Why Michigan could be the next state to legalize recreational marijuana

This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on October 2, 2013.

Say it ain’t so? Michigan has transformed from the center of liberal trade-unions to one of the nations more conservative and oldest populations. So why would the Great-Lake state now legalize marijuana? 50% now support it.

Take the state of Washington that legalized marijuana recreationally this year. Like Michigan, Washington’s medical marijuana law did not explicitly provide for dispensaries and was considered vague, but like the Michigan law it provided the most amount of protections (to keep us from arrest). When you limit access to dispensaries, more patients end up supporting the concept of legalization. Ironicly, marijuana patients are less likely to favor legalization than non-patients, except when you keep messing with their sources (dispensaries).

The MMMA provides nearly absolute defense to arrest for legal patients and caregivers. Kenneth Stecker with the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan said, “the affirmative defense, by contrast to the Registry ID Card Program, requires no advanced action or expense, no formalities, and it’s scope is quite broad.”

Just like Michigan, the State of Washington debated the dispensary issue with no legislative involvement, sound familiar? Washington operated their dispensaries in the same protected area of the law that Michigan provides, what foes like to call, the gray-area.

Residents, patients and voters in Washington waited long enough for their state legislature to clearly spell out their dispensary laws, stop labeling the law confusing, stop raiding patients and dispensaries and finally made their law very simple for all to clearly understand; legalize fully.

Washington Initiative 502 (I-502) was an initiative to the Washington State Legislature, which appeared on the November 2012 general ballot, passing by a margin of approximately 56 to 44. Roughly the same polling numbers that Michigan could expect at moment (with a +6% margin), or more than enough of a margin should a woman president also appear on the ballot.

Hillary and marijuana in 2016? Since women vote more frequent then men do and women tend to support social agendas, like marijuana legalization, over men, why wouldn’t it pass. If the legislature fails to clear the smoke, the State will surely fill up with more of it.