The epidemic of marijuana legalization is gaining momentum, and more states are joining the movement to stop regarding cannabis as something illegal. This fall is going to see a ballot appear before voters. If the state citizens vote for legalization, Michigan will become another place where purchasing cannabis or growing it at home is not prohibited.
The terms under which marijuana can be legalized are as follows: only those aged 21 or older will be able to obtain it, and the amount of weed a person can possess at a time will be limited to 2.5 ounces. For those who will want to purchase it, there will be a 16% tax.
If it is supported by most state dwellers, the ballot will also bring legal growing of cannabis. Still, a home garden will only be able to harbor 12 plants. One will be required to have a special license to produce and distribute marijuana.
Michigan NORML has carried out a survey and reported that around 61% of people in Michigan support marijuana legalization, and not only for medical purposes, but also for recreational ones.
The initiative will be placed on the ballot in November. In their attempt to collect enough signatures to do it, the organizers managed to harvest much more than the minimum amount of 252k. Backed by 360,000 signatures, the initiative is likely to be a success.
Heated debates
It appears that not everyone is happy with the initiative. Some even attribute the move to the state Senate and House, which are now dominated by the Republicans and are afraid of losing voters. Besides the political pretext, there is a debate which does not seem to end: local anti-legalization activists strongly oppose to what is about to happen in the state, and are considering filing a lawsuit.
Tenacious opposition
Healthy and Productive Michigan, one of the groups that advocate keeping legislation as it is, is determined to prevent voting from happening, but it seems that their arguments won’t be enough to win the hearts of the audience.
The Marijuana Moment website published the results of a survey, in which about 800 Michigan citizens took part. In this one, the margin was not that significant: 48% and 42% of respondents were for and against the initiative respectively, and 11% could not decide which side to take.
In the poll, there were questions that could affect the answer, as they were the so-called “push” questions, which contained the talking points used by both the proponents and the opponents. It is interesting to note that when the voters heard the arguments in favor of cannabis legalization, they appeared to be quite convincing, since the number of supporters grew to 52% (the anti-cannabis group’s share made up 38%). The no-weed advocates’ arguments turned out to be not that impressive: when the voters were read them, the number of those supporting the initiative did not decrease, but increased by another percent, and the anti-legalization group numbers remained the same.
Health concerns
It appears that more and more Americans are moving their preferences towards making marijuana easy to get. Using is for medical purpose is one thing–the scientific evidence being accumulated is so impressive that the process of legalization is almost inevitable–and allowing use of it just for getting high is another matter.
Consumption of cannabis can be both beneficial and detrimental, as while some compounds in it can be effective at treatment of PTSD, addiction, neurodegenerative diseases, etc., there are risks associated with smoking or eating the weed or consuming it any other way, such as mental disorders. More research is needed to find out how marijuana affects our body, and medical use could be safer if only the compounds responsible for the effects were used.
0 Comments