LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- The issue of marijuana legalization in Michigan will go to the ballot. Voters will decide in November if the state should allow recreational marijuana use.
Tuesday was the last day for the state Legislature to take up the issue. The Board of State Canvassers certified a petition a little over a month ago that would regulate marijuana similar to alcohol.
Both the House and Senate would have to pass the measure, but the House refused to vote.
Speaker of the House Tom Leonard said, “I’ll just tell you this, we were far away. We were nowhere close. The votes are not there, the support is not there. It’s just not going to happen today the voters are going to have to decide this issue.”
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof wanted the Legislature to pass the measure. He said the votes were there in the Senate. Meekhof says he is disappointed by the missed opportunity. He wanted to vote on the measure and then amend it. He says that would have been the best way to ensure safety and local control over marijuana.