LANSING, MI -- Roughly 100 marijuana enthusiasts rallied outside the Michigan Capitol on Thursday to formally kick off of a statewide pot legalization petition drive.

"Free the weed for the jobs we need!" they chanted during a speech by Jeffrey Hank, chair of the Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee.

The group, which has branded itself as MI Legalize, is one of two ballot committees now out in the field collecting signatures to put their competing legalization proposals on the 2016 ballot.

Organizers were collecting signatures at the event, meaning the clock is officially ticking. They'll have 180 days to collect the 252,523 valid signatures needed to make the ballot.

MI Legalize plans to use a combination of paid and volunteer petition circulators, according to Hank, who said Michigan could be one of the first states in the Midwest to follow in the footsteps of Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon.

"It's a trend that's happening nationwide, and we'd rather lead than follow," he told MLive. "Michigan was one of the hardest hit states by the recession, and when it comes to tax revenue and jobs, we should be leading on this."

The proposed initiative, which would legalize use and possession by anyone over 21 years old, calls for a 10 percent tax on retail marijuana sales, with revenues going to toward roads, the School Aid Fund and local governments.

Jim Moreno, an Isabella County Commissioner who traveled to Lansing for the event, said he was particularly excited about the possibilities of industrial hemp farming, which the MI Legalize proposal would allow.

"Especially for northern Michigan counties, there's a lot of economic hardships up there, and if we could get industrial hemp growing up there, which is really easy to do, it could really stimulate the economy," he said.

A second group, the Michigan Cannabis Coalition, was expected to begin circulating petitions earlier this month after hiring National Petition Management, one of the country's leading signature collecting firms.

The MCC proposal would also legalize marijuana for anyone over 21 but give the state Legislature the authority to set the tax rate and appoint an oversight board.

A third group, the Michigan Responsibility Council, is also considering a petition drive but has not yet finalized its plans. The group has discussed modeling legalization after the state's three-tiered system for alcohol regulation.

Matthew Abel, an attorney and executive director of Michigan NORML, called the MI Legalize proposal more of a "homegrown" measure. He noted legislative battles over the state's medical marijuana law and pointed to recent public opinion polls suggesting a majority of Michigan residents now support legalization.

"We've beseeched the Legislature to do the right thing, and we hope that maybe they will, but we certainly can't sit back and just wait and hope," he told the crowd.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.