Michigan’s current medical marijuana law prohibits elected officials and government employees from obtaining cannabis business licenses—but a bill that is moving forward in the House of Representatives would revise that provision to make an exception for their spouses.
Under the legislation from Rep. Julie Alexander (R), which was preliminarily approved last week and is scheduled for a final third reading vote in the House on Tuesday, the state’s licensing policy would be amended to carve out an exemption for the “spouse of a person who applies for a state operating license unless the spouse’s position in within the marijuana regulatory agency or would otherwise create a conflict of interest.”
At the same time, a provision blocking participation by people with prior misdemeanor or felony drug convictions remains intact, and advocates have expressed frustration that legislators seem to be prioritizing a licensing reform that would benefit their own families while neglecting to push for a change to the criminal records policy, which disproportionately impacts communities of color that have been targeted in the war on drugs.