in awarding licenses," Abel said. "The LARA folks are employed full time to do this type of thing rather than political appointees."

The medical marijuana licensing board members are not paid, but are reimbursed for expenses. They have had five meetings this year and have given preliminary approval, but no licenses yet, to 24 medical marijuana business applicants.

The department has received 546 applications from businesses seeking pre-qualification, meaning they either haven't yet received approval from the communities where they want to locate of they don't have a building secured yet. Another 212 applicants, who do have local approval and facilities, have applied for a license.

The next scheduled meeting of the licensing board is July 12.

 

[Baron23]

Medical marijuana has been a thriving industry in Michigan for a decade

A week ago, Ohio's pharmacy board awarded 56 provisional licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries, one of which will be in Fremont. While medical marijuana won't be available to consumers until September at the earliest, it's been a thriving industry in Michigan for a decade.

In 2008, Michigan voters passed a law legalizing medical marijuana. Since then, medical marijuana dispensaries have been springing up across the state. While there are similarities between Ohio's medical marijuana laws, signed by Gov. John Kasich in 2016, and Michigan's, there are also significant differences.

"The idea that Ohio is going to be very similar to Michigan could be completely wrong. They are two very different laws," said Al Moroz, manager of Arbors Wellness, a dispensary in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the biggest differences is that Ohio law does not allow patients to grow marijuana plants themselves, whereas Michigan allows patients to grow up to 12 plants.

Additionally, smoking medical marijuana is not allowed under Ohio law, but it is legal in Michigan. Michigan dispensaries are allowed to sell to out-of-state patients who have a state-issued identification card and a medical marijuana program registry card from the same state.

To obtain a card in Ohio, patients who already have a certified doctor's recommendation will have to submit a marijuana card application to the Ohio Department of Health Services.

No cards until September
The cards will be issued through the Board of Pharmacy starting in September. Until that time, even though medical marijuana is legal in both states, Ohio patients cannot buy cannabis in Michigan until they receive an Ohio registry card and are able to show it at Michigan dispensaries.

At this time, Ohio does not recognize medical marijuana registry cards issued in other states. There are 218,558 registered medical marijuana patients in Michigan and 38,107 registered caregivers who can buy or grow the marijuana for patients.

Ohio law is more lenient with the amount of cannabis patients can possess. Patients in Ohio can possess a 90-day supply of medical marijuana products. The permissible weight changes, depending on the product type.

Michigan patients are allowed to possess no more than 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana. The Michigan dispensaries offer a diverse array of marijuana products. Most dispensaries have a selection of cookies, brownies, gummies, THC-infused drinks, ointments, oils and creams, as well as ingestible, smokable products.

Ohio dispensaries might be similar, except they won't offer any smokable products. In Michigan, prices differ based on the product and place, but an ounce of medical marijuana buds generally costs between $200 and $300. A gram of the buds usually sells for between $10 and $20.

Cannabis culture
Each Michigan dispensary has its own cannabis culture and marketing strategy. Bloom City Club in Ann Arbor, for example, is the first and only Michigan dispensary owned and operated entirely by women. It grew out of the expertise of a founding member affectionately called "Ganjamama."

Bloom is trying to end the negative perception of cannabis by acting as an "ambassador" for ending cannabis prohibition and being compliant to Michigan rules and regulations.

Om of Medicine, another dispensary in Ann Arbor, has a bright, open environment filled with couches, coffee tables and musical instruments. The employees there are referred to as "oms," and host periodic comedy shows, jazz concerts and yoga classes.

Arbors Wellness, at 321 E. Liberty St., offers medical marijuana buds, edibles and concentrates that are all lab-tested so it can accurately inform patients about the potency of their medicine.

Arbors Wellness sells a variety of cannabis-based products, such as flowers, edibles, extracts, and more.

