Local government leaders will be in Bay City for a conference on Michigan’s new recreational marijuana law this week.
The Michigan Municipal League is hosting the sold-out session, and more sessions are planned.
Michigan voters approved Proposal 1 on Nov. 6th. The law will take effect next month.
The new law will allow individuals to carry 2.5 ounces and grow 12 plants in their homes. Commercial growing and retail operations will eventually be legal as well, but it's expected to take the state a year to put the licensing and oversight framework in place.
Jennifer Rigterink of the Michigan Municipal League describes the new law’s effect on cities and towns as “murky.”
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” says Rigterink. “There are a lot of questions that unfortunately the answer is ‘we interpret it this way,’ but until it’s litigated and we see how the court decides, we won’t know for sure.”
Many local governments are pre-emptively acting to block commercial recreational marijuana businesses.
But Rigterink admits even that might not prevent businesses from opening eventually.
