A new poll suggests a majority of Michigan voters would support the legalization and taxation of marijuana.
The poll was commissioned by Michigan NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana. It was the fourth poll performed by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA on legalizing marijuana in Michigan.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would support a ballot proposal if it collected enough petition signatures in the coming months.
Bill Laitner of The Detroit Free Press reported on the specifics of the ballot proposal and what changes it would include:
In short, the ballot proposal would allow Michiganders of 21 years or older to grow, possess and sell marijuana, let state and local governments pass regulations and impose up to 10% tax on non-medical pot with funding earmarked for education, road repairs and local governments. The lengthy proposal would also legalize the statewide cultivation of industrial hemp, a crop that once supplied raw material for everything from textiles to rope, but has been banned during the nation’s war on drugs because the hemp plant is related to marijuana.
According to a press release in November 2015 from EPIC-MRA, this latest poll follows a 2014 survey that gave 50% support to a similar question, and one in 2013 that revealed 47% support for the drug’s legalization.
