According to a poll released Friday, about half of Michigan voters said they are in favor of legalizing and regulating marijuana. Only a quarter of those who answered the poll want to keep current laws on cannabis the same. The results show a continuing shift in public opinion toward legalizing cannabis said Bernie Porn, president of EPIC-MRA, the Lansing research firm that conducted the poll. “I think that
people are changing their opinions about marijuana. … There is a
receptivity to legalization and the realization that you don’t need to
have law enforcement spending the kind of time that they devote to the
crimes that people are convicted of because of current marijuana laws,”
he said.

Out of 600 voters, 47{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} of them said they favor legalizing marijuana by taxing and regulating it the same way alcohol is. Twenty-Six percent said they favor continuing the system of state criminal penalties for marijuana offenses. In addition, 16{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} said they favor replacing criminal penalties for
marijuana offenses with a fine, and 4{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} said they would like to see all
state criminal penalties for marijuana offenses repealed. Seven percent
were undecided or refused to answer.

The poll was commission by Michigan NORML, the state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The polls showed that people who identified themselves as Democrats are most in favor possessing and using cannabis. Those who were Republicans were more supportive of keeping current marijuana laws than legalizing it.

Neil Yashinsky, executive director of Michigan NORML’s Oakland County chapter, said he was encouraged by the survey results.

The poll was
conducted Sept. 7th through the 10th and has a margin of error of plus or
minus 4 percentage points. Porn said cell phone users made up 20{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} of
the sample. In 2012 a similar poll taken showed 50{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} were not in favor of legalizing cannabis and 45{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} said they were. Five percent were undecided.

State Representative Mike Callton proposed a bill that would let cities and towns in Michigan to decide for themselves weather or not to allow marijuana distribution centers. Another bill sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Irwin would serve to decriminalize marijuana throughout the state, making possessing a small amount of marijuana equivalent to a traffic violation

It seems legalization is getting more and more support from voters. Just about a week ago I wrote about a poll taken by Massachusetts voters that showed 64{2b4a1a3f3bbc9c5a43771f34362679a3afcf9df24c0d9f4fe2fa80a69d802033} in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Times sure are changing. I hope to be writing more verticals about voters favoring legalization. We have came a long way.

Are you in favor of legalizing cannabis for recreational and medical use? Take our poll, you can find it on the right side of the page towards the top. You can also leave a comment on this post below.