Step outside in metro Detroit, Royal Oak, or just about any Michigan city, and chances are you’ll catch a whiff of marijuana smoke. But while the scent is increasingly common in public spaces, the law hasn’t caught up with the culture.
“It happens at a lot of public events, at concerts, sometimes just out in public areas where there’s restaurants or parks,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. Personal injury attorney Mike Morse echoed the observation: “Walking in Detroit, walking in Royal Oak, you smell it. It’s almost normal right now.”
The reality, though, is that Michigan law prohibits marijuana consumption in public, regardless of whether it’s smoked or eaten. That means no joints at the park, no edibles in concert venues, no vaping on sidewalks, no consuming anywhere that isn’t a licensed cannabis lounge or your own home.
Even private property has limits. If you’re a renter, landlords can bar smoking on their premises, just as they can ban pets or restrict renovations. They cannot, however, stop tenants from consuming edibles. Homeowners face a different wrinkle: lighting up on the front porch or back patio in view of the public still counts as illegal. Similarly, homegrown cannabis must remain out of sight from sidewalks or neighboring yards. Violating the public consumption rule carries a $100 fine, according to NORML.
Driving presents the stiffest penalties. Marijuana use by drivers—or even passengers inside a car—is banned, with penalties including up to 93 days in jail, a $500 fine, and license suspension. The challenge, Bouchard noted, is that unlike alcohol, marijuana has no clear intoxication threshold. “It’s prudent for anybody to not consume something that would impair their ability to pilot a vehicle because you’re putting yourself and others in danger,” he said.
Despite these laws, enforcement remains rare. Morse admitted he has “never heard of anybody getting pulled over or arrested for weed,” and Bouchard said ticketing public smokers has been a “low priority” for law enforcement.
The result is a disconnect: marijuana may be legal in Michigan, but its widespread public use is still against the law—just not one many expect to be enforced.
Read the whole article from Detroit Free Press here.
