UPDATED: Voters Could Decide Whether to Legalize Marijuana in Ferndale

A measure to decriminalize non-medical marijuana in Ferndale could appear on the November ballot after supporters submitted hundreds of signatures in favor of the proposal Tuesday at City Hall.

Resident Andrew Cissell submitted a petition with nearly 600 signatures in support of altering Ferndale ordinance to allow adults age 21 or older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana on private property within the city; former Mayor Craig Covey submitted an additional 17 signatures. 

[Click the attached PDF to read the proposal.]

"It is similar to the alcohol laws," Cissell said. "If you're 21 years old, you can legally use, possess and transfer less than an ounce in the city of Ferndale.

Covey clarified that under the proposal marijuana would remain illegal in public places such as on sidewalks.

"There's state laws and there's federal laws that are of course going to trump it," Cissell said. "However, if the citizens of Ferndale vote on this and we got the petition signed, there's no incentive for the police to do it. They no longer will make money off these arrests because we're changing the code of ordinances."

Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins said Tuesday he is not in favor of decriminalizing marijuana in the city.

He said the proposal "gives us a little bit of a black eye" but, if approved, won't change how the Ferndale Police Department operates.

"We still have the state law," he said. 

Michigan prohibits non-medical marijuana possession.

Cissell, who has led the effort with the support of marijuana legalization group Coalition for a Safer Michigan, said the more than 600 signatures he and Covey collected surpass the 364 needed to get action on the decriminalization issue in Ferndale. Coalition for a Safer Michigan also planned to submit a similar decriminalization petition Tuesday in Jackson. 

"I think the government is starting to take over our rights," said Cissell, who plans to run as a Democrat for term-limited state Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton's seat in the the 27th District in 2014. "I think people realize this but aren't really organized. Why not start here in Ferndale and then branch outward?"

Ferndale City Clerk J. Cherilynn Brown, who will verify the signatures during the next 10 days, said she will present the petition to the City Council at its next meeting Aug. 12. The council will decide whether to adopt the altered ordinance immediately or put it on the November ballot, she said.

Voters in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti already have passed similar ordinances.

Former Mayor Covey said decriminalizing marijuana could financially benefit Ferndale.

"It's about priorities," he said. "We're living under austerity. There's not enough money for roads, for police. Yet we spend huge amounts of public resources on law enforcement, court proceedings and incarceration, with regards to marijuana, and that is a huge waste.

"I would rather use scarce resources for more crime prevention," he said. "In Ferndale, to bring it home, we have unsolved burglaries, we have cars that are stolen. We should focus on those issues."

Covey added that if marijuana is decriminalized as proposed, it could be regulated and taxed.

Ferndale resident Michael McShane showed up Tuesday at City Hall to show his support for the proposal for more personal reasons.

"It's time to break the stigmatism and move along," he said. "Marijuana is safe. It is the best medicine I've found for my ailments. It is a logical replacement for alcohol. I think alcohol is dangerous. It poses health risks. It poses risks to the community. A friend of mine was just hit by a drunken driver.

"Get educated. Do the research," McShane said. "Find out what marijuana really is."

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