Moroz says Arbors Wellness values education so patients will be well-informed. He said that while their staff might not know every detail of the illnesses the patients are being treated for, they focus on informing patients of the best product for their situation. "We're a retail establishment. We're not a doctor's office," said Moroz. "We're not giving medical advice. We try to educate the patients on the products that we carry."

Moroz says that in order to find a specific treatment plan based on individual needs, they recommend patients try a few different products, all having low dosages. "It's a lot of trying to inform them how their body will react to different products, then seeing how their body reacts, and catering a treatment plan for them," said Moroz.

'We're treating symptoms'
Medical marijuana isn't always the solution to an illness, but it can help alleviate an illness' negative side effects. Arbors Wellness tries to find the right cannabis product for the specific issue a patient is having. "We're not curing anything, we're treating symptoms," said Moroz.

Although Ohio and Michigan are among the 29 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have legalized medical marijuana, the drug remains illegal under federal law. It is listed alongside heroin and LSD as a Schedule I illegal drug. "It's something that should be taken very seriously," said Moroz. "There are some major things to be aware of. If you cross the Ohio-Michigan border with marijuana you are breaking federal law."

Ohio planned to have dispensaries up and running by September, but that date has been pushed back to a time that has not been determined.

 

[momofthegoons]

Gawd.... seriously? Could they get any more anal about this?

 

[Baron23]

Gawd.... seriously? Could they get any more anal about this?

View attachment 3682

So I can see where a number of the "do not use in marketing" words/phrases may be very misleading and imply a degree of medical care that is not justified, but dispensary.

Please......what are they supposed to call them..."provisioning centers"?

We pay people to write this crap up??

 

[momofthegoons]

Medical marijuana pension money being kept by officials after all

LEONI TWP., MI - Medical marijuana funds are no longer helping pay elected officials in Leoni Township.

But their pensions will likely see a slight boost, due to the earlier payments.

In March, township officials said the extra pension funds were set to be returned. Now, Clerk Michele Manke said that money cannot be returned to the Municipal Employees Retirement System.

"It did not get returned, because when our accountant tried to work on that, the auditor questioned whether it was legal to do because there are some rules and laws and we have a plan with MERS," Manke said.

The topic was set to be discussed at the June 12 township Board of Trustees meeting, but was tabled for details to be ironed out, Manke said.

For the first 18 applications, city officials were receiving a portion of the $5,000 collected for each application submitted. Following public outrage, the board agreed to no longer take pay for the extra work.

All elected officials, except Manke and Treasurer Lori Stack, paid the money back. Manke made $9,000 and Stack collected $4,500 before taxes.

Because the extra pay was part of their salary, officials also were set to receive extra money in their pensions.

"We had no problem giving it back," Manke said. "But because the plan document said this, we would have violated the law."

Manke said she sought a second opinion from Grand Rapids firm Mika, Meyers, Beckett and Jones. They confirmed the extra pension money cannot be excluded, Manke said.

"It's just simply not right to do it, in my opinion. I thought it was solved," Trustee Kurt Cole said about the additional pension funds. "Now you're putting us back in a position where we're going to have to pay out of medical marijuana for your retirement? Don't you see how this is a conflict?"

Manke and Stack were set to receive a combined $2,000 into their pensions due to the old medical marijuana application fee.

With 66 applications approved, the former structure would have given the clerk, supervisor and treasurer a combined $72,600 of extra pay if it hadn't been altered.

 

[Baron23]

Medical marijuana pension money being kept by officials after all

LEONI TWP., MI - Medical marijuana funds are no longer helping pay elected officials in Leoni Township.

But their pensions will likely see a slight boost, due to the earlier payments.

In March, township officials said the extra pension funds were set to be returned. Now, Clerk Michele Manke said that money cannot be returned to the Municipal Employees Retirement System.

"It did not get returned, because when our accountant tried to work on that, the auditor questioned whether it was legal to do because there are some rules and laws and we have a plan with MERS," Manke said.

The topic was set to be discussed at the June 12 township Board of Trustees meeting, but was tabled for details to be ironed out, Manke said.

