If Marijuana Becomes Legal, How High Can You Get in Michigan?
How much weed is too much weed for state officials? How can police officers tell if you’re high? Seeing through the smoke surrounding Michigan’s recreational marijuana ballot proposal.
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When Michiganders step into the voting booth this November, they’ll decide whether or not to legalize marijuana statewide. If the ballot proposal passes, there will be plenty of questions that remain like how will the state tax the cash crop and will there be a limit on how much marijuana residents can ingest?
WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper and Jake Neher talked with our listeners to figure out how high will you legally be able to get in Michigan?
How high can you (legally) get in Michigan?
There’s no legal limit like there is with alcohol, but driving under the influence and public intoxication is still illegal (transporting marijuana would be regulated under the proposed law, too). That wouldn’t change under the ballot proposal.
How can police officials tell if you’re high?
There’s no breathalyzer for weed (yet). If an officer suspects that you’re high, they can pull you over, search your vehicle and possibly detain you much like with alcohol.
If marijuana was legalized, would people currently incarcerated be released or have their sentences shortened?
Nope. There’s nothing in the ballot proposal that affects people currently behind bars for a marijuana-related drug crime, but there’s a new bill in the state Legislature that would allow people to expunge their records if they were convicted of a marijuana related crime. That bill would only take effect if recreational marijuana becomes legal in Michigan.
Colorado made $1.5 billion from marijuana last year. Will Michigan cash in, too?
Definitely. There are some studies that say Michigan’s recreational marijuana industry could generate $1.5-to-$2-billion in sales. The ballot campaign estimates the proposal could bring in about $200 million in tax revenue for the state (that’s a conservative estimate, too).
Additional reporting by Detroit Today associate producer Gus Navarro .
