Michigan leaders from across the political spectrum – including Democrats and Republicans alike – have indicated that the state could re-examine marijuana laws. But what does the public think about it? Now it’s your turn to have a say. This confidential survey is intended to measure where Michiganders stand on the issue.

There are three stages of marijuana regulation: 1) decriminalizing small possessions, 2) allowing for medicinal use, and 3) full regulation which would make it available to adults but treated like alcohol and tobacco.

Question #1

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According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting, approximately 17,830 adults in Michigan were arrested in 2010 for marijuana possession – 49.6% of all arrests for drug possession in Michigan. Law enforcement agencies and public safety groups agree that the amount spent imprisoning these Michiganders – around $$34,299.05 per prisoner per year – other, more critical areas of criminal justice.

Decriminalizing would allow for small possessions to be treated the same way a traffic ticket would – a fine paid by the offender, but not one that sends anyone to jail or sets back their long-term freedoms and opportunities.

Question #2

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Currently 20 states and Washington D.C. have legalized medicinal marijuana use. Each state specifies its own way of implementing medicinal marijuana, though generally it involves a doctor’s note and more generous decriminalization for patients. Since it is illegal for doctors to prescribe marijuana, they give a note acknowledging that a patient’s health would benefit from the medicinal use of marijuana. (Source: ProCon.org)

The federal government found that teen use of marijuana actually dropped after medicinal marijuana became legal in Colorado in 2010.

Question #3

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Colorado and Washington regulate marijuana the same way they regulate alcohol. Like alcohol, you must be 21 years or older to purchase marijuana in a store, and in-state residents can buy up to one ounce. Taxed three times — when it is produced, sold, and bought — Colorado is expected to collect $184 million in the first 18 months as a result of full regulation. (Source: CNN Money)

Though it is the furthest step to take, full regulation of marijuana allows for the product to be removed from the hands of criminals, it creates new revenue for the state, and creates a positive health outcome. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has found that 37,000 people die from alcohol every year; on the other hand, not a single person has died from marijuana overdose. And full regulation has generated so much revenue for Colorado that local taxpayers could be refunded up to $100 million. (Source: CNN Money)

Question #4

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