High time for change

Michigan can take some pot lessons from California

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All it took was a trip to California for me to realize how far behind other states is Michigan´s approach to marijuana.

Although marijuana use and sales are technically illegal — unlike in Colorado and Washington — the opportunity for recreational use in California seems to thrive thanks to the porous and superficial medical exemption.

In Sacramento, California´s capital, marijuana is marketed as openly as in the two states that have legalized cannabis. The city´s alternative newspaper, the Sacramento News & Review, is the lively forum for marijuana where “medicinal” collective distributors pitch prices, weekly specials, membership deals, in-home gardens and even promote their community service donations.

Competition is fierce. At Tetra Health Centers, the membership fee for first-time users is $80; Cann- Medical´s new patient fee is $50 with a coupon. Metro Health promotes a 20 percent discount for seniors and veterans. At A Therapeutic Alternative you get a free gram of hash with every $100 purchase. And so it goes. To sort out these opportunities, the newspaper features a half-page cannabis map.

The Northstar Holistic Collective last week featured “Epic top shelf capped at $45 an 1/8th (tax included). Specials included Paris OG, Birthday Cake OGI (each with photos) and a selection of “top-shelf award-winning extracts” like Moxie, FlyNHigh and Full Flava. No doubt these high-end brands means something to customers. Conventional grades are available in the $5-a-gram to $100-an-ounce aisle.

There is a veneer of medical usage accompanying some of the advertising. The Florin Wellness Center, which calls itself Sacramento´s premium cannabis collective, promotes both the THC and CBD content of its featured products. As a refresher, THC reflects the potency of marijuana — the stoned effect — while CBD, the abbreviation for cannabidiol, provides the medical benefits and is identified with analgesic, antiinflammatory and anti-anxiety properties.

FWC´s deals of the week included Gelato (23.4 percent THC, 0.12 percent CBD), Khalifa Kush (20.6 percent THC, 0.12 CBD), Gorilla Glue (24.1 percent THC, 0.28 percent CBD) and Thin Mints (24.2 percent THC, 0.16 CBD). Clearly the marijuana trade in Sacramento isn´t worried about trademark infractions.

My trip west included a stop off in Denver, where recreational marijuana has been legal since last year. There, as in Sacramento, competition is vigorous. The approach and pricing promoted in the alt newspaper West World differs in that it features recreational specials; Golden Meds advertised that it was beginning its Mother’s Day sales early this year.

What is happening in both states reflects the reality that Michigan chooses not to acknowledge. At least not yet. Even though voters in 2008 overwhelmingly (63 percent) voted to allow medical marijuana sales, the courts, political and law enforcement establishments have stalled meaningful reforms. Remember, Michigan is a state that would rather spend money on prisons than colleges.

But, the momentum for marijuana law reforms is building, and in 2016 voters will likely see a measure on their ballot mandating legalization.

Some of the pressure for reform has come from Republican-oriented groups, among them the Michigan Responsibility Coalition, which is first seeking legislation and failing that could seek a ballot initiative.

Another Republican-oriented group is the Michigan Cannabis Coalition, based in Pontiac, which details its proposal on the web site www. micannabis.vote. In April, the group filed language with the state´s Board of Canvassers for a Michigan Cannabis Control and Revenue Act that would:

• Legalize marijuana and marijuana-infused product use and possession for people age 21 and older.

• Regulate and tax the growth, sale and use of marijuana in Michigan.

• Allocate tax revenue from the regulation and taxation of marijuana to public safety, public health and education.

• Create and independent board to regulate marijuana including enforcement and administration of the act, including the promulgation of administrative rules. The board would be compensated on attendance and staffed by experts in the field of agriculture and the public at large.

• Permit limited home growth of marijuana for personal consumption, subject to local ordinance.

• Hold the Medical Marijuana Act harmless. In additional to rationalizing the state´s approach to marijuana, advocates see regulation as an opportunity to raise tax revenue and create jobs. Colorado netted $44 million in revenue from nearly $700 million in marijuana sales in 2014, according to The Denver Post. It had projected $70 million in tax revenue.

There is also the threat to Michigan from reforms proposed in Ohio. According to Ballotpedia an Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative could appear on the Nov 3, 2015, ballot seeking a constitutional amendment. It would legalize the recreational and medical use of marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The use of medical marijuana would require a doctor´s note.

If the Ohio amendment were to pass, Michigan would find itself in a very defensive position without regulation or revenue from the marijuana trade that would easily spill across the 65-mile border. Marijuana will be legalized. For good or for bad, change is happening.

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