Michigan: House committee advances bill to ramp up incarceration

We recently released a report finding Michigan has the fourth lowest cannabis arrest rate of any state in the country. Cannabis arrests dropped by 98% since legalization. Authorities made a total of 119 arrests for cannabis manufacturing or sales and 282 arrests for possession in 2025, compared to 18,770 cannabis arrests in 2017. But lawmakers are trying to undo that progress.

Michigan’s legalization law provides that a person may possess all of the cannabis they produce from their 12 plants at a secure place at home. It also provides that incarceration for exceeding limits is only allowed if “the violation was habitual, willful, and for a commercial purpose or the violation involved violence.”

In May, the House Regulatory Reform Committee passed tie-barred (linked) bills in a unanimous vote (with one not voting) that would turn back the clock by: 

• capping the total amount of home grown cannabis allowed at a residence at 2.5 kilograms, with no more than 200 grams of concentrates; 
• capping the amount of cannabis a person can grow or possess without being subject to jail time, "unless the violation was, willful, and for a commercial purpose or the violation involved violence” at under 50 plants, 10 kilograms of cannabis, and less than 1 kilograms of concentrate; and 
• imposing up to a year incarceration for possession of 10 kilograms to under 25 kilograms of cannabis or 50-99 plants, along with a possible fine of up to $20,000. 

Like the rest of the country, Michigan’s cannabis enforcement has been plagued by racism. While total arrests plummeted, Black individuals remain five times as likely as white individuals to be arrested for cannabis in 2025. We all know HB 5017’s harsh penalties will not be imposed equally. 

If you live in Michigan, let your lawmakers know voters wanted legalization, not incarceration! 

Because the bills amend a voter-enacted law, they need a ¾ supermajority to pass.