Marihuana in Michigan

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Recreational Marihuana

Medical Marihuana

Recreational Marihuana

On November 6, 2018, Michigan voters approved Proposal 18-1, which legalized recreational marijuana and created the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA). Municipalities must either opt out of allowing recreational (adult-use) marihuana establishments in their cities and villages or opt in by adopting ordinances allowing and regulating recreational (adult-use) marihuana establishments. Email [email protected] to request sample ordinances.

Michigan Municipal League Podcasts on Marijuana

Episode 19 – New Emergency Rules for Recreational Marijuana

Guests:
Andrew Brisbo, Executive Director, Marijuana Regulatory Agency, Michigan Dept. of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs
Christopher Johnson, General Counsel, Michigan Municipal League
Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League

Episode 16 – Recreational Marijuana – What You need to Know About Michigan’s New Law

Guests:
Andrew Brisbo, Director, Bureau of Marijuana Regulation, Michigan Dept. of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs
Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League

Episode 13 – Recreational Marjuana – What Should Municipalities Be Talking and Thinking About?

Guests:
Clyde Robinson, City Attorney, City of Kalamazoo
Christopher Johnson, General Counsel, Michigan Municipal League
Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League

Episode 9 – Marijuana Legalization in Colorado

Guest: Charles Mitchell, Senior Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office, City and County of Denver

Episode 3 – Marijuana Legalization in Colorado

Guest:
Chelsey Clarke, Strategic Intelligence Unit Supervisor, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Medical Marijuana

Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA), 2016

The MMFLA took effect December 15, 2017. It regulates dispensaries, growers, processers, testing facilities, and transporters and clarifies the legality of edible products in Michigan. Individuals cannot apply to the state for a license of any kind under the MMFLA unless a municipality adopts an ordinance authorizing that type of facility.

MMFLA Resources:

LARA Medical Marihuana Facility Licensing Division FAQs

Michigan Municipal League report: Medical Marihuana Facilities – Opt In/Opt Out, 2018

League training (PowerPoint), State and Local Regulation of Medical Marihuana, 2017

Michigan Municipal League Fact Sheet: Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act

Michigan Municipal League Fact Sheet: Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act Q&A

Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), 2008

In November 2008, Michigan voters passed a referendum to enable certain specified persons to legally obtain, possess, cultivate/grow, use, and distribute marijuana. The “Medical Marihuana Act” went into effect on December 4, 2008.

Ter Beek Supreme Court Ruling (Feb. 6, 2014) A local ordinance cannot prohibit the usage of medical marihuana in Michigan by claiming cover under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Ter Beek v Wyoming amicus brief  (Aug. 19, 2013) filed by the Michigan Municipal League’s Legal Defense Fund Board on behalf of the city of Wyoming.

McQueen Supreme Court Ruling (Oct. 11, 2012)
This ruling limits medical marihuana sales to caregiver to patient, prohibiting patient to patient sales.

MMMA Resources:

2011 Michigan Attorney General’s Opinion The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Initiated Law 1 of 2008, MCL 333.26421 et seq, prohibits the joint cooperative cultivation or sharing of marihuana plants because each patient’s plants must be grown and maintained in a separate enclosed, locked facility that is only accessible to the registered patient or the patient’s registered primary caregiver.

The “Medical Marihuana Act” (amended 2016)

Department of Community Health Administrative Rules, effective April 4, 2009 (amended 2019)