For the first 18 applications, city officials were receiving a portion of the $5,000 collected for each application submitted. Following public outrage, the board agreed to no longer take pay for the extra work.

All elected officials, except Manke and Treasurer Lori Stack, paid the money back. Manke made $9,000 and Stack collected $4,500 before taxes.

Because the extra pay was part of their salary, officials also were set to receive extra money in their pensions.

"We had no problem giving it back," Manke said. "But because the plan document said this, we would have violated the law."

Manke said she sought a second opinion from Grand Rapids firm Mika, Meyers, Beckett and Jones. They confirmed the extra pension money cannot be excluded, Manke said.

"It's just simply not right to do it, in my opinion. I thought it was solved," Trustee Kurt Cole said about the additional pension funds. "Now you're putting us back in a position where we're going to have to pay out of medical marijuana for your retirement? Don't you see how this is a conflict?"

Manke and Stack were set to receive a combined $2,000 into their pensions due to the old medical marijuana application fee.

With 66 applications approved, the former structure would have given the clerk, supervisor and treasurer a combined $72,600 of extra pay if it hadn't been altered.

Yep, all the pigs are lining up at the trough.

 

[momofthegoons]

The newest edict from LARA regarding cannabis edibles..... I couldn't copy and paste the images, and had to screenshot and crop, so please forgive the wonky formatting.

Prohibited Appearances and Packaging of Medical Marihuana Products

The Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act Emergency Rules establish protocols regarding edible marihuana products. Per Rule 33, the term ‘edible marihuana product’ means any marihuana-infused product containing marihuana that is intended for human consumption in a manner other than smoke inhalation. It is important to note the following:

• No edible marihuana product can be in a shape, color, package, or labeled in a manner that it would appeal to minors aged 17 years or younger. No edible marihuana product can be associated with or have cartoons, caricatures, toys, colors, designs, shapes, labels, or package that would appeal to minors.
  
• No edible marihuana product can be easily confused with commercially sold candy. The use of the word candy or candies on the packaging or labeling is prohibited.
  
• An edible marihuana product must be in child resistant packages or containers
  
  The following edible medical marihuana products violate the rule:
  
  
  
  
  
  The products displayed above are contained in child-resistant packaging. However, the contents’ appearances would appeal to minors aged 17 years or younger and are in violation of Rule 33(6)(a). The products need to be in opaque packaging so that the contents are not visible.
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

[Shredder]

Petty and anal, lol. Sounds to me another reason to arrest folks who would be otherwise inocent as hell.
Someone should tell them it's the marijuana that attracts kids, and adults.

 

[Baron23]

Petty and anal, lol. Sounds to me another reason to arrest folks who would be otherwise inocent as hell.
Someone should tell them it's the marijuana that attracts kids, and adults.

Well, I don't really share that view. To me, there is absolutely no justification for making edible MMJ that look like anything OTHER than medicine. Knowledgable adults who are eating these edibles for a purpose will not need the incentive of them looking like candy while to children it is exactly that characteristic that will attract them.

There is no valid reason I can see for packaging edible MJ to look like sweets or candy.

Probably the reason you can't buy Scotch whisky in juice boxes with cute pictures of purple dinosaurs on them.

Just my anachronistic view :-)

 

[Baron23]

"Could" become an issue??? Like it hasn't been an issue up there already??


Local control could become an issue if Michigan legalizes recreational cannabis


Will local governments have the power to unilaterally ban marijuana companies if a recreational legalization ballot measure is approved in Michigan in November?

The answer seems to be up in the air, according to Detroit TV station WDIV.

“One interpretation says all communities are opted in automatically until they opt out. The other interpretation is that each community will decide for itself,” WDIV reported.


No matter the answer, it’ll be an important one for those looking to enter the Michigan cannabis market.
Local control has been an ongoing legal question for marijuana companies across the nation for years, because it’s key to MJ businesses finding legal homes in which to set up shop.

That’s true for growers, retailers and every other type of plant-touching business.

