The state still needs to figure out licensing rules and other regulations.<\/b>
\nIt\u2019s now legal for anyone over the age of 21 to grow, smoke and possess recreational weed in Michigan, one month after voters approved the pro-pot Proposal 1.
But unfortunately for marijuana fans, recreational stores won\u2019t be open for at least a year, NPR-affiliated Michigan Radio reported .
Part of the state\u2019s new law\u2014Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act\u2014came into effect midnight Thursday.
But Michigan still has exactly a year to work out how recreational marijuana stores will work. Licensing rules and other regulations need to be ironed out before shops can open their doors. So unless you have permission to buy medical marijuana, you won\u2019t be able to buy the drug until at least December 6 2019.
Because federal law still prohibits weed, you can\u2019t buy marijuana from legal pot stores in other states and bring them back to Michigan either.
If you already have a small amount of marijuana, you can smoke it so long as you do so in a private place. Individuals can have up to 2.5 ounces of weed in their possession, which works out to about 160 0.5 gram joints, The Detroit News reported. You can store up to 10 ounces in total, so long as the extra 7.5 ounces are kept in a secure place.
Pot use isn\u2019t allowed anywhere publically accessible, which likely includes your front porch. Back gardens, however, will be acceptable, depending on how open they are, the publication reported.
«Is your backyard a public place? Probably not, since nobody can really walk into your backyard whenever they want,» attorney Doug Mains told the publication. Attorney Barton Morris added that neighbors shouldn\u2019t smell any pot you consume. «Everyone has the ability to the quiet enjoyment of their property,» he said.
But landlords, businesses and leaseholders can all ban smoking weed on their properties. Colleges may also ban drugs like pot from campuses, Michigan Radio stated.
Statista\/Newsweek
A lack of recreational stores haven\u2019t stopped the state\u2019s pot fans celebrating\u2014some before the drug became technically legal. «I’m throwing a party on Wednesday night, just because smoking weed while it’s illegal has a thrill to it,» Adam Brook, organizer of the annual Ann Arbor Hash Bash, previously told The News . «It’s the last night of prohibition.»
Others are less excited about the new law. «Michigan just isn’t really ready for this,» Scott Greenlee, spokesman for Healthy and Productive Michigan, told the publication. «This proposal has a lot of problems with it and a lot of ambiguity. Law enforcement, the business community is worried about what will happen because we are not prepared for this in any way shape or form.»
A female cannabis plant grows at a cannabis plantation in central Lebanon on July 23,2018. JOSEPH EID\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n