LANSING, Mich. — Supporters of the broad legalization of marijuana are trying to overcome a geographic barrier in November and claim their first seat in the Midwest after a series of election victories in northeastern and western states.
Michigan and North Dakota, where voters previously authorized medical marijuana, will now decide whether the drug should be legal for any adult 21 and older. They would become the 10th and 11th states to legalize so-called recreational marijuana since 2012, politically lightning fast.
Meanwhile, Missouri and Utah will weigh in on medical marijuana, which is allowed in 31 states, after voters in conservative Oklahoma approved such use in June. Even if Utah's initiative is defeated, a compromise reached last week between supporters and opponents, including the Mormon church, would require the legislature to legalize medical marijuana.
“We've reached a critical mass of acceptance,” said Rebecca Haffajee, an assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan. He said the country may be at a “tipping point” where change is inevitable at the federal level because so many states are at odds with U.S. policy that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin.
“In general, people either find a therapeutic benefit or enjoy the substance and want to do it without fear of becoming a criminal for using it,” Haffajee said.
In Michigan, polls have shown public receptivity to legalizing marijuana tracks similarly to national polls that find support at about 60 percent, according to Gallup and the Pew Research Center.
The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Program has been a driving force behind successful legalization initiatives in other states and has given at least $444,000 to support Michigan's ballot measure.
“The electorate recognizes that prohibition is not working. There is also a growing social acceptance of marijuana use on a personal level,” said Matthew Schweich, the project's deputy director.
“Our culture has already legalized marijuana. Now the question is, 'How fast will the laws go?'” added Schweich, also director of the campaign for Michigan's 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 of a backlash against allowing only certain private investors to control grow facilities than opposition to marijuana.
Supporters of the Michigan measure say it would align with a new, strong regulatory system for medical marijuana businesses in the state and add about $130 million a year in tax revenue, especially for road repairs, schools and municipalities.
Critics urging its defeat say it is out of order and cite provisions that allow a 2.5-ounce (71-gram) possession limit that is higher than many other states and a 16 percent tax rate that is lower. The coalition of opponents includes chambers of commerce and law enforcement groups along with doctors, the Catholic Church and anti-substance abuse organizations.
Randy Richardville, a former GOP legislative leader and spokesman for the opposition group Healthy and Productive Michigan, said adults — even those without serious health problems — already can easily obtain pot under the state's relaxed medical law. marijuana. The ballot proposal, he said, would lead to a more “stoned” workforce, traffic accidents and crime, and increased health risks for teenagers.
“This is not about a citizens' initiative with a whole group of people out there who said they would like to smoke marijuana recreationally and responsibly,” Richardville said. “This is a special interest group that put a lot of dollars into sacrificing our children's future to make more money.”
Dr. Donald Condit, an orthopedic surgeon in Grand Rapids who contributes to the doctors' opposition, said few doctors see a problem with, for example, terminal cancer patients using marijuana to ease their pain.
But people should think more about full legalization because marijuana is getting “very, very strong” and “this stuff could hit a teenager's brain like a ton of bricks,” he said.
Advocates counter that teen marijuana use has not increased in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, and point to the drug's other benefits, such as as a safer substitute for painkillers amid the deadly opioid epidemic.
“It's going to take away the scourge of the old days, when drug dealers were selling heroin and crack, methamphetamines and marijuana — it all came together,” said Stu Carter, who owns Utopia Gardens, a medical marijuana store in Detroit. “Now we can take it out of this world of illegal drugs and make it much safer for the consumer.”
In North Dakota, legalization faces an uphill battle. No major outside backers have funded the effort, which comes as the state is still building a medical-marijuana system that was overwhelmingly approved by voters two years ago.
The campaign for and against the medical-marijuana initiative in predominantly Mormon Utah, which has received $293,000 from the Marijuana Policy Program, was rocked last week when Gov. Gary Herbert said he would call lawmakers into a special session after the election to pass the compromise agreement into law regardless of how the public vote turns out.
Medical marijuana is also on the ballot in Missouri, and while the idea has significant support, voters may be confused by the way it's presented on the ballot.
Advocates gathered enough signatures to place three initiatives before voters. Two would change the state constitution. the third would amend state law. If all three pass, the constitutional amendments override state law, and whichever amendment receives the most votes will override the other.
One amendment organizer, Brad Bradshaw, said it's unclear whether having three initiatives could divide supporters so much that some or all of the proposals fail — especially if people don't realize they can vote “yes” and at three.
“A lot of people don't even have it on their radar at this point,” he said. “They'll walk into the booth to vote and see all three and say, 'What the hell?' You just don't know how it's going to turn out.”
Associated Press writers Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City, James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.
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