Marijuana will be legal in Michigan on Dec. 6: What to know

The official certification of the 2018 election results Monday begins a 10-day clock for legal weed in Michigan.

But even though the law doesn’t take effect until Dec. 6, prosecutors in Michigan, including in Macomb and Oakland counties, are beginning to quietly dismiss low-level marijuana criminal charges that will no longer be a crime after marijuana becomes legal in the state.

Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith sent a memo to staff last week, telling assistant prosecutors to begin the process of dismissing marijuana charges, such as use or possession of small amounts of weed.

Likewise, Oakland County’s Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton said Monday that the same is happening in Oakland.

There aren’t many low-level cases that are handled by county prosecutors, Walton said, indicating he’d only seen three requests to dismiss so far. Most are handled by city attorneys, who enforce municipal ordinance violations.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, as well as the Michigan State Police are still weighing options for marijuana enforcement as the legalization date draws near.

“Now that Proposal 1 has passed, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is committed to following the law regarding the prosecution of marijuana cases,” Worthy said in a statement. [Read more at Detroit Free Press]