LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan Voters may have voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but you may not want to jump the gun and plan a big pot party for this weekend.
It takes effect 10-days after he Michigan Board of Canvassers certifies the results. That means probably after Thanksgiving.
Attorney Mathew Able of the Cannabis Council says at that point it will become legal to possess up to 10 ounces at home and be in possession of 2-1/2 ounces in public.
It could take a year or longer for the state to put together the regulations and issue the pot licenses to retailers and allow time for them to set up their businesses.
Able says cities can’t prevent anyone from possessing it, but they can still prevent anyone from selling it. Communities will have to decide if they will opt in or opt out and forego any income from the industry.
One Grand Rapids judge has already started delaying hearings on pot cases. Prosecutors will have to decide how they are going to handle violators in the interim.
Legislators will have to decide if prison inmates serving time for pot will not only be released, but have their records expunged.
Just as craft beer has become a tourist attraction, soon pot will draw people from states where it remains illegal.
Cannibis Tourism could become a much bigger business in Michigan border towns than wine tours have ever been.
