The push to make Michigan one of the first states in the nation to decriminalize use, possession and delivery of marijuana could begin in earnest this week with a petition drive to amend the state constitution.

The drive by the Committee for Safer Michigan will need to collect 322,609 signatures by July 9 to put the question of whether Michigan residents 21 and older can legally smoke marijuana on the November ballot, the Detroit News reported. The petition kickoff coincides with a question before the Michigan Supreme Court, which is scheduled this week to consider two cases with local ties related to the state's medical marijuana law.

On Dec. 1, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union — on behalf of Birmingham residents Robert and Linda Lott — saying both cities were in direct violation of the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), which allows and provides protection for the medical use of marijuana for patients and their caregivers when it is used to treat debilitating medical conditions.