Editor’s note: thesocialrevolution.org is owned by Rick Thompson, who is a Board member of the MILegalize organization. ~RT
This November’s elections doubled the number of American states where adults can legally use marijuana. In Michigan the vote on that issue never happened; partisan court actions prevented the MILegalize group from adding an adult use measure on the 2016 ballot. In 2018, the same organization is going to give Michiganders the opportunity to do it for real and this holiday season you can help make that happen!
Whether you celebrate Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah or Festivus your donation this season will advance the cause of marijuana law reform in Michigan. Please visit www.milegalize.com to donate today!
In 2015-2016, MILegalize did what no other marijuana law reform group in history had ever done- collected over $1 million dollars in donations and more than 1/3 of a million signatures on petitions to legalize the adult use of cannabis in the state of Michigan, all without significant financial support from any national organization or corporation. With a combination of paid and volunteer petitioners, Michigan residents and businesspersons helped to collect 354,000 signatures- 100,000 more than the 252,000 signatures needed to qualify for the Michigan ballot.
Manipulations at the state agency level and an aggressive challenge by the Michigan Attorney General obstructed the verification of those submitted petitions. MILegalize (formally known as the Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee) has sued the State and its agents in federal court, and the case was recently assigned to the United States Supreme Court, SCOTUS Case Number 16-774. The date for a Washington, D.C. hearing on the MILegalize suit is forthcoming.
In addition to maintaining the fight for the 2016 campaign, the Board of MILegalize is pushing forward with a new, similar proposal and petition drive with the intention of giving Michigan voters the choice about legalized adult cannabis use during the 2018 General Election. The organization is asking all Americans who are friendly to the concept of cannabis law reform to give one extra present this Christmas, a gift to secure a better future and to rightsize government.
On behalf of the MILegalize organization, please donate. Fighting in the U.S. Supreme Court and printing petitions for the 2018 campaign is expensive. You can make a difference!
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON YOU CAN DONATE TO MILEGALIZE AND SUPPORT THE ADULT USE OF CANNABIS BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.
Media references:
“MILegalize, the group attempting to bring a vote on recreational marijuana use in Michigan, has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to put the issue on the 2018 ballot…
They are asking the U.S. Supreme Court “to remand the case with an order to fairly canvass and qualify MILegalize’s petitions for inclusion at the next regular election — the 2018 gubernatorial race,” according to a press release.
“A state elections board has rejected petitions filed by the campaign to legalize marijuana in Michigan. The action by the Board of State Canvassers tees up a court battle over time limits for petition drives to gather signatures.
“Only huge-money interests would ever be able to put something on the ballot, and that is not the intention,” Lavigne says. “This was for the people. This was for the grassroots.”
Michigan Public Radio, June 9 2016
“MI Legalize on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the state in the Michigan Court of Claims, challenging a law and policy that effectively invalidated its petition signatures collected outside of a customary 180-day window… members of the MI Legalize board argue the law and policy are inconsistent with the Michigan Constitution, which allows for initiated petitions but does not specify a time limit for signature collection.
The six-count complaint also contends rejecting older signatures denies voters their free speech and political expression rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
“354,000 people signed their name on a petition to vote on this issue. They were ignored. I think that’s unconscionable,” Jamison said.
‘Stateside’ on Michigan Radio, November 30, 2016
“After being so close to accomplishing something that has never been done before, MILegalize is going to have the funding out of the gate this time and I expect they will get the signatures they need in significantly less time than the 180 days allotted.” – B. McQueen
Morning Sun (Mt. Pleasant) and Oakland Press, November 25, 2016
“MI Legalize, a marijuana legalization group, turned in an estimated 354,000 signatures to state officials today in an effort to legalize marijuana in Michigan.
The group piled 61 boxes of ballot signatures outside the Richard H. Austin building in Lansing where the State of Michigan: Bureau of Elections office is.
A bill presented to Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday could stop groups like this one from counting signatures older than 180 days. Under current law they are allowed to count older signatures.”
“MILegalize hosted a public “unity rally” at the Capitol Building in downtown Lansing on Friday, May 20. During the rally, the pro-marijuana initiative campaign turned in a petition with more than 315,000 (sic) signatures from Michigan residents to state officials. The petition calls for state legislators to fully legalize cannabis in Michigan.”
“The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is pleased to announce our endorsement of the MI Legalize 2016 initiative to regulate the adult use, production and retail sale of marijuana in Michigan.”