Michigan could be the next state that could legalize the recreational use of Marijuana. It will be taxed at a rate of 16% under petition language that was turned in to the Secretary of State on Friday.
If the state Board of Canvassers approves the petition, the group pushing the initiative, the ‘Coalition of Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’ will have 180 days to collect 252,523 signatures from valid registered voters in the state. The group is aiming for 350,000 signatures in-order to seal the petition.
Spokesperson for the Coalition, Josh Hovey said that it is a task that will take money. The group is aiming to raise between $8 to $10 million to gather the signatures needed to get on the ballot and to wage a campaign to get the measure passed in November 2018.
Former State Representative Jeff Irwin, who is the political director of the coalition said: “Prohibition is a failed big government program.”
“We have 20,000 people arrested every year in Michigan. And we’re now going to be in a position to give our citizens a choice to end that,” he added.
The ballot proposal would:
- Tax marijuana sales at a rate of a 10% excise tax at the retail level as well as the 6% sales tax. The estimated revenues from the taxes are at least $100 million and perhaps as high as $200 million, Hovey said.
- Split those revenues with 35% going to K-12 education, 35% to roads, 15% to the communities that allow marijuana businesses in their communities and 15% to counties where marijuana business are located.
- Allow communities to decide whether they’ll allow marijuana businesses.
- Restrict purchases of marijuana for recreational purposes to 2.5 ounces, but allow individuals to keep up to 10 ounces of marijuana in their homes.
- Allow the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs - and not the politically appointed licensing board that will oversee medical marijuana - to regulate and license marijuana businesses, ranging from growers, transporters, testers and dispensaries.
The coalition will have a better chance this year after previous efforts to get the issue on the ballot, as the national Marijuana Policy Project has jumped into Michigan’s ballot drive. It has been involved in several states where marijuana legalization has succeeded.
Till now eight states and the D.C. (District of Columbia) have legalized recreational marijuana, while 29 states have legalized some form of medical marijuana use.
MiLegalize, was the last group to try and get the issue on the 2016 ballot. It gathered more than 350,000 signatures, but could not within the 180-day time frame
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