A Column By John Sinclair
Hi everybody, happy May Day, and welcome to the brave new world of marijuana legalization in the state of Michigan. Last month, as we reported in our previous issue, hundreds of people protested state and federal marijuana laws on April 3rd at the 50th annual Hash Bash on the UM Diag in Ann Arbor, despite public health orders limiting such gatherings.
The participants in Saturday’s “smoke-in” protest split from organizers of the Hash Bash, who made the event virtual in 2020 and again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They broadcast their Zoom Bash with a slick presentation of speakers, music and sloganeering like last year.
The fact is that we started the Hash Bash in 1972 as a protest against the resumption of anti-marijuana laws on April 1, 1972 under the rubric of “controlled substances,” as determined by the Michigan legislature on December 9, 1971 anticipating the success of my appeal of a 9-1/2 to-10-year sentence for possession of two joints.
The legislature refused to legalize or even decriminalize marijuana at that point and onward, succumbing only to the expressed will of the people by means of successful ballot initiatives legalizing medical marijuana in 2008 and recreational marijuana use in 2018.
Adam Brook, organizer and spokesman for Hash Bash for about 35 years, put together Saturday’s smoke-in and told MLive.com that in-person protest is still the purpose of the event. For example, Michigan permits adults to buy and consume cannabis products but not in public places, where it’s banned by the current law.
“This just shows that we still have a lot to fight for,” Brook said Saturday. “We moved the ball forward, but we still have a long way to go.”
Brook himself had his tenure as Hash Bash organizer and official spokesperson interrupted several years ago by a two-year sentence at the state Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson.
Ben Horner reports that the public information officer for the university’s Division of Public Safety and Security, Melissa Overton, claimed that between 500 and 700 people were on the Diag, the gathering was peaceful and police made no arrests.
In national news, a new Quinnipiac University poll found that 69% of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, an all-time high. A majority of Democrats, Republicans, independents and people from every age and racial demographic in the survey are on board.
Accordingly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said his forthcoming federal marijuana legalization bill will be considered on the Senate floor “soon.”
Marijuana Moment’s Bill Tracker is already watching 1,076 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress for 2021 sessions.
At least 23 marijuana and drug reform bills are scheduled for committee hearings over the next week.
Gus Burns of Mlive.com reports that, for the first time, Michigan recreational marijuana sales are on pace to surpass $1 billion in the next year. With new monthly sales records set in January and February, at about $67 million each, the latest statistical report shows revenue boomed again to a never-higher $97.6 million in March, a 44% increase from the previous high. And industry insiders don’t expect things to slow down any time soon. “What’s more, sales should hit a new record in April of 2021. Michigan reported $10.1 million in single-day marijuana sales on 4/20 this year, versus $3.7 million in 2020.”
As of April, there were 265 licensed recreational marijuana retailers and nearly 400 medical marijuana dispensaries.
A Michigan State University industry analysis published in March 2020 forecast industry sales to eventually surpass $3 billion per year. Based on March sales figures, recreational sales were on pace to hit nearly $1.2 billion over the next year, nearly $1.8 billion with medical marijuana sales included.
Gus Burns of Mlive.com also reports that the City of Detroit intends to give preferential marijuana business licensing consideration to longtime residents, but officials say they’ll scrap the entire program if the courts won’t let them.
Detroit’s City Council, despite being criticized for being slow to engage with the new industry, took great care and time to draft the ordinance that ensures the city’s marijuana market isn’t overrun by wealthy outsiders. It created what it calls a “legacy” program.
Detroit Councilman James E. Tate Jr., the former long-time police officer, spearheaded the city’s long-awaited plan that offers first access to legacy residents.
Detroit continues to offer resources for marijuana business applicants on its website, but closed the application portal.“We are not allowed to accept license applications until granted by the court.” Detroit’s licensing ordinance states no license will be issued or renewed if any portion of the law is struck down or deemed unconstitutional.
Legacy applicants are defined as those who have lived in Detroit for 15 of the last 30 years; have lived in the city for 13 of the last 30 years and are low income; or have lived in the city for 10 of the last 30 years and have a marijuana conviction or a parent with a marijuana conviction.
Legacy residents receive a 99% discount on licensing fees in 2021, a 75% discount on licensing fees in 2022 and the opportunity to purchase city-owned land for 25% of the market value. They were also given early access to apply and guaranteed no less than 50% of the 75 new retail business licenses available.
Crystal Lowe, a prospective applicant who’s lived in Detroit for a third of her life but falls short of qualifying as preferred applicant, filed a civil lawsuit against the city on March 30 alleging Detroit’s process violates various state and federal laws.
The filing prompted U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman to issue an order temporarily prohibiting Detroit from processing any applications. The request for a temporary restraining order could significantly delay Detroit’s licensing plan.
In her motion for a restraining order, Lowe called the ordinance “pure economic protectionism” that illegally punishes the “fundamental right” to intra- and interstate travel, as well as portions of the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
The ordinance “reveals a clear effort to assist residents who have been most harmed by the criminalization of marijuana-related conduct and to limit the monopolization of adult-use licenses by those who have not experienced the systemic effects of the War on Drugs, which began in earnest in the 1990s,” reads the city’s brief in response to a motion for a restraining order. “Through its legacy provision, the ordinance balances the interests of those Detroiters who would have most acutely felt the impact of criminalizing marijuana with those of others who may be interested in holding a license.
“The ordinance does not bar persons outside the city from applying for a license.” The vast majority of Detroit’s licensed medical marijuana businesses—42 of 46—are owned by people who live outside Detroit, the city said in a court filing.
At a March 29 Detroit City Council meeting, the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department reported that 400-plus legacy applicants had already been certified.
In closing, I’d like to thank Ben Horner and the people at the Vehicle City Social Club for hosting the annual 420 Party in Flint this year. I was the guest of honor and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with my homies at the Vehicle City. Keep up the good work and Free The Weed!
—Detroit
April 25, 2021
© 2021 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.
