Clearing the Smoke: What Does Legal Weed Mean for Michiganders?
Can you smoke weed walking down the street? WDET producer Jake Neher explains what passing Proposal 1 will mean for Michiganders.
Click on the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. on WDET 101.9FM Detroit’s public radio.
This past Election Day, Michigan voters passed Proposal 1 making the use of recreational marijuana in the state legal.
CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire speaks with WDET producer Jake Neher to find out more.
When will Marijuana officially become legal in Michigan?
“According to the state constitution, a proposal like Proposal 1 goes into effect ten days after certification,” Neher explains. “Basically what that means is it’ll probably be about a month from now.”
What does the passing of Proposal 1 mean for Michigan weed smokers?
“Smoking in public is still not allowed. You still cannot operate a vehicle,” says Neher. “That whole thing about having THC in your blood and operating a vehicle…is one of those weird grey areas because it’s a substance that stays in your blood for a very long time so law enforcement abound with this proposal.”
“What it will mean is that you can have as much as 2.5 ounces out and about. You can have…10 ounces in your own residence. And you can have 12 plants for personal consumption.”
How will passing Proposal 1 affect people who have previously faced legal issues because of marijuana?
“One of the faults of (Proposal 1), many people said, was it didn’t address people who are currently either in jail or prison on pot charges. They will basically stay there. Their cases will not change. With Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer now saying she’s open to revisiting those cases, that’s a pretty big thing,” Neher says.
Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
