V.G.I.P. Update for May 2017 - by Ben Horner

CRMLA Gets United Support for
Cannabis Legalization Petition

The Marijuana Policy Project has formed a new ballot committee, the Coalition for the Regulation of Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA). After just a few short months of drafting language, the real coalition of cannabis organizations around Michigan have endorsed the new petition to tax and regulate adult use of marijuana.

MI Legalize 2018, a ballot committee formed last year after their failed attempt to legalize marijuana in 2016, spent weeks negotiating for key points in the statutory initiative. Antimonopoly sentiments encouraged the language to open up secured transport structures and be a less restrictive. The plant count for personal cultivation is set at 12 plants per Michigan resident. Coveted expungement language for nonviolent cannabis charges was pulled, leaving court activists disappointed.

CRMLA will need 252,523 valid signatures within 180-days to make the 2018 ballot. After signatures are turned in, the state legislature will decide whether to enact the initiative into law or send it to the voters. The coalition has a goal of raising approximately 8 million dollars.