City of East Lansing Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (May 2015)

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A City of East Lansing Marijuana Decriminalization Charter Amendment was on the ballot for East Lansing city voters in Clinton and Ingham counties, Michigan, on May 5, 2015. It was approved.

Supporters originally sought to put this measure on the November 4, 2014, election ballot.

This measure decriminalized, according to city law, the possession and use of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property by an adult above the age of 21. The measure only applied to city law. Marijuana use remained illegal and fully criminalized according to state and federal law, which laws could be enforced by any law enforcement agency in Michigan, including the East Lansing City Police Department.

Initiative efforts to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana were announced in 18 cities throughout Michigan for 2014 ballots. Thirteen qualified for elections in 2014, while two -- including this proposal in East Lansing -- were postponed until 2015 and three did not make the ballot at all.

Voters in the city of Lansing approved a similar measure in 2013, which was organized by the same local attorney, Jeffrey Hank.

Election results

East Lansing City, Marijuana Proposal
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		3,079	65.07%
No		1,653	34.93%

Election results from Ingham County Elections Office

Text of measure

Ballot question

The following question appeared on the ballot:

“

Shall Chapter 6 of the Charter of the City of East Lansing be amended to add a new Section 6.12, entitled “Marijuana”, to state that: “Nothing in the Code of Ordinances shall apply to the use, possession or transfer of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, on private property, or transportation of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, by a person who has attained the age of 21 years"?

”

Explanatory statement

The following explanatory statement was provided by the city attorney:

“	[I]f the ballot proposal is approved by the voters, the only change is the inability of the City of East Lansing to have certain ordinances. The use, possession and transfer of any amount of marijuana would remain illegal under state and federal laws and any police department, including the East Lansing Police Department, would be able to make arrests and have the cases prosecuted under those laws.	”
—East Lansing City Attorney

Background

As of 2014, the Safer Michigan Coalition, which was founded and run by Tim Beck, Chuck Ream and Justin Soffa, had been active in supporting pro-marijuana efforts in the state of Michigan for several years. Chuck Ream and Tim Beck had been working together for a decade on pro-marijuana efforts. The organization was dedicated to defending the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, approved in 2008. The group was also largely responsible for 14 local ballot measure victories, including five in 2012 and three in 2013.

Past local marijuana measures in Michigan

Ream said, “In order to have some change you’ve got to have some way for the voters to express their opinion. In a city in Michigan you can run a citizen’s initiative.” The method was not available, however, for general law townships or counties. Macomb County and Wayne County were the only two charter counties in Michigan, and the charters of both counties allow for initiative and referendum. The Safer Michigan Coalition stated that it had its eye on pro-marijuana proposals in each county for 2015.

Ream explained that the Safer Michigan Coalition created a template and provided support so that local activists could put various initiatives reforming marijuana use enforcement on the ballot. The different recipes offered by the coalition included:

• legalization, which was approved in Ferndale, Lansing and Jackson in 2013;
• a Lowest Law Enforcement Priority model, enacted in Ypsilanti in 2012;
• a proposal requiring medical marijuana dispensaries, which was used in Kalamazoo in 2012; and
• the decriminalization initiatives that were on multiple local ballots across Michigan in 2014.

Ream expounded on the benefits of running local pro-marijuana efforts, saying, “These local initiatives are really, really cheap, compared to anything that can be done on a state level. For a few thousand dollars we can show that the average voter doesn’t support cannabis prohibition any longer.” Ream said that, although statewide petitions have been successful, the expense — at least a million dollars — of running a statewide campaign was somewhat daunting. Ream did say, “Every time that we give the voice to the voters they reject cannabis prohibition utterly, usually by 60% or more.” Attorney Michael Komorn stated, “I think that this strategy has been brilliant. It’s something where you can always claim victory in every year, these local initiatives.”

Five local marijuana measures failed in Michigan in 2014, while eight were approved.

Safer Michigan Coalition banner

Support

Supporters

Local attorney Jeffrey Hank was the chief coordinator for the initiative in East Lansing.

The Safer Michigan Coalition was behind multiple initiatives in Michigan to decriminalize marijuana on the local level. The efforts were designed to be spearheaded by local activists in each targeted city. The local chapter for East Lansing was called the Coalition for a Safer East Lansing.

Tim Beck, co-founder of the Safer Michigan Coalition, said, “Our goal is to create confusion and chaos between state and local laws so our legislators in Lansing with [sic] step up to the plate and do the will of the people. Ultimately there needs to be marijuana legalization like they have in Colorado, where it is legal and regulated.”

Up North Live, "Marijuana activists working towards legalization in Michigan," January 30, 2014

Arguments in favor

Supporters of decriminalization argued that possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by consenting adults should not be illegal because it is not harmful and restrictions are not enforceable. They also argued that law enforcement should focus on more dangerous crimes and that any attempt to enforce marijuana prohibition would be a waste of time. Beck said, "Its [sic] time for law enforcement and the court system to start dealing with real crime, with real victims; not harassing consenting adults for something that should not be a crime in the first place."

