Our Priorities
NORML of Michigan represents the rights and interests of cannabis consumers. We have come a long way in the last 50 years, from Prohibition to medical and finally full legalization, but there still is much to be done. As Michigan’s only cannabis consumer protection organization, we need your help to stand up for cannabis users.
Here in Michigan, our priorities are:
Justice for those who remain behind bars for cannabis related offenses: Despite a recent law offering automatic expungement for marijuana offenses many Michiganders remain incarcerated for cannabis related charges that would not have occurred, if not for the original cannabis charge. Whether it is for resisting a cannabis related arrest, or someone charged with a firearm felony simply for having a previous cannabis felony, MI NORML calls on our state government to find justice for our fellow citizens, and release them from imprisonment.
Protections for Caregivers and the patients who choose to access their medicine through them: Many Michigan Medical Marijuana patients choose to access their medicine from small, local suppliers they know in their community. These grassroots networks provide personalized care and a more tailored medicine to the individuals specific needs. Today Caregivers find themselves facing burdensome local zoning rules, and increasing oversight from Michigan State Police. MI NORML supports the MI Medical Marijuana Caregiver system, and we will work to ensure that caregiver and patient rights are protected.
End the 6% tax on Medical Marijuana: You don’t pay taxes when you pick up blood pressure medication, inhalers, or insulin. You shouldn’t have to pay taxes when you pick up your medical marijuana. Here at Michigan NORML, we don’t understand why this is still an issue at all. Medicine should not ever be taxed, and we call on our state government to end this nonsense policy.
Remove drug testing requirements for Michigan companies: Evidence of THC metabolites can remain in the blood stream of cannabis users for more than 30 days, while evidence of cocaine or heroin use sticks around for just three to five days. Right now Michiganders are being denied employment opportunities bases on their legal, private activates engaged in outside of work hours. No job would refuse to hire you for having a beer on the weekend, so why are they allowed to discriminate against you if you prefer a joint? MI NORML believes all pre-employment drug testing to be an infringement on your Constitutional rights, and we will continue the fight to end this practice.
Protect the rights of all Michiganders 21 and up to grow 12 plants per household: We know that these rights will be challenged by big cannabis businesses one day, just as the alcohol industry worked to make sure it is illegal to make your own whiskey at home. MI NORML will always stand up for the rights of private individuals to grow their own cannabis at home.
Our national priorities include:
Calling on President Biden to appoint a Drug Czar committed to ending cannabis prohibition: Support for legalization nationwide stands at 68% according to a Gallop poll in November of 2020. In that same month, every single ballot proposal concerning cannabis passed with wide margins. It is overwhelmingly clear that the American people are no longer in support of cannabis prohibition. The Biden Administration must recognize that truth and begin the process to undo the great injustice.
Calling on the DEA to de-schedule marijuana: 36 states in the Union now have either medical or recreational cannabis. The current placement of marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic with no safe uses alongside drugs like heroin and cocaine is a farce. This absurd and outdated policy is a completely unnecessary and purely administrative roadblock to progress, and it must end.
Pressuring our Congress to end the prohibition of marijuana nationwide: Last year the Democratic controlled House of Representatives passed the M.O.R.E. Act, which would have put an end to prohibition across America. But this bill, like so much other legislation, never left Mitch McConnell’s desk. Now that Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House, they must use their power to act on behalf of the vast majority of Americans who support legalization.
Eliminate discrimination against cannabis users in Federal laws and programs: Food stamps, housing rights, employment protections, child custody cases, healthcare access, educational loan programs, and eligibility for assistance programs. These are all places where discrimination against cannabis users are enshrined in our federal laws. Decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis isn’t enough. We must undo the harm caused in the frivolous pursuit of prohibition.