Michigan Cannabis Laws
Is Cannabis Legal In Michigan ?
Looking for other state cannabis laws? Click Here!
Law:
| State | Recreational | Medical Marijuana | CBD |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Federal Law:
| Recreational | Medical Marijuana | CBD |
| No | No | Yes |
Is recreational cannabis legal in Michigan?
Yes. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act was certified in 2018, with voter approval. This law allows adults 21 years and over to possess up to 2.5 oz of cannabis in public, up to 10 oz in private, and cultivate up to 12 plants per residence. Michigan was also speedy compared to other legalized states to set up a state-licensed cultivation and distribution program. The first dispensaries opened the following year.
Since its legalization a year ago, Michigan has shown the highest growth sales of any legal cannabis market in the U.S.
Is Medical Marijuana legal in Michigan?
Yes. Proposal 1, the Michigan Compassionate Care Act, legalized medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. With a doctors’ approval, terminal or seriously ill patients can possess up to 2.5 oz at a time. While many medical dispensaries were operating in the state after Prop 1, they were not officially legal until amendments were made in 2016. Throughout this period, patients were allowed to cultivate their cannabis.
Before legalization, Michigan municipalities worked over many decades to decriminalize cannabis and lower enforcement of cannabis crimes. College towns were at the forefront of decriminalization, such as Ann Arbor’s reforms in 1974, Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Flint in 2012.
Are CBD products legal in Michigan?
Yes. Since the passage of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, hemp-derived CBD products are legal under federal law in the United States, as long as they contain at most 0.3% THC.
Any and all CBD in food and drink is still federally illegal.
What’s Michigan‘s recreational cannabis sales tax?
6%. The same as all retail sales.
What’s Michigan‘s medical marijuana sales tax?
3% is imposed in addition to the general sales tax.
Is cannabis delivery legal in Michigan?
Yes. Both medical and recreational cannabis is legal in the state. Delivery services are still subject to local limits based on time, place, and delivery manner (operating hours and delivery locations).
Check out the sites below to see if there are any High Times affiliated retail stores or delivery services in your area:
Battle Creek: Remedii
Bay City: 420 Dank, Dank on Arrival (DOA), Remedii
Detroit: Five and Dime, Motown Meds, Shake and Bake, 420 Dank East, 420 Dank West
Morenci: Remedii Stateline
Michigan’s Cannabis Timeline:
1937: The Marihuana (archaic spelling of Marijuana) Tax Act was enacted banning cannabis at the federal level. Medical Marijuana use was still permitted.
1951: The Boggs Act, Sponsored by Hale Boggs and signed into law under President Harry S. Truman, This act set mandatory sentencing and increased punishment for cannabis possession.
1969: The Marihuana Tax Act is deemed unconstitutional in the landmark Leary v. United States. Timothy Leary, a professor, and activist, was arrested for the possession of marijuana in violation of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. Leary then challenged the act on the ground that the act required self-incrimination, which violated his Fifth Amendment rights. (The self-incrimination clause provides various protections against self-incrimination, including the right of an individual to not serve as a witness in a criminal case in which they are the defendant, better known as “Pleading the Fifth”.) The unanimous opinion of the court was penned by Justice John Marshall Harlan II and declared the Marihuana Tax Act unconstitutional. Therefore, Leary’s conviction was overturned.
1970: The Controlled Substances Act is enacted (replacing the unconstitutional Marihuana Tax Act). Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug, determined to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, thereby prohibiting its use for any purpose. This act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
This legislation created five classifications, with specific qualifications for a substance to be included in each. The substances scheduling (classification) are determined by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet, Congress does have the power to schedule or de-schedule substances through legislation. Substance scheduling decisions are based on its potential for abuse, accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and international treaties.
Classification of Controlled Substances:
Schedule I: High potential of abuse, not acceptable for medical use
Schedule II: High potential of abuse, sometimes allowed with “severe restrictions” for medical use
Schedule II: Medium potential of abuse, acceptable for medical use
Schedule IV: Moderate potential of abuse, acceptable for medical use
Schedule V: Lowest potential of abuse, acceptable for medical use
1974: Ann Arbor’s voter referendum decriminalizes possession of small amounts of cannabis.
1984-1986: Mandatory Sentencing and the three-strikes law were created under the Reagan Administration. This accounts for some of the harshest drug laws created including mandatory 25-year imprisonment for certain drug offenses and the promotion of the death penalty to be used against “drug kingpins”.
1998: House Joint Resolution 117, encouraged by the passing of California’s Prop 215, the House of Representatives passed this measure to support the existing Federal legal process for determining the safety and efficacy of certain drugs.
2008: Michigan Compassionate Care Act, legalizes medical marijuana
2012-2015: Major Michigan cities pass reforms to decriminalize cannabis including Kalamazoo, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Berkely.
2014: The Rohrabacher–Farr Amendment passed in the U.S. House and signed into law prohibiting the Justice Department from interfering with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.
2016: Medical Marijuana dispensaries were no longer in limbo and made legal in the state to continue cultivation and production for registered patients,
2018: Farm bill legalizes low-THC hemp nationwide and effectively de-schedules hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) from the Controlled Substances Act.
2018:The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act legalized recreational adult-use of cannabis.
2019:Michigan’s recreational dispensaries are open to the public.