According to the ballot measure, “a municipality may completely prohibit or limit the number of marihuana establishments within its boundaries” and local governments can adopt further MJ regulations as long as they’re not “unreasonably impracticable” or in direct conflict with state industry rules.

That seems to suggest cities and counties will have to act if they want to ban the industry, but it also won’t really guarantee homes in Michigan for cannabis businesses.

Legal experts cited by WDIV said they believe that individual communities will have to decide for themselves if they want to allow cannabis companies in their jurisdictions.

 

[momofthegoons]

Some marijuana convictions could disappear if voters approve legal pot

Untold thousands of Michiganders could be in line for a second chance if voters decide to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the Nov. 6 election.

In some other states where recreational use of marijuana has been legalized, voters or lawmakers have decided to make it easier for people convicted of marijuana crimes to get their records expunged or sealed. And Michigan could be on the same path if a bill introduced last week by state Rep. Sheldon Neeley gets a hearing and is passed.

“I hope we will listen to the will of the people. If the November vote is loud and clear, we should take a good look at it and balance the playing field on the usage of marijuana in the state of Michigan,” said the Flint Democrat. “We definitely don’t want people to have a criminal record for a nonviolent crime that is now legal if it passes in November.”

His bill would only deal with misdemeanor convictions, such as use or possession of small amounts of marijuana as well as some cannabis growing. But under the legislation, judges “shall grant” requests for expungement of criminal convictions if the proposal is passed by voters and the convictions are no longer considered a crime under the legalization.

Paige, a 20-year-old from Birmingham who didn’t want her last name divulged, spent $10,000 and 21 months trying to clear her name so she could get a job in a nursing home and get accepted to nursing school. After she was pulled over for driving in Ferndale without her lights on and a police officer spotted a small bag of marijuana in her car, she was arrested, charged and convicted of improper transportation of about 1 gram of what she said was medical marijuana in her car.

She said the arrest temporarily ended her dreams of working in the health care industry because the state prohibits people with drug convictions from getting licensed to work in that field.

She had already gotten certification to be a nurse's assistant, she said, “but I found out through a job I applied for at a nursing home. They told me the state of Michigan said I couldn’t work there. I was so embarrassed. It’s definitely not something you want attached to your name.”

If she had her application in for nursing school at the time, she would have been told the same thing.

She said went back to Oakland Circuit Court and a judge decided to give her a second chance and removed the conviction from her record.

“I was labeled as a bad person for something that was legally prescribed. I just wanted to show the world I wasn’t a bad person,” she said, adding that she has a medical marijuana card for treatment of severe migraines that began when she was 7.

But Paige, who since the expungement has landed a job in a Troy nursing home and is set to begin nursing classes in the fall, is the exception, rather than the rule.

In the past five years, 117,123 Michiganders have been arrested and charged with misdemeanor marijuana offenses and 49,928 of those people have been convicted, according to statistics compiled by Michigan State Police from records supplied by county prosecutors and courts.

Nationally, according to figures compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 8.2 million people were arrested for marijuana offenses between 2001 and 2010. African-Americans were three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana crimes as whites, according to the data, compiled from the FBI’s annual crime statistics.

Altogether, 3,670 people are either in prison, jail or on probation for felony marijuana convictions, according to the Michigan Department of Correction’s 2016 annual report of its inmate population. Some of those convictions are for high-level marijuana distribution charges, but others are for possession or use of marijuana. Neeley’s bill would allow some of those people to request an expungement of their conviction, but judges wouldn’t be required to grant those requests.

Not many marijuana offenders are locked up in county jails in metro Detroit. In Wayne County, 25 of the 1,725 inmates in the county jail are there on felony marijuana charges and no one is locked up on a misdemeanor pot charge, according to Undersheriff Dan Pfannes. Others may be there on marijuana crimes, but have other charges pending as well, he said. In Oakland County, seven of the 1,300 inmates are in jail on misdemeanor marijuana charges and four for felony crimes, said Undersheriff Mike McCabe.

