City of Clare Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (November 2014)

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A City of Clare Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal ballot question was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the city of Clare in Clare County, Michigan. It was defeated.^[1]

Had it been approved, this measure would have decriminalized the possession and use of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property by an adult above the age of 21. The measure would have only applied to city law. Marijuana would have remained illegal according to state and federal law.^[2]

Initiative efforts to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana were announced in 18 cities throughout Michigan for 2014 ballots. Eleven qualified for the November 2014 ballot, while two were postponed to 2015 ballots and three did not make the ballot at all. Two were approved on August 5, 2014.^[1]

Election results[edit]

Clare City Marijuana Question
Result		Votes	Percentage
d No		432	55.89%
Yes		341	44.11%

Election results from Clare County, Michigan

Text of measure[edit]

Ballot question[edit]

The question on the ballot read as follows:^[3]

Background[edit]

As of 2014, the Safer Michigan Coalition, which was founded and run by Tim Beck, Chuck Ream and Justin Soffa, had been active in supporting pro-marijuana efforts in the state of Michigan for several years. Chuck Ream and Tim Beck had been working together for a decade on pro-marijuana efforts. The organization was dedicated to defending the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, approved in 2008. The group was also largely responsible for 14 local ballot measure victories, including five in 2012 and three in 2013.^[5]

Past local marijuana measures in Michigan

Ream said, “In order to have some change you’ve got to have some way for the voters to express their opinion. In a city in Michigan you can run a citizen’s initiative.” The method was not available, however, for general law townships or counties. Macomb County and Wayne County were the only two charter counties in Michigan, and the charters of both counties allow for initiative and referendum. The Safer Michigan Coalition stated that it had its eye on pro-marijuana proposals in each county for 2015.^[6]

Ream explained that the Safer Michigan Coalition created a template and provided support so that local activists could put various initiatives reforming marijuana use enforcement on the ballot. The different recipes offered by the coalition included:^[5]

• legalization, which was approved in Ferndale, Lansing and Jackson in 2013;
• a Lowest Law Enforcement Priority model, enacted in Ypsilanti in 2012;
• a proposal requiring medical marijuana dispensaries, which was used in Kalamazoo in 2012; and
• the decriminalization initiatives that were on multiple local ballots across Michigan in 2014.

Ream expounded on the benefits of running local pro-marijuana efforts, saying, “These local initiatives are really, really cheap, compared to anything that can be done on a state level. For a few thousand dollars we can show that the average voter doesn’t support cannabis prohibition any longer.” Ream said that, although statewide petitions have been successful, the expense — at least a million dollars — of running a statewide campaign was somewhat daunting. Ream did say, “Every time that we give the voice to the voters they reject cannabis prohibition utterly, usually by 60% or more.” Attorney Michael Komorn stated, “I think that this strategy has been brilliant. It’s something where you can always claim victory in every year, these local initiatives.”^[5]

Five local marijuana measures failed in Michigan in 2014, while eight were approved.

Safer Michigan Coalition banner

Support[edit]

Supporters[edit]

Eric Herbers was the spokesperson and leader for the decriminalization efforts in Clare.^[1][7]

The Safer Michigan Coalition was behind multiple initiatives in Michigan to decriminalize marijuana at the local level, including the effort in Clare. The efforts were spearheaded by local activists in each targeted city.^[2]

Tim Beck, co-founder of the Safer Michigan Coalition, said, “Our goal is to create confusion and chaos between state and local laws so our legislators in Lansing with step up to the plate [sic] and do the will of the people. Ultimately there needs to be marijuana legalization like they have in Colorado, where it is legal and regulated.”^[8]

Arguments in favor[edit]

Supporters of decriminalization argued that possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by consenting adults should not be illegal because it is not harmful and laws against it are not enforceable. They also argued that law enforcement should focus on more dangerous crimes and that any attempt to enforce marijuana prohibition is a waste of time. Beck said, "Its [sic] time for law enforcement and the court system to start dealing with real crime, with real victims; not harassing consenting adults for something that should not be a crime in the first place."^[1]

Herbers argued that Clare had much bigger problems than marijuana use, giving the examples of an increasing presence of methamphetamine and more incidents of break-ins and burglary. Herbers asked, "Why shouldn't someone with a responsible mind smoke a joint, or whatever they prefer, if they stay out of trouble?"^[7]

Opposition[edit]

Arguments against[edit]

Opponents argued that the local decriminalization measures showing up across Michigan were futile, impotent and symbolic at best since the measures contradicted state and federal laws outlawing marijuana. Many opponents argued that the energy and money put into these petitions could be put to better use for the communities in which the initiatives were proposed.^[9]

Dave Coulter, mayor of Ferndale, a city that featured a similar decriminalization initiative in 2013, said, “My understanding is that state and federal drug laws can’t be changed at the local level. Ferndale has a history of local activism through symbolic statements like this and they certainly have their place, but in terms of effecting actual change at the city level, a focus on economic development and jobs, our neighborhoods and our schools will have a greater impact.”^[9]

Many opponents of the initiative expected law enforcement officials to continue making arrests under state law despite approved local decriminalization initiatives. In Flint, one of the five cities in which decriminalization and marijuana related measures were approved in 2012, law enforcement officials said that the vote was merely symbolic as police officers would continue to arrest marijuana users under state law.^[10]

Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Michigan

The Safer Michigan Coalition coordinated efforts in many cities and a county in Michigan. The coalition planned to mobilize local activists to start collecting signatures on April 1, 2014. The signature petition drive was successful in Clare, and this proposal was put on the ballot as a result.^[11]

Similar measures[edit]

Recreational[edit]

Medical[edit]

Recent Michigan measures[edit]

See also[edit]

• Local marijuana on the ballot
• Clare County, Michigan ballot measures
• November 4, 2014 ballot measures in Michigan

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• What is Marijuana? website
• Safer Michigan Coalition website
• Marijuana Policy Project, "Michigan city ballot initiatives status," accessed July 2, 2014

Footnotes[edit]

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