“The end goal would be full legalization and regulation of medical and recreational use of marijuana.” – Brandon McQueen
SAGINAW, MI — Three mid-Michigan communities are among a dozen where which marijuana activists hope to bring ballot initiatives to decriminalize or legalize possession of the drug.
The cities of Saginaw, Mount Pleasant and Clare are among the communities with petition drives organized by the “Safer Michigan Coalition.”
No petitions have yet been filed with city clerks in Saginaw, Mount Pleasant or Clare, though local campaign leaders report the signature drives have already begun.
Cary Justice is leading the effort in Saginaw.
“We have our petitions and we have our teams in place,” Justice said. “We’re ready to move forward.”
Justice said the group hopes to collect about 2,000 signatures in time to place a ballot proposal on the November ballot. The proposal, she said, is not a full legalization but would reduce the possible penalties for those in possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.
“It’s a chance for people to show once again how they view marijuana,” Justice said.
She said she is optimistic that a majority of voters in the area will support decriminalization of marijuana. Though no signatures have yet been collected, Justice said organizers are preparing for a major launch of the petition campaign later this spring.
“We’re really ready to turn it all loose,” she said.
Brandon McQueen, who is spearheading the petition drive in Mount Pleasant, said volunteers there have collected more than 200 signatures within the last two weeks.
“I’d say we have about 25 percent of what we need,” McQueen said. “We are aiming for the general election in November.”
Rick Thompson is the public relations director for the Americans for Safe Access — Michigan. Thompson said the hope is local decriminalization efforts will pressure Michigan’s state lawmakers to eventually pass similar legislation at the state level.
“We’ve had 14 local ballot initiatives in Michigan in the last decade and all of them have been successful,” he said. “This has been a trend going on for quite some time. The populace is way ahead of the legislature in terms of acceptance of marijuana use.”
Thompson explained that what exactly each ballot initiative seeks to do differs from proposal to proposal.
“There are several different formats it can take,” he said.
The standard approaches have been successful in the past, Thompson said, include moves toward decimalization (where marijuana possession is downgraded from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction), full legalization of the drug and ordinances such as Ypsilanti’s that set enforcement of marijuana laws as the lowest priority for local law enforcement.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “The local community leaders decide.”
Some of the measures, if approved by voters at the local level, would allow adults 21 or older to possess an ounce or less of marijuana on private property without prosecution in that jurisdiction.
Voters in other Michigan cities — including Detroit, Lansing, Ferndale, Jackson, Grand Rapids, and Flint — have already approved similar measures.
Tim Beck, who co-authored the successful medical marijuana statewide vote, is quoted in a press release from the coalition. Beck said he is confident the 12 targeted communities will follow other Michigan cities that have already adopted similar decriminalization proposals.
“The state of Michigan is ripe for change,” he said. “It is highly likely that every one of these efforts will be successful.”
Eric Herbers is heading up the campaign in Clare. Herbers said organizers in Clare also hope to place the ballot measure on the ballot in November.
McQueen said he grew up in a poor family and witnessed firsthand the impact of laws against the possession and sale of marijuana on poorer communities in the state.
“The end goal would be full legalization and regulation of medical and recreational use of marijuana,” he said. “The short-term goal, I guess, would be to show state officials that it’s OK to have this conversation about legalizing marijuana.”
In Mount Pleasant, McQueen said, he hopes that local funding going to enforce marijuana laws could, if the proposal passed, be reinvested to fight other crime in the city.
Herbers agreed, saying Clare has much bigger problems than marijuana use. He listed continued issues with methamphetamine, break-ins and other recent incidents as proof.
“Why shouldn’t someone with a responsible mind smoke a joint, or whatever they prefer, if they stay out of trouble?” he said.
Justice said she has seen poverty and violent crime in Saginaw and would like to see government and law enforcement direct any resources used on enforcement of marijuana laws to those issues instead.
McQueen said the petition drive has already picked up steam in Mount Pleasant, though no formal events have been held.
“People are volunteering left and right to collect signatures,” he said. “If we get 50 people each collecting 12 signatures, that will be more than enough right there.”
Michigan voters in 2008 overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot measure, removing state penalties for registered patients to buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana.
Thompson said Michigan is changing its stance on marijuana rapidly, pointing to a handful of pieces of legislation bending in the Michigan Legislature, such as a bill from Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township. Senate Bill 660 seeks to create a new system for regulating and distributing medical marijuana.
“There are quite a few things happening here,” he said.
Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
Marijuana legalization: Saginaw, Mount Pleasant among a dozen Michigan communities ...
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