MILegalize hosts unity rally at State Capitol to support marijuana legislation

By Shireen Korkzan

Albion, Mich. resident Stan McKim fills out a petition form during the MILegalize Capitol Rally on May 20 at the Capitol in Lansing. The MILegalize Capitol Rally was held to gather signatures in the support of the legalization of cannabis and express the community's frustration with legislators.
Nic Antaya | The State News

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MILegalize hosted a public “unity rally” at the Capitol Building in downtown Lansing on Friday, May 20. During the rally, the pro-marijuana initiative campaign turned in a petition with more than 315,000 signatures from Michigan residents to state officials. The petition calls for state legislators to fully legalize cannabis in Michigan.

Charmie Gholson, founder and director of Michigan Moms United, was one of many representatives who spoke at the rally.

“I am here today at the MILegalize rally because I have worked for the last four years to try to convince the Michigan Legislature to enact solid common sense civil asset forfeiture reforms,” Gholson said.

Other representatives at the rally included members of Michigan’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Jeffrey Hank, executive director of MILegalize, said fully legalizing marijuana in Michigan would create 50,000 jobs, rebuild roads and fund schools. Hank said MILegalize came up with the statistics based on Michigan’s marketing size and the occupational use licensing numbers from Colorado, a state roughly half Michigan’s population size, that fully legalized cannabis for both medicinal and recreational drug use in 2014.

“Projections are based on what Michigan could be,” Hank said.

Currently, 24 states and Washington, D.C., including Michigan, have legalized cannabis for medical use. The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, also known as Proposal 1, went into effect in 2008.

However, access to medical marijuana is limited to patients obtaining it from an approved caregiver who can serve up to five patients at a time, or growing the plant on their own.

Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, has been a supporter of ending cannabis prohibition for many years. Recently, he introduced House Bill No. 4877 to decriminalize marijuana in the Michigan House of Representatives.

“Cannabis prohibition is a huge failure,” Irwin said. It’s not working and it’s incredibly costly,” Irwin said. “(Criminalizing marijuana use) is an incredibly wasteful and unproductive enterprise. Cannabis prohibition is un-American.”

The event was also a general rally for social justice in Michigan, including Flint and Detroit.

“We represent just the common people,” Hank said. “We’re not a special interests group. We want to fix Marijuana laws but we also want to do other good things like put money into roads, put money into schools and create jobs. Michigan is in a hurtful moment right now.

We have Flint, we have Detroit Public Schools. All these things, right? We’re the feel good story of the year in Michigan. We’re not the sex scandals and all the corruption and all this other crap. We are here to help the people.”

MILegalize said on its website it aims to put full fair marijuana legalization on the November 2016 ballot. The campaign is past its 253,000 signatures minimum requirement to be included on the ballot, but will continue to gather more signatures before June 1.

People gather and listen to state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, speak during the MILegalize Capitol Rally on May 20 at the Capitol in Lansing. The MILegalize Capitol Rally was held to gather signatures in the support of the legalization of cannabis and express the community's frustration with legislators.