An alternative newspaper in Michigan on Thursday gave away free joints to celebrate the first day of legalized recreational weed use in the state.
Staffers at the Lansing City Pulse, a weekly tabloid covering arts, culture, and politics in the city, stood outside Michigan’s state Capitol building and passed out free marijuana cigarettes to people walking by.
At least 28 people accepted the offer, according to Staff Writer Kyle Kaminski, who rolled the joints.
The newspaper started the morning with an ounce of marijuana, less than half the legal limit for personal possession under the newly approved law.
City Pulse Publisher Berl Schwartz told the Lansing State Journal that the newspaper bought the supplies for the giveaway for $223 from Pure Options, a medical marijuana dispensary based in Lansing. Medical Marijuana has been legal in Michigan since 2008.
“One word to describe people’s reaction would be ‘hesitation,’” Kaminski said. “A lot of people still thought there was some sort of illegal element, but we explained to them it was totally legal as long as they were 21.”
City Pulse staffers checked people’s IDs before handing them the joints, Kaminski said. The headline on the newspaper’s article Thursday afternoon read: “Today in Lansing, we gave out joints at the Capitol.”
Last month, more than half of voters approved a ballot issue allowing recreational marijuana use by adults 21 ages or older.
“When it comes to marijuana prohibition, Michigan is saying we’ve peaked at the mountaintop and now we are starting to decline,” said Josh Hovey, a spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “The first state in the midwest — one that Trump won and has been dominated by Republican leadership — is sending a message that prohibiting recreational marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”