During the campaign for the similar 2013 initiative approved in the city of Lansing, Jeffery Hank, an attorney and the chairman for the Coalition for a Safer Lansing, said, "We want law enforcement focus to be on serious crimes with victims. This is a pro-law enforcement, pro-civil liberties initiative meant to improve safety and policing in Lansing while restoring constitutional liberties that are a casualty of the so-called war on drugs." Hank added. "This is an initiative that indicates that the voters of Lansing seek peace."

Opposition

Arguments against

East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett gave a complex opinion on the proposal, saying, “I support decriminalization of marijuana as a matter of public policy, but I have serious concerns about attempting to advance this policy via local charter amendment, especially in a university community. East Lansing charter amendments and ordinances do not govern the campus of Michigan State University. To the extent that not having a local prohibition on marijuana impacts the legal landscape (which is minimally), we would have a separate set of rules on each side of Grand River Avenue.” Triplett concluded, “If nothing else, it’s another signal to the State Legislature and Congress about where public opinion is on this issue. My only hope is that too many people don’t get caught in the legal crossfire while the state is catching up with the citizenry. Decriminalizing marijuana is the right thing to do. But this charter amendment is a good example of how the means matter just as much as the desired end.”

In general, opponents argued that the rash of local decriminalization measures showing up across Michigan were futile, impotent and symbolic at best -- since they contradict state and federal laws outlawing marijuana -- and harmful to the community at worst. Many opponents argued that the energy and money put into these petitions could be put to better use for the communities in which the initiatives were proposed.

Dave Coulter, mayor of Ferndale a city that featured a similar decriminalization initiative in 2013, said, “My understanding is that state and federal drug laws can’t be changed at the local level. Ferndale has a history of local activism through symbolic statements like this and they certainly have their place, but in terms of effecting actual change at the city level, a focus on economic development and jobs, our neighborhoods and our schools will have a greater impact.”

Many opponents of the initiative expected law enforcement officials to continue making arrests under state law despite approved local decriminalization initiatives. In Flint, one of the five cities in which decriminalization and marijuana related measures were approved in 2012, law enforcement officials said that the vote was merely symbolic as police officers would continue to arrest marijuana users according to state law.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Michigan

The Safer Michigan Coalition had coordinated efforts such as this proposal in many cities throughout Michigan. Although the proponents of this measure had originally targeted the ballot for the city's election on November 4, 2014, for this measure, the proposal was postponed due to missed deadlines, lawsuits and legal debate until the next election in November 2015. However, state legislators decided to put a sales tax increase question before statewide voters on May 5, 2015, allowing for an election on this date rather than in the Fall. All of the East Lansing City Council members expressed a desire to have the election on this proposal as soon as the law allowed.

Similar measures

2015 measures

• City of Brownsville Medical and Recreational Marijuana Facilities Advisory Question, Measure 22-134 (May 2015)d
• City of Denver "Limited Social Marijuana Consumption Initiative" (November 2015)
• City of Manitou Springs Marijuana Sales Tax Revenue Retention TABOR Override Question (November 2015)a
• City of Montrose Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (February 2015)d
• City of Portage Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (November 2015)a
• City of Sunnyside Recreational Marijuana Production and Sales Advisory Question, Proposition 1 (August 2015)
• City of Wichita Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (April 2015)a
• Denver Retention and Continuation of Marijuana Sales Tax, Measure 2B (November 2015)a
• Houston, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. H-1 (October 2015)d
• Jackson County Marijuana Producers and Sellers Tax, Measure 15-133 (March 2015)a
• Nashville-Davidson County Metro Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (August 2015)
• Palmer, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. P-1 (October 2015)a
• Toledo, Ohio, Issue 1, Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (September 2015)a

Statewide marijuana measures in 2015

• Category:Certified, marijuana, 2015
• Ohio Issue 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2015)

See also

• Local marijuana on the ballot
• Ingham County, Michigan ballot measures
• Clinton County, Michigan ballot measures
• May 5, 2015 ballot measures in Michigan
• November 4, 2014 ballot measures in Michigan

External links

Suggest a link

• What is Marijuana? website
• Safer Michigan Coalition website
• Marijuana Policy Project, "Michigan city ballot initiatives status," accessed July 2, 2014

Additional reading

• Lansing State Journal, "East Lansing voters OK marijuana proposal," May 6, 2015
• Lansing State Journal, "East Lansing voters to consider marijuana proposal May 5," April 27, 2015
• The State News, "Sales tax increase, marijuana decriminalization on ballot for May 5 election," April 16, 2015
• City of East Lansing, "Memo to city council from City Attorney Thomas Yeadon," accessed April 15, 2015
• City of East Lansing, "Memo from City Attorney Thomas Yeadon concerning Grand Rapids court case in relation to this proposal," accessed April 15, 2015
• The State News, "Sales tax increase, marijuana decriminalization on ballot for May 5 election," March 23, 2015