Michigan Marijuana Amendment Advocates Launch Legalization Campaign

Michigan activists are kicking off a campaign Friday to amend the state constitution to legalize marijuana.

If passed, the proposed amendment would end the prohibition of the cultivation, use, sale and distribution of the cannabis plant for adults over the age of 21. It would not permit the use of marijuana while driving a motor vehicle.

Committee for a Safer Michigan, the Detroit-based group sponsoring the effort, believes the law would allow law enforcement officers to focus their resources on violent criminals and other public safety threats.

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, passed by voters in 2008, allows patients who register with the state to use the plant for medicinal purposes. But activists say Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's adversarial interpretation of the law helped spur the effort for full marijuana legalization.

Since taking office in 2011, Schuette has worked to shut down marijuana clinics, and to prosecute patients enrolled in the state marijuana registry.

A recall effort against Schuette is also underway. That measure would need 807,000 signatures by March to be placed on the November ballot.

The official announcement of the marijuana legalization campaign coincides with a major drug bust by Detroit Police on Thursday. Following a lead, police raided a warehouse on the city's east side and seized 800 marijuana plants. A 37-year-old man is currently in police custody as a result of the bust, according to the department.