{"id":5138,"date":"2022-03-28T19:55:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T19:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=199516"},"modified":"2022-03-28T19:55:33","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T19:55:33","slug":"if-michigan-deschedules-cannabis-will-other-states-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=5138","title":{"rendered":"If Michigan deschedules cannabis, will other states follow?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>If Michigan deschedules cannabis, will other states follow? | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.1 (Yoast SEO v18.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                   <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">As prohibition persists at the federal level, a new bill floated by a Michigan legislator asks a bold question: Can individual states deschedule cannabis at the state level? And if they do, what exactly will they accomplish?<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Michigan voters<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/michigan-just-legalized-cannabis-heres-what-happens-next\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> approved adult-use legalization via ballot initiative Proposal 1<\/a>. Yet the initiative couldn\u2019t cover every nuance of legalization. To help fill those gaps, Michigan Representative and Democratic Floor Leader Yousef Rabhi<a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/MI\/bill\/HB5877\/2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> introduced House Bill 5877<\/a> earlier this month. In an unprecedented move, HB5877 would fully remove cannabis from Michigan\u2019s state controlled substance list. (Yes, states typically have their own controlled substance lists in addition to the federal list.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-many-gray-areas-still-left-unresolved\">Many gray areas still left unresolved<\/h2>\n<p>Rabhi argues that his bill would resolve issues left in a legal gray area by statewide legalization laws\u2014like housing and employment discrimination. State-level descheduling can\u2019t solve all of the problems created by federal prohibition, but the introduction of Rabhi\u2019s bill highlights\u2014and elevates\u2014the need for reform at the federal level.<\/p>\n<p>National legalization experts are similarly aware of the remnants of Drug War laws left straggling but alive in the wake of statewide legalization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you draft a ballot initiative, you\u2019re often constrained by which policies you can change,\u201d Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Leafly. Schweich served as the director of Michigan\u2019s Proposition 1 campaign in 2018. \u201cIt\u2019s often the case that a ballot initiative doesn\u2019t fix every problem. Then you need legislatures to take action afterwards to essentially ensure that the other laws in the state align with the policy approved by voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-veteran-activist-pushes-for-change\">A veteran activist pushes for change<\/h2>\n<p>Rep. Rabhi is no stranger to drug reform advocacy in Michigan. For years, he championed legalization in the state, with an emphasis on both racial justice and economic pragmatism. \u201cThe War on Drugs\u2026is a war against people of color,\u201d he told the crowd at Ann Arbor\u2019s Hash Bash in 2017. \u201cThe reality is, whether you like it or not, people are using marijuana. Prohibition doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rabhi frames his new bill as a way to tidy up and streamline existing state law. \u201cWe need to make sure that when we look at our law books, our laws are not continuing to criminalize activities that voters have overwhelmingly said should be legal,\u201d he told Leafly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>What would descheduling accomplish at the state level?<\/h2>\n<p>Rabhi argues that HB5877 could have a larger impact on residents\u2019 day-to-day lives than federal descheduling. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t realize that [in addition to] the federal scheduling, there\u2019s also a state schedule,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere are dozens of laws connected to the state schedule. Even if there was a successful effort in Washington to deschedule cannabis, it still would not necessarily change the state law books.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rabhi explained that HB 5877 would resolve many of the challenges that cannabis consumers face in Michigan around housing and employment discrimination. He also noted that the bill would prevent the state from using cannabis consumption as a justification to remove a child from a parent\u2019s custody, including medical marijuana patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Child Protective Services goes into a house and sees someone using cannabis\u2026they can use that against them\u201d due to marijuana\u2019s status on Michigan\u2019s state schedule of controlled substances, he explained. \u201cThat needs to change. If we take it off that list, it can no longer be used against parents in those kinds of cases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Leafly covered an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/leafly-investigation-great-cannabis-crime-lab-frame\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">infamous case<\/a> that arose in Michigan from 2014 to 2017. When police and paramedics responded to a medical emergency at the home of Max Lorincz and Erica Chittenden, a deputy spotted medical marijuana in the couple\u2019s kitchen. As a result, the couple\u2019s four-year-old son Dante was taken away by the state\u2019s child protective services agency. Lorincz and Chittenden endured a nightmarish three-year fight to win back custody of their son. At the time, medical marijuana was fully legal in Michigan and Lorincz was a registered patient.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/leafly-investigation-great-cannabis-crime-lab-frame\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Leafly Investigation: The Great Cannabis Crime Lab Frame-Up<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-federal-scheduling-limits-the-scope-of-statewide-descheduling\">Federal scheduling limits the scope of statewide descheduling<\/h2>\n<p>While HB 5877 could make a huge impact on Michiganders\u2019 lives, it remains an imperfect solution. For instance, even if the Michigan Legislature passes the bill, federal law would continue to prohibit gun owners from legally possessing cannabis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rabhi also acknowledged that his bill does not prohibit an employer from drug-testing their employees, although descheduling would come into play if an employer required testing for state-scheduled substances, specifically.<\/p>\n<p>Schweich, of the MPP, agreed that bills like HB 5877 are worth fighting for even if they don\u2019t solve every roadblock created by federal prohibition. \u201cElected officials should do everything they can to enact the best possible cannabis laws at the state level,\u201d he told Leafly. \u201c[But] it\u2019s true that until we fix federal cannabis policy, there\u2019s going to be unnecessary difficulties for people and for businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe need to make sure that when we look at our law books, our laws are not continuing to criminalize activities that voters have overwhelmingly said should be legal.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Michigan Representative Yousef Rabhi<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As for the timing of the bill, Rabhi doesn\u2019t think it\u2019ll pass overnight. \u201cIn all honesty, it\u2019s going to be the beginning of a long conversation,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Both Rabhi and Schweich told Leafly the bill could inspire other state governments to pass their own versions and create momentum for federal change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually we\u2019ll hit a tipping point and this conflict between state and federal law will be completely untenable,\u201d Schweich said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to come soon. How soon is the big question.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/if-michigan-deschedules-cannabis-will-other-states-follow.jpg\" alt=\"Max Savage Levenson's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Max Savage Levenson<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Max Savage Levenson likely has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any writer on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled folk. He co-hosts The Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/max-savage-levenson\">View Max Savage Levenson&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-03-28 22:16:40 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Michigan deschedules cannabis, will other states follow? | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. As prohibition persists at the federal level, a new bill floated by a Michigan legislator asks a bold question: Can individual states deschedule cannabis at the state level? And if they do, what exactly will they accomplish? 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