Cannabis use is legal in Michigan. It’s legal medically, it’s legal recreationally — if you’re over 21 and honoring Michigan’s possession laws (see more details below), you can consume to your heart’s content!
But in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan’s campus is a substantial minority of downtown, and cannabis use isn’t welcome there.
U-M is subject to federal law, making the use of medical or recreational marijuana prohibited — and federal law trumps state law.
Read on to know what downtown areas are safe for possession, which areas aren’t, and other key points that both students and Washtenaw county residents should know.
Subject to federal law
U-M is subject to federal law and has the authority to restrict substances that are allowed by the state but are restricted by federal law or their own university policies. Despite the passing of Proposal 18, which legalized recreational and medicinal marijuana in 2018, weed isn’t allowed on campus. Anyone on campus or at a U-M event (including ones that aren’t on campus) must not possess, consume, or distribute marijuana.
“But there’s an exception for medical marijuana, right?”
Unfortunately, no. Marijuana use isn’t permitted for any reason on U-M’s grounds.
State legalization does change the penalty for breaking some of these laws, however–some of the misdemeanors would now just become civil infractions.
“So as long as I’m not on campus, I can smoke wherever?”
Not quite. Smoking in public can still subject you to a $100 civil infraction. Public consumption is generally considered to be illegal. It’s just like alcohol in that way! It may be common to see people drinking alcohol outside, but it’s generally not legal. A safe rule of thumb for “is this legal?” with marijuana is to ask yourself if it’d be legal with alcohol. If the answer is no (walking around on campus with an open beer, driving while drinking), it’s unlikely to be legal with cannabis.
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“What counts as campus then?”
There are a variety of maps online that help delineate where campus begins — extremely helpful since campus areas are scattered throughout Ann Arbor. We like this interactive map.
“Okay so what IS legal in Ann Arbor?”
If you’re over 21, you can own and consume marijuana. You can keep up to 10oz of flower (in a secured location) and you can buy up to 2.5oz at a time.
“What ISN’T legal?”
You can’t possess more than 15 grams of marijuana at a time. You can’t consume in public, cross state lines, or drive while under the influence of marijuana.
Cannabis use is at a record high. Typical college-age folk (19-30 years old) were asked how often they use cannabis in the past year, in the past month, or in the past day (use was judged at 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days). They found that the daily folk’s usage was at 10%, the past-month’s usage was 29%, and the past-year’s usage was 42%.Vaping in the past year was done by 22%, and vaping in the past month was done by 14% of adults 19 to 30.
