MI Legalize, the group that organized signature drives to ask Michigan voters to legalize marijuana this November, will now try to get on the 2018 ballot.
MI Legalize turned in 354,000 signatures for the 2016 ballot issue – more than the total needed to qualify for the November ballot – but state rules making signatures older than 180 days void, meant there weren’t enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
MI Legalize will go forward with a restructuring of the ballot group and preparation for another petition drive, a Sept. 22 news release from board member Jamie Lowell said.
“The MI Legalize movement remains united and focused on planning over the next few months,” MI Legalize Chairman Jeffrey Hank said in a prepared statement. The current board is talking about reorganizations for an improved campaigns, and an advisory committee including people in leadership positions.
The group also posted an announcement on its Facebook page.
“We expect resolution from the courts, but that does not mean that we will be standing still as that process continues,” said Tom Lavigne, an MI Legalize board member and attorney with the Detroit based law firm Cannabis Counsel.
Lavigne represented a petitioner who sued the state of Michigan in U.S. District Court a case that a federal judge denied a motion to halt Michigan’s ballot printing process to allow signatures to be counted and for the issue to be added to the ballot.
MI Legalize is still hoping for relief in federal courts, despite being past 2016 election deadlines, either in the U.S. District Court case or in the U.S. Supreme Court, where the group is planning to appeal.
The group argues that Michigan Courts did not address core arguments of the legal challenge.
The group criticized a package of bills overhauling medical marijuana in Michigan.
“In less than 48 hours, we have witnessed the stealing of an election and the hijacking of the emerging cannabis industry in Michigan,” Lowell said.
The group plans to hold informational “Town Hall” style meetings in the upcoming months in several locations around the state and wants to allow for public input.
Hank said MI Legalize has grown into a “legitimate political force,” Hank said in a statement.
“…the outpouring of support and desire to complete the mission is so profound that we really have no choice but to continue this effort and prepare for another petition drive,” he said, noting the group will take time until spring to plan, analyze and utilize data for the 2018 petition drive.
“We will be releasing more information on funding, but we demonstrated that we could raise over $1.1 million last time, and we started out with less than $10,000 and a whole first month of only volunteer signatures,” Hank said.
“We know we have a popular plan and will do whatever we can to ensure Michigan voters have a chance to be heard,” he said.
Citizens with additional questions and who would like to participate can inquire at info@milegalize.com.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: 2018 Michigan Marijuana Legalization Vote Petition Drive Planned
Author: Brad Devereaux
Contact: MLive
Photo Credit: Samantha Madar
Website: MLive
