Did Your Vote to Legalize Marijuana Count?

The people spoke, but may not have been heard as some are referring to the proposal that would legalize possession of marijuana as “symbolic in nature”.

In many cities all across Michigan, an adult possessing less than an ounce of marijuana received voters’ support to decriminalize the possession in some circumstances. These cities include Flint, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti. However, while you may have voted on a city ballot to “decriminalize marijuana in some cases”, police continue to do business as usual.

Regardless of the proposal’s support, marijuana possession remains illegal under state and federal laws in the state of Michigan.

Law enforcement in Flint have said that their city police are choosing to follow State and Federal law over the new city proposal that will allow for those 19 or older to possess less than 1 ounce of marijuana. According to CBS Detroit, the city of Flint says that this proposal is “symbolic in nature”.

We’re still police officers and we’re still empowered to enforce the laws of the state of Michigan and the United States,” said Flint police Chief Alvern Lock. “We’re still going to enforce the laws as we’ve been enforcing them.

Other cites that had similar proposals approved are taking a different approach. The residents of Ypsilanti voted to “redirect police efforts away from enforcing laws against marijuana use in the city.” The Police Chief of Ypsilanti, Amy Walker, reported that her department is committed to “more serious issues”, like “crimes against people and property”.

Since Michigan voted to legalize marijuana for medical purposes in 2008, parts of that law have been in and out of court. Colorado and Washington voters legalized recreational use of marijuana this November.

Do you think that Michigan will legalize the use of recreational marijuana? Will the Federal Government change and legalize using recreational marijuana? I would love to hear your thoughts.