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On pot, the people’s voice should matter

Now that Michigan voters have approved the recreational use of marijuana, local governments will in the coming weeks and months begin making decisions about whether or not they’ll allow businesses within their boundaries to sell the drug commercially.

In so doing, we encourage local leaders to take the people’s voice into account.

A good indicator of whether the residents of our local towns want marijuana sold from storefronts in their communities is how those residents voted in the Nov. 6 election.

As was reported in a local story on the front page of The News, voters in most area cities and townships rejected the proposal. It passed in the city of Alpena and in Onaway, but was rejected elsewhere.

Those votes should matter. Residents’ voices at the ballot box should give their elected leaders some guidance in whether or not they allow businesses to sell it.

And, even in those places where the proposal did pass, we encourage leaders to move cautiously and deliberately. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and employers may still reject potential employees who test positive for the drug. Though Michiganders have said they’re ready to move on from the War on Drugs, ol’ Uncle Sam hasn’t –and that fact will make local governments’ interaction with the drug and its users tricky.

This is not the time for haste.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)

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