“If you’re a nonviolent misdemeanor person, you don’t spend a significant amount of time in the Wayne County Jail,” Pfannes said.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which spearheaded the petition drive that got the marijuana legalization on the November ballot, considered adding a clause that would have allowed for expungement of criminal convictions. California did the same thing in 2016 when voters there passed a referendum to legalize weed by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin.

But there was a fear that because the proposal would deal with more than one state law that it could become vulnerable to a legal challenge.

“Expungement is a separate issue than legalization,” said Josh Hovey, spokesman for the coalition. “Our first draft included expungement, but our attorneys strongly recommended pulling it or risk the whole thing.”

Neeley hopes his bill will get a hearing before the November election, but that’s unlikely in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

“I’d like to see it taken up before the November election so people will have a clearer vision of what’s going to happen going forward,” he said, noting he hasn’t made up his mind on how he’ll vote on the ballot proposal.

But he will have support from some of the candidates running for statewide office. All the Democratic gubernatorial candidates — former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, former Detroit Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed and retired businessman Shri Thanedar, as well as attorney general candidate Dana Nessel — favor the pot legalization proposal and allowing for the expungement of low-level marijuana convictions.

All of the Republican candidates for governor — Attorney General Bill Schuette, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, state Sen. Patrick Colbeck and Saginaw Township doctor Jim Hines, as well as Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-Dewitt, and Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, who are running for attorney general, oppose legalizing marijuana, but they have said they would respect the will of the voters if the measure passes. Schuitmaker said it would make sense to expunge low-level convictions, but she would want to check with prosecutors first to see whether the original charge was more severe and pleaded down. None of the other GOP candidates were willing to address the expungement issue before the legalization vote is taken.

In addition to California, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire and Oregon have taken steps to make it easier for people to get their convictions sealed or expunged. Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Nevada Republican, vetoed a bill last year that would have made clearing those convictions easier, saying that the bill didn’t differentiate enough between low-level and more serious crimes.

For Paige, the question of legalizing marijuana for recreational use is complicated. She fully supports cannabis for medical use, but isn’t sure about full legalization. For either category, however, she believes everyone deserves a second chance.

“If you have a medical card, you shouldn’t be taking away people’s dreams,” she said. “And if it’s legalized, there is no reason for a person to live with those skeletons in their closet.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Michigan's tax on recreational marijuana would be among lowest in nation

Michigan could have some of the lowest tax rates on recreational marijuana in the nation if Michigan residents choose to legalize it at the polls in November.

To date nine states have legalized marijuana use, each with their own approach to taxing the substance.

The Michigan proposal would make recreational marijuana legal for those 21 and over, with a 10 percent excise tax on the sale price, as well as the standard state sales tax rate of 6 percent. Excise taxes are paid by the retailer under the proposal, while sales tax is paid by the consumer.

"We didn't want to be the highest in the country," said Josh Hovey, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. "Where we sit with the rest of the country is a good thing."

Discouraging the black market

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol consists of multiple cannabis activist groups, the ACLU and drug policy reform groups. They've hired Hovey, a vice president at the public relations firm Truscott Rossman, to lead communications.

The coalition drafted a proposed law to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, limiting its use to those over 21 and continuing bans on smoking in public places or driving under the influence. After the legislature declined a chance to pass it themselves, the law will be decided on by voters during the Nov. 6 election.

"It's not a huge tax, but it's significant," said Matthew Abel, a senior partner at Cannabis Counsel, a boutique marijuana law firm in Detroit, and the executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Abel was on the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol's drafting committee for the proposed law.

"The argument against taxing the hell out of (recreational marijuana) and making the tax as high was we could is that having a lower tax encourages people to shop in the legal marketplace as opposed to staying in the illegal market," Abel said.

Medical marijuana carries a 3 percent excise tax and the 6 percent sales tax. The excise tax would go away on medical marijuana if voters decide to legalize, Hovey said.

