marijuana

Whether Michigan should legalize marijuana for recreational use will be decided by the voters. The state Legislature let today’s deadline for the to act on the initiative lapse. It would legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol.

The state House and Senate would both have had to pass the initiative. The leader of the Senate Republicans said its chamber had enough votes to pass the measure. But the House was not on board.

Marijuana advocates say they are watching “very closely” as a deadline looms for Michigan’s legislature to decide whether to act or not on a petition to legalize recreational pot.

The state Senate voted today to outlaw the sale of THC-laced beer, wine, and spirits in the event recreational marijuana becomes legal in Michigan. Legalizing marijuana will be on the November ballot, unless the Legislature adopts the question by early June.

State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, says he expects voters will approve the question. But Jones wants to keep out marijuana-infused alcohol products that are appearing in other places. 

Michigan voters have some pretty strong feelings when it comes to recreational marijuana.

The Michigan Board of Canvassers approved a petition Thursday to place an initiative on the state’s November ballot that would legalize marijuana possession and consumption for all adults 21 years and older.

The board ruled that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol collected 277,370 valid signatures, more than the 252,523 signatures needed to make the ballot.

The state is looking for ways to help medical marijuana businesses that are having trouble finding a bank or a credit union.

Rick Johnson chairs the state medical marijuana licensing board. He says most financial institutions won’t work with marijuana-related businesses because the drug remains illegal at the federal level. He says that means the businesses don’t have checking accounts and can’t easily handle electronic transfers.

Michigan's marijuana industry likely won't face any federal changes, though the state's Treasury Department has altered a tax on medical marijuana card holders.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the federal budget passed last week indicates the government will continue to not enforce federal drug laws in states with legalized medical marijuana.

DETROIT - An official says a pending lawsuit by a business group over medical marijuana regulations in Detroit means the industry will be on hold in the city until it's resolved.

The Detroit Free Press reports Detroit's deputy corporation counsel Charles Raimi said in a recent memo that it "would be improper, administratively wasteful and confusing to the public" to implement the new ordinance or take action on permitting or licensing of marijuana facilities amid the lawsuit.

The Trump administration says federal prosecutors will begin to more aggressively enforce marijuana laws, even in states where marijuana is now legal.

The Justice Department is planning to roll back a policy instituted during the Obama administration that discouraged those prosecutions. It's not yet clear what specific type of enforcement the government is planning.

Starting today, law enforcement in five counties are piloting a new roadside drug test that analyzes saliva swabs for marijuana, opioids, meth, and other drugs above a certain threshold.

“When you say ‘roadside drug testing pilot begins,’ everybody thinks that we're setting up checkpoints and putting swabs in everybody's mouth,” says First Lieutenant Michael Shaw, a spokesperson for the state police. “And that's not the case.”

Michigan is giving medical marijuana businesses until December 15 to close or potentially risk not obtaining a license under a new regulatory system.

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs announced the decision Tuesday, and hours later a state board dropped a proposal to potentially force the dispensaries to shut down later this week.

A new University of Michigan study finds that marijuana use among college students continues to rise in the U.S.

The latest report from U of M's Monitoring the Future program finds that in 2016, marijuana use among full-time college students was at the highest level since 1987.

Several ballot proposals for Michigan’s 2018 election cleared a hurdle today.

The Board of State Canvassers approved the form of proposals on earned sick time, marijuana legalization and redistricting.

That doesn’t mean the board guarantees the content of the ballots will hold up against lawsuits. But it makes sure the campaign won’t succumb to a challenge in front of the board on technical issues after they gather signatures.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has struck down a rule that says bars and party stores can’t sell “narcotics paraphernalia.”

In 2013, the state Liquor Control Commission sanctioned a Montcalm County party store for selling bongs and pipes commonly used to smoke pot.

A Liquor Control Commission rule says bars and party stores can’t sell –quote- “narcotics paraphernalia.” There’s no specific definition of that phrase in the rule, though. The appeals court says that leaves owners with no real guidance on whether they’re breaking the rule.

Kalamazoo is the latest Michigan city to look to expand medical marijuana offerings.

The city will have two public meetings next week to discuss proposed ordinance changes that would allow commercial medical marijuana shops in some parts of town. The changes are allowed under a set of state laws passed last year. 

Clyde Robinson is the city attorney.

"None of this has been adopted yet by the city commission," he says. "So we’re looking for input into what we’re going to be recommending to the city commission."

A new study from the University of Michigan finds that levels of first-time marijuana use among college students are at a 30-year high.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, says 51 percent of college students ages 19 to 22 became first-time marijuana users in 2015. That's up from 41 percent in 2014 and 31 percent in 2013.

Bills to legalize recreational marijuana for adults were introduced in the Canadian Parliament Thursday. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says no matter what Canada does, it's not going to change anything at the Michigan border.

The agency says its officers are highly trained to detect the illegal importation of narcotics. So anyone hoping to buy marijuana in Windsor, Sarnia, or Sault Ste. Marie and return to the U.S. with it could face fines and arrest.