On November 6, 2018, the people of Michigan took a huge step and legalized marijuana, prop 1. Marijuana did not become legal to possess until December 6. However, you still cannot BUY marijuana from a dispensary or other sources without a medical card. You cannot buy marijuana at this point and time, because the state and local governments need to create regulations before it is openly sold to all.

unsplash.com

Many counties in the state have banned marijuana businesses for now, until there is more information on the rule and regulations around them. As for now, the only way to obtain marijuana would be to be "gifted." You MUST be 21 years old to ingest, possess or sell marijuana in the state of Michigan.

You are allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces in public, and 10 ounces at home. You are also allowed to grow up to 12 plants per household as long as they are not visible from outside. It is still illegal to smoke or consume marijuana in public, and of course, it's definitely illegal to drive under the influence.

Marijuana also cannot be in your system if you're driving, the state has a "zero tolerance" policy on it and they've started using a roadside detection device to detect marijuana in your saliva. (It can detect marijuana in your system within the last 6 hours.). Your employer can still drug test and fire you for having marijuana in your system, even though it is legal.

Marijuana is still illegal federally, so that means it has to stay out of national parks, many college campuses, and anything else federally run. However, on the state level, most marijuana-related "crimes" are just considered civil infractions and they just come with a fine.

Marijuana civil infractions include things like consuming it in public and growing to many plants. The big one, that's still a felony is selling marijuana to someone under 21.

Many counties in Michigan, almost 80, have chosen to block or ban recreational marijuana businesses. However, some of these counties have only placed year-long bans so that they have time to wait and see what all of the rules and regulations will be. Though this could be changed or influenced by the public choosing to sign petitions to change the minds of their local government.

unsplash.com

Legal recreational marijuana in Michigan so far has not really affected those using marijuana medically. Since the average person doesn't have access to a dispensary, those with medical cards still have the only access to buying marijuana in the state.

Marijuana is also going to be decently taxed once it is available to sell. It is expected to generate half of a billion dollars in the first five years. Customers will be paying a 10% excise fees and an additional 6% sales tax. Money generated from marijuana is to go to the roads, education, and local governments.

At the end of the day, it is just important to keep up with the laws if you wish to partake in the recreational use of marijuana. It is definitely worth the time it takes to do some research to avoid hundreds of dollars in fines.