Opponents to legalization in Michigan claim the proposed 10 percent excise tax rate on recreational weed would be the lowest in the country.

"Michigan would become the Marijuana Capital of America if this passes," said Scott Greenlee, president of Healthy and Productive Michigan -- a group backed by the national anti-legalization campaign Smart Alternatives to Marijuana. "The 10 percent tax rate is the lowest of any state that has recreational marijuana, and yet people would be able to have more of it on them (2.5 oz) and in their homes (10 oz) than anywhere in America. Even if you favor recreational marijuana, this is just a bad, poorly-written proposal."

Lower taxes than Colorado

Michigan's proposed tax rates would be lower than the rate in Colorado, where there's a 15 percent excise tax and 15 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana. In 2017, revenue from taxes, licenses and fees in Colorado was $247.4 million, according to state figures.

States with lower tax rates include Oregon, which charges a 17 percent sales tax on marijuana with local taxes up to 3 percent, and Massachusetts, where there's a 6.25 percent excise tax, 10.75 percent sales tax and up to 3 percent in local taxes.

In Washington, marijuana has a 37 percent sales tax -- which brought in $315 million in revenue for the state in 2017. That year saw total sales of legal marijuana of $1.3 billion, according to state figures.

Nevada also has a higher combination of excise and sales tax than what is proposed in Michigan: 15 percent excise tax on the wholesale sale, which is paid by the cultivator; and 10 percent excise tax on the retail sale, paid by the retail store. That combination garnered $30 million in the first six months after marijuana was legalized in the state in July 2017.

TAX RATES

Recreational marijuana tax rates by state

* Alaska: $50 per ounce

* California: 15 percent sales tax, $9.25 per ounce of flowers, $2.75 per ounce of leaves and local taxes up to 8 percent

* Colorado: 15 percent excise tax, 15 percent sales tax

* Maine: 20 percent tax

* Massachusetts: 6.25 percent excise tax, 10.75 percent sales tax and up to 3 percent local tax

* Nevada: 15 percent excise tax, 10 percent sales tax

* Oregon: 17 percent sales tax and local tax up to 3 percent

* Vermont: No retail sales

* Washington: 37 percent sales tax

 

[momofthegoons]

There's a slideshow at the beginning of this article that can't be embedded... but all the points are listed in the article.

What’s legal, and what isn’t, under Michigan recreational marijuana plan

With a petition to legalize recreational marijuana in Michigan signed and certified, the issue will be decided by popular vote in November. But questions abound. Will a smoking lounge pop up on every corner? Will corn fields give way to leafy green pastures? Will the state get rich quick, or spend all the money battling reefer madness?

In short - what would legal marijuana actually mean for the state?

To get an idea of what the recreational marijuana initiative would look like in Michigan, Bridge Magazine spoke with:

• Josh Hovey: Spokesman for Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol (CRMLA), the pro-legalization group that placed the measure on the ballot
• Mary Chartier: A Lansing-based attorney with extensive experience in marijuana litigation
• Scott Greenlee: President of Healthy and Productive Michigan, a group campaigning against the initiative
• A marijuana advocate for MILegalize, a grassroots group that has been working since 2015 to legalize weed in Michigan, and consultant for Michigan Marijuana Licensing Experts”

Here are 10 things that adults age 21 and over can do ‒ and 9 they cannot ‒ if Michigan approves the ballot initiative:

You can…
1. Walk around with (lots of) weed in your pocket
Residents can possess up to 2.5 ounces of flower (marijuana product smoked in joints), or 15 grams of concentrate, which is the resin from cannabis plants used for edibles, dabs, vaping, and other products.

What does 2.5 ounces look like? Estimating how many joints 2.5 ounces can produce depends on the size of the joint. Based on 0.5 grams per joint, the Michigan limit yields about 140 joints. (CRMLA appears to roll bigger-than-average joints, because they estimate the personal limit produces roughly 80 joints.)

