Michigan Approves Recreational Marijuana: 2018 General Election

MICHIGAN — Michigan will become the first state in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana, according to poll results in the 2018 General Election.

Results were in at 59 percent of precincts reporting and showed that 57.4 percent of voters who hit the polls in Michigan Tuesday voted in favor of Proposal 1, which legalizes recreational use for adults 21 and up. That's more than 1.6 million voters who approved the measure versus 1.2 million votes against it.

Marijuana is already legal in Michigan for medicinal use, as a result of a 2008 ballot proposal that passed with 63 percent support.

Tax money from recreational marijuana will fund schools, fix roads and go back into cities.
Here’s a detailed look at what this means in Michigan:

• Individuals age 21 and older will be able to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption.
• There is a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and amounts over 2.5 ounces must be secured in locked containers.
• A state licensing system will be created for marijuana businesses, including growers, processors, transporters and retailers.
• Municipalities can ban or restrict marijuana businesses in their city limits
• Commercial sales of marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles will be permitted through state-licensed retailers, subject to a new 10 percent tax earmarked for schools, road and municipalities where marijuana businesses are located.

More than half the states have already legalized medical marijuana, and nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational pot for people age 21 or older. Canada also recently made it legal.

Those who do use recreational marijuana are not able to do it in public and are not allowed to operate motor vehicles while under the influence.

There will be a 6 percent sales tax and 10 percent excise tax on the purchase of recreational marijuana. That money goes first toward regulating the new industry, and $20 million must go toward clinical medical marijuana trials related to veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to a report by MLive. The leftover money left goes to the municipalities that allow marijuana businesses, the School Aid Fund and toward roads.

A recent estimate from the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency projected the state could bring in up to $287.9 million in new tax revenue in 2023 if the proposal is approved, the report said.

Image via Shutterstock

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