If they can do it in California, why not right here?
Talk to Tim Beck head of the Coalition for a Safer Detroit and
he'll make the argument that legalized marijuana on the Gold Coast has
earned the governator there about $2 billion bucks and if Michigan did
the same, at least $200 million could flow into statewide coffers.
You just knew this was coming. When Michigan voters gave a green
light to using marijuana for medical purposes, it was only a matter of
seconds before the pro-grass folks tried to move the ball down the
field.
It is starting in Detroit where the Motown Marijuana ballot plan
will likely appear in November for local folks to decide. It's not a
total decriminalization per se, according to Mr. Beck, but it's darn
close.
If the local election board signs off, and voters say yes, 21-year
old adults could legally posses an ounce or less of grass on private
property and the cops could do nothing about it.
Beck admits that his strategy is Detroit today, the entire state
tomorrow.
"That's what we would like," he tells the crew on the Public TV
series, Off the Record.
Beck is armed with some stats on the cost of arresting 1500 folks
who got caught with a little Mary Jane. He asserts it cost $350 an
hour to cram them through the criminal justice system at a cost of $2.6
million…money Beck figures could be used to nab real crooks.
All this sounds dandy, but the anti-grass folks are not high on the
idea.
What about the slippery slop? Grass today, legalized coke tomorrow.
And what happens when all those "smokers" get behind the wheel, or rob
a bank or trash your home?
While the majority of voters signed-off on fighting medical pain
with grass, even Beck concedes this next step has only a 50-50 cance
right now.