But watch where you tread: Cannabis would not be allowed on the grounds of a K-12 school and would remain a felony on any federally owned property, such as a national park.

2. Grow marijuana inside your home
Talk about a green thumb. A household would be permitted to grow up to 12 plants, the limit regardless of the number of adults living there. Any outdoor gardening would have to take place in a secure area where the plants are not easily visible to the public.

3. Store up to 10 ounces of marijuana in your safe
While personal possession is capped at 2.5 ounces, a household can have up to 10 ounces (as many as 560 joints, at 56 JPO, for those counting at home). This holds true even if five or more adults over the age of 21 live together.

Advocates say the 10-ounce limit only applies to marijuana products purchased, and not to pot grown on the property. Product grown at the home would not be counted toward the household limit. Lowell said this provision was added because the Coalition “didn’t want to make a situation where if somebody happened to have a good harvest...they broke the law” despite all of their actions being legal.

Opponents of the ballot measure balk at the high limits. Greenlee predicts that having among the highest household possession limits in the nation (most states allowing legal weed cap household limits at 1 ounce of flower) would make “Michigan the weed capital.”

4. Give pot as a gift this holiday season
As long as the giver and recipient are over the age of 21, giving cannabis products as a gift is permitted.

How much would this take out of your holiday budget? Other states have varying tax rates, affecting the price. ColoradoPotGuide.com, citing data from the cannabis market research firm BDS Analytics, reports that the average retail price in spring 2017 for one gram of flower was $6.92. Washington state was $5.87 per gram. That is enough to roll roughly two to three joints.

5. Open a commercial cannabis farm
The initiative lays out three tiers of business licenses for marijuana growers, scaled by the number of plants a farmer can cultivate. A class A business license would allow up to 100 plants at any one time, class B is 500 plants, and a class C license permits up to 2,000 plants. For the first two years, according to Lowell, those already operating businesses licensed under Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act would receive priority for an equivalent recreational marijuana license.

6. Operate a marijuana microbusiness
Inspired by microbreweries, a marijuana microbusiness license would allow for vertical integration. Permitted to grow up to 150 plants, a microbusiness could process, package and sell its crop to adults. They are already legal in California, but have not proliferated because of zoning and licensing delays.

7. Limit or ban recreational marijuana businesses in your municipality
Even if voters approve marijuana at the state level, locals keep some control. Municipalities can place harsher restrictions on marijuana businesses than the state, such as by capping the number of licenses, or banning commercial cannabis altogether. Residents can petition their town for such ordinances.

8. Refuse to hire job applicants, or fire existing employees, if they test positive for marijuana
Even though the law allows it, pot may still violate your employee handbook. After speaking with the business community, Hovey said the coalition “felt it was important for business to have the right” to test employees and reject or fire them for failing a drug test. Some industries, such as trucking, would be required by law to continue to do so.

As Bridge has reported, parts of the Michigan business community are already struggling to find skilled workers who can pass a drug test. Greenlee, of Healthy and Productive Michigan, predicts state workforce development challenges will only worsen with easier access to marijuana, saying that is why “the Michigan Chamber and Grand Rapids Chamber and other smaller chambers are strongly against any recreational marijuana in Michigan.”

9. Ban tenants from smoking on your rental property
Just as landlords have the right to ban smoking cigarettes on their property, they can also prohibit smoking cannabis product.

It’s possible this initiative would not allow them to completely bar cannabis consumption. According to Hovey, landlords would not have the right to ban consumption in other ways, such as edibles. Chartier supported this interpretation but said she expects litigation on this issue.

10. Work as a ‘budtender’ at a smoking lounge
Move over, cigar bars and hookah lounges. The initiative gives municipalities the right to zone areas for businesses that permit consuming pot. These businesses would not be considered public spaces, exempting them from the portion of the law that prohibits consumption in public.

You can not…
1. Fill your entire garage with your new cash crop
Not only are households limited to 12 plants, you cannot open a licensed marijuana establishment in a residential area.

