​A press conference will be held in Detroit Friday to officially kick off a campaign to amend the Michigan State Constitution to repeal marijuana prohibition for adults 21 and older.

Executive members of a grassroots committee working toward passage of the amendment — which renders every anti-marijuana statute unconstitutional — said it will not apply to or change workplace or driving issues regarding cannabis.

“Michigan led the way in ending the failed experiment known as alcohol prohibition, and we likewise intend to put an end to the wasted resources, skewed police priorities and very real collateral damage of marijuana prohibition,” said Matthew Abel, campaign director for the Committee for a Safer Michigan

The press conference will be Friday, January 20, at 2 p.m. local time at the historic Roberts Riverwalk Hotel, formerly the Parke Davis Research Laboratory, where cannabis tinctures were developed and manufactured in the early 19th century.

The Puffington Host

​Gallup has been asking Americans about marijuana legalization for more than 40 years.

In October 2011, for the first time ever, the polling firm found that more Americans support legalizing marijuana than oppose it (50 percent vs. 46 percent). The support for legalization is up from 36 percent five years ago, and just 25 percent in the late 1990s.

According to pollsters Zogby, three out of four Americans believe the overall War On Drugs has been a failure.

The Committee for a Safer Michigan (CSM) says its mission is educate Michigan citizens and media about the harms of marijuana prohibition and to put an end to this failed policy.

Who: The Committee for a Safer Michigan What: Press Conference discussing the constitutional amendment ballot initiative repealing marijuana prohibition in Michigan for adults 21 and over When: 2 p.m., Friday, January 20, 2012 Where: The Roberts Riverwalk Hotel & Residence, 1000 River Place, Detroit MI, 48207

The language of the proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution, Article 1, follows in its entirety:

Article 1 Section 28. Repeal of Marihuana Prohibition. For persons who are at least 21 years of age who are not incarcerated, marihuana acquisition, cultivation, manufacture, sale, delivery, transfer, transportation, possession, ingestion, presence in or on the body, religious, medical, industrial, agricultural, commercial or personal use, or possession or use of paraphernalia shall not be prohibited, abridged or penalized in any manner, nor subject to civil forfeiture; provided that no person shall be permitted to operate an aircraft, motor vehicle, motorboat, ORV, snowmobile, train, or other heavy or dangerous equipment or machinery while impaired by marihuana.