Marijuana backers look to Midwest
LANSING, Mich. — Backers of broad marijuana legalization are looking to break through a geographic barrier in November and get their first foothold in the Midwest after a string of election victories in Northeastern and Western states.
Michigan and North Dakota, where voters previously authorized medical marijuana, will decide if the drug should be legal for any adult 21 and older. They would become the 10th and 11th states to legalize recreational marijuana since 2012.
Meanwhile, Missouri and Utah will weigh medical marijuana, which is permitted in 31 states after voters in Oklahoma approved it in June. Even if Utah’s initiative is defeated, a compromise reached last week between advocates and opponents, including the Mormon church, would have the Legislature legalize medical marijuana.
“We’ve kind of reached a critical mass of acceptance,” said Rebecca Haffajee, a University of Michigan assistant professor of health management and policy. She said the country may be at a breaking point where change is inevitable at the federal level because so many states are in conflict with U.S. policy that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin.
“Generally, people either find a therapeutic benefit or enjoy the substance and want to do so without the fear of being a criminal for using it,” Haffajee said.
Two years ago, voters in California approved a ballot measure creating the world’s largest legal marijuana market. Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Colorado and Nevada are other Western states with legal marijuana for medical and personal uses. On the other side of the country, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana, and every other Northeastern state has approved medical marijuana.
In Michigan, surveys show the public’s receptiveness to marijuana legalization tracks similarly with nationwide polling that finds about 60 percent support, according to Gallup and the Pew Research Center.
The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project was the driving force behind successful legalization initiatives in other states and has given at least $444,000 for the Michigan ballot drive.
“The electorate is recognizing that prohibition doesn’t work,” said Matthew Schweich, the project’s deputy director. “There’s also a growing societal acceptance of marijuana use on a personal level.
“Our culture has already legalized marijuana. Now it’s a question of, ‘How quickly will the laws catch up?’ ” added Schweich, also the campaign director for the Michigan legalization effort, known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
Midwest voters have considered recreational legalization just once before, in 2015, when Ohio overwhelmingly rejected it. Supporters said the result was more backlash against allowing only certain private investors to control growing facilities than opposition to marijuana.