Pubdate: Thu, 08 Nov 2012
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2012 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Christine Macdonald

DETROIT APPROVES PERSONAL POT USE

Detroit - Detroit voters overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to 
decriminalize personal use of marijuana, but users may not want to 
breathe easy just yet.

State and federal law still deem the drug illegal, and there's 
disagreement about whether the change will mean anything.

On the same day voters in Flint, Grand Rapids and Colorado and 
Washington approved similar measures, Detroit passed Proposal M 65-35 
percent, allowing those 21 and older to possess less than an ounce of 
marijuana without prosecution.

"We knew we were going to win," said Tim Beck, chairman of the 
Coalition for a Safer Detroit, which lobbied for the change in Detroit.

"I truly believe that the city will not use its resources to 
prosecute small time marijuana users. There is no upside."

But Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette, 
warned that "state law governing marijuana possession and use remains 
in full force, regardless of any local ordinances."

It's uncertain how Detroit officials will handle the changes. Sgt. 
Eren Stephens, the Detroit Police Department spokeswoman, said 
Wednesday that the department had no comment on Proposal M's passage.

"We will be guided by the city of Detroit's law department," Stephens said.

The city's corporation counsel, Krystal Crittendon, declined comment 
Wednesday, saying she wanted to speak to Mayor Dave Bing and council 
members about how to proceed.

Bing declined comment through a spokesman.

Wayne State University Law Professor Peter Henning said he doesn't 
expect the new law to change much.

Since marijuana is illegal statewide, Detroit police officers still 
would have probable cause to search suspected users for the drug and 
could charge them under state law, Henning said.

In Grand Rapids, voters made marijuana possession a civil infraction 
punishable by a fine - rather than a misdemeanor that carried 
possible jail time - 59-41 percent.

In Flint, allowing possession of less than an ounce for those older 
than 19 was leading 57-43 percent with 95 percent of precincts 
reporting Wednesday afternoon.

Nationally, voters in Colorado and Washington on Tuesday became the 
first states in the nation to approve recreational use of the drug, 
setting up a potential showdown with federal authorities.

Some officials have been reluctant to allow local laws to supersede 
federal ones - as backers of a 2008 medical pot initiative in 
Michigan know well.

Statewide voters approved that measure in 2008, but much of that law 
is still being fought in court.

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Staff Writer Darren A. Nichols and The Associated Press contributed.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom