What‌ ‌Happened‌ ‌to‌ ‌Milegalize.com?‌

What‌ ‌Happened‌ ‌to‌ ‌Milegalize.com?‌ ‌

Published on October 18, 2022

3 min read

What‌ ‌Happened‌ ‌to‌ ‌Milegalize.com?‌ ‌

MI Legalize or Michigan Legalize is a proposed campaign to start the legalization of cannabis usage in the state of Michigan. Before the initiative was approved, the use or even possession of cannabis for recreational purposes was a criminal act. However, in the year 2008, people of the state has proposed and approved the Michigan Medical Marijuana Initiative. This initiative covers the legalization of using marijuana for medical use. Moreover, the initiative has secured seriously ill patients who suffer anxiety and depression the use of cannabis for treatment. Plus, the proposal permits patients and caregivers to also cultivate their own cannabis plants with limits on the amount of possession. With this, people can have the benefits of marijuana in the comforts of their home. However, the law only covers people who have the certification of need with the consent of their doctors.

What Happened to Michigan Legalize?

Last 2016 Michigan Legalize has made and effort on legalizing marijuana for recreational use but failed. The campaign has secured more than 350,000 signatures and submitted them to place the proposal of cannabis legalization in the ballot. However, an estimated half of the signatures were not counted, making legalization, and the proposal declined. With this, the Michiganders are more inclined to pass on the proposal over the next two years.

Ten years after the Michigan Medical Marijuana Initiative has been approved, Michigan Legalize has now been pushing the legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in the state. Jeff Hank, Executive Director of Michigan Legalize, perceived the progressive cannabis law to be used both medically and recreationally in the state. In collaboration with the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, the cannabis legalization law was pushed.

However, this proposal also had its ups and downs. In the start of November 2017, the proponents of the initiative of using marijuana for recreational use submitted 365,000 signatures to push the legalization in the 2018 ballots.

In February 2018, several campaigns brought funding to oppose the proposition of legalizing marijuana in the state. Smart Approaches to Marijuana and two other local campaigns, namely the Committee to Keep Pot out of Neighborhoods and Schools and Healthy and Productive Michigan are the leading proponents in opposing the initiative.

State lawmakers declined the option to approve the legalization themselves in June 2018 making the legalization proposal move to the November ballot of the same year. November 6, 2018, the proposal was voted upon by Michigan voters and has accumulated an approval margin of 56-44 percent in favor of legalizing marijuana possession and usage for recreation.

Results Paying Off with the Legalization of Marijuana in Michigan

Being the first state in the Midwest to legalize the use of marijuana both legally and medically, Michiganders are not looking forward to a better state. However, voters shouldn’t expect that cannabis-based products and marijuana would be available in the streets across the state. Josh Hovey, spokesperson of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol stated in a press release “The legalization of cannabis usage will end the unnecessary waste of law enforcement resources used to enforce the failed policy of prohibition while generating hundreds of millions of dollars each year for Michigan’s most essential needs.

The legalization of marijuana falls under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. This measure would permit those who are 21 years old or older to possess marijuana publicly. Also included in the bill, people who fall under on the said age restriction are permitted to grow their own cannabis plant in their homes with no more than 12 plants. Moreover, people are only allowed to carry 2.5 ounces of marijuana publicly in locked containers. Plus, the law permits a 10-ounce limit of marijuana possession at residences.

After a ten year scuffle from the approval of using marijuana for medical purposes to use the cannabis plant in recreations, the State of Michigan and their fellow citizens are now looking brighter than ever. From patients to anxiety-filled people, the law greatly appeals to the Michiganders.

Now that the legalization is now a law, people of Michigan must always remember that marijuana must still be regulated. Plus, the newly established bill has a significant impact on the economic rise of cannabis. This puts a thorough input of more top quality cannabis-based products for not only patients but also the entirety of Michigan.