Is Marijuana Legal in Michigan?

In Michigan, it is legal to consume cannabis for both recreational and medical purposes. You can carry a maximum of 2.5 oz. (71 g) outside and store 10 oz. (280 g) inside your home. Growing is allowed at 12 plants for household unless one has a commercial license.

Proposal 1 (The Michigan Compassionate Care Initiative) 2008: Medical cannabis in this state became legal with the passing of this initiative on the 4^th of November, 2008. This measure legalized possessing cannabis of up to 2+1⁄2 Oz’s (71 g) for patients who had certain medical conditions under the approval of a licensed physician.  Though this measure faced great opposition from both law enforcement and John P Walters a drug czar, it was ultimately passed by a 3-37 margin rendering Michigan the 13^th state to have legalized medical marijuana. It was also the first state in the Midwestern region to take this step.

This measure neither expressly allowed the operation of dispensaries or the cultivation by patients which caused great gray areas.  A ruling by the Supreme Court in February 2013 confirmed that Proposal 1 did indeed not allow for medical cannabis dispensaries to operate though appx. 75-100 were operating in the gray area.

Gov. Rick Snyder in September 2016 signed a stack of bills among which reforms were made to:

• Allow the regulation and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries
• Set taxation at a rate of 3% for medical cannabis
• Allow using non-smokable forms of cannabis like edibles and topicals.

Qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in the state of Michigan include:

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Arthritis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Austism
• Cerebral palsy
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Cancer
• Crohn’s disease
• Colitis
• Chronic pain
• Glaucoma
• Crohn’s disease
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• HIV or AIDS
• Nausea
• Hepatitis C
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
• Nail patella
• Parkinson’s
• PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder)
• Persistent and severe muscle spasms
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Seizures
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Spinal cord injury
• Ulcerative colitis

Legalization of Recreational Cannabis in Michigan

Cannabis in Michigan was legalized in 2018 by an initiative that passed with a 56 percent margin. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act enabled sales of Marijuana Legally starting in December 2019.

Prohibition

Before the legalization, possessing any amount of cannabis was a misdemeanor offense that could be punished by not more than 1 year of imprisonment and a fine of $2,000. Actual use on the other hand would want you a 90-day jail sentence and a fine of $100 fine. Possessing cannabis in a public park carried a sentence of up to two years and a $2,000 fine. The distribution of cannabis was a misdemeanor that could be punished by a maximum one-year jail term as well as a $1,000 fine. Selling and cultivating cannabis was considered to be a felony that could be punished by not more than 15 years in jail and a $10,000,000 fine depending on the extent of the offense.

Municipal reforms

Even before Michigan legalized recreational cannabis, many cities already considered enforcing cannabis laws to be of very low priority.

Recreational legalization (2018)

In November 2018 proponents of legalization submitted 365,000 signatures in a bid to get the measure on the ballot. This was achieved and Proposal 1 was voted in by a 56–44 margin, making Michigan the first state in the Midwest and the 10^th Nationwide to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.

Under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act persons of age 21 and above can possess not more than 2 and a half ounces (71 g) of marijuana in public, and not more10 ounces (280 g) domestically.

Cultivation of not more than 12 plants per home was allowed. A system was established for the state-licensed growing and distribution of Marijuana. Sales to subjected to a 10% excise tax which is in addition to the existing 6% sales tax already levied by the state. ).

In the 2021 fiscal year, the state of Michigan earned $175 million from the10% excise tax on the sales of recreational cannabis. These collections were given back to the towns, townships, cities, and counties. Each received $56,000 per recreational retail location within its boundaries.