Lansing, MI: Lansing voters will decide Tuesday on a municipal initiative to amend the city charter to repeal criminal and civil penalties involving the adult possession of cannabis by adults on private property.

Initiative proponents, Coalition for a Safer Lansing, collected some 7,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the 2013 November ballot. The proposed measure reads, "Shall the Charter of the City of Lansing, Michigan be amended such that nothing in the Code of Ordinances shall apply to the use, possession or transfer of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, on private property, by a person who has attained the age of 21 years?"

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernaro, a Democrat, has publicly stated that he is voting in favor of the measure.

Under present state law, the possession of any amount of cannabis for non-medical purposes is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Last year, voters in four Michigan cities – Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti – all voted overwhelmingly in favor of municipal measures to depenalize marijuana offenses.

Voters in Portland, Maine will decide on a similar citywide ballot measure next week.

For more information, please visit: http://www.saferlansing.com/.

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