2. Grow your stash in a community garden
This isn’t a case of “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” Plants can only be grown in a secured, enclosed space. It’s probably best if that room lacks a window, too, as plants can’t be “visible from a public place.”

3. Drive while high
Just like alcohol, it would be illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana.

Exactly how this portion of the law would be enforced is murky. “There isn’t a good way to test people on the side of the road,” Greenlee said. There are also no national standards to determine drugged driving. Unlike alcohol, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical ingredient in cannabis, remains in the system long after it continues to have an effect.

Chartier defines impaired driving as “a substantial and material effect on driving.” A 2013 Michigan Supreme Court case, People v. Koon, was decided in favor of Chartier’s client, a medical marijuana patient charged with driving under the influence because THC was detected in his system. The court noted that state law governing medical pot does not define what constitutes “under the influence.” But the court said “the phrase clearly contemplates something more than having any amount of marijuana in one’s system and requires some effect on the person.”

“The reasoning would apply to recreational user,” Chartier wrote in an email to Bridge, “but the holding of the case can’t just be extended to recreational users. It likely would be litigated.”

As states have begun to legalize recreational marijuana, a variety of methods have been developed to test if somebody is stoned behind the wheel. iPad apps, blood tests, and saliva swabs are among potential solutions, but as yet there is no universal yardstick to certify cannabis impairment.

4. Light up in a park
Smoking recreational marijuana would not be allowed in public. If you choose to indulge, you would have to do so on private property or in a business zoned for marijuana consumption.

When it comes to privately owned property that’s visible from a public place, such as your front porch, Chartier said “an overly aggressive prosecutor may try and claim that [smoking on your front porch is a public space] because the public can view the porch. But I don’t think that argument would be successful based on the case law.”

5. Promote it as a free gift for another retail purchase
Maine and Washington, D.C., allow people to possess pot and gift it to others over 21, but they do not allow retail sales. A bustling grey economy of “gifting” weed has burst forth to exploit the loophole. In Boston, for example, you can buy a $55 bottle of juice, with the pot that comes with it being complimentary. Michigan’s initiative attempts to crack down on this gifting economy before it has the chance to grow, permitting gifts “as long as the transfer is not advertised or promoted to the public.”

“If you are saying ‘Buy a bottle of water and get a free ounce of marijuana,’ that would be illegal under our initiative,” Hovey told Bridge. This would prevent businesses from distributing marijuana products without being approved or avoiding having to pay for a marijuana retailing license.

6. Sell colorful, marijuana-laced candy
Candy infused with marijuana that is in a shape or packaging attractive to children would be banned. Looks like you may still have to head to California for those Cheeba Chews.

7. Ship marijuana to somebody else (even within Michigan)
Hold on before you start devising a mail-order marijuana business model. The post office is run by the federal government, which continues to consider marijuana a Class I controlled substance. Shipping marijuana, even if it stays within Michigan, would remain illegal. Commercial shippers may have leeway to deliver marijuana products, but the area remains hazy. Other states have not seen marijuana-by-mail flourish.

8. Ban marijuana completely from your town
Though local governments can ban or limit cannabis businesses, they cannot ban marijuana completely. Initiative language explicitly states they cannot restrict the flow of marijuana products being transported through their boundaries.

On whether towns can ban personal growth and consumption, advocates and opponents differ. Lowell says towns could not strip individuals of their right to grow or use pot. Chartier agrees that only commercial activities can be restricted locally. But Greenlee says it is “likely to be one of those things that will have to be figured out by the state or a court challenge.”

9. Sell homegrown marijuana to your friends
Unless, of course, you are willing to go through the licensing process. Selling marijuana would require getting a license and paying associated taxes to be a marijuana retailer, and products must be tested before being placed on the market.

 

[Baron23]

Excise taxes are paid by the retailer under the proposal, while sales tax is paid by the consumer.

All taxes are, eventually, paid by the end user.....US!