Two Michigan groups hoping to legalize marijuana in Michigan can begin collecting signatures to put the question on the 2016 ballot after a state elections board signed off on the groups' petition language.
Michigan Public Radio’s Lansing reporter Jake Neher tells us that while the groups both want to legalize the possession, use, production, and distribution of marijuana for individuals over the age of 21, they disagree on a lot of the details.
Neher says the main difference is how each group wants to approach regulation.
The Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee (which also goes by the shorter name, “MILegalize”) wants to have full control over how legal marijuana will be regulated, whereas the Michigan Cannabis Coalition would prefer to leave a lot of those decisions up to the Legislature.
According to Neher, MILegalize is adamant that this should not be left up to the Legislature.
“For years, they say, the Legislature has proven that they’re not willing to go out on a limb on marijuana issues, and that it’s basically a toxic issue in Lansing,” Neher says.
Neher tells us that while the two groups may or may not end up working together, we could see as many as four different marijuana ballot proposals when we vote in November 2016.
