Legislator: Recent hearing informative, Feds must stop sending mixed signals

PHOTO INFORMATION: State Rep. Jeff Yaroch, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), recently heard testimony on marijuana regulation in Michigan.

“The people of Michigan had their say on marijuana in the voting process, and it’s important for us in the Legislature to do the work we need to do to ensure laws are tailored to Michigan,” said Yaroch, of Richmond. “This is a very tangled web. It involves taxes, regulation, oversight, enforcement and other issues.”

While voters legalized marijuana in Michigan, it still remains illegal under federal law. Yaroch introduced House Concurrent Resolution 4 in March, urging U.S. Congress to clarify its position on the legality of marijuana.

“The direction we’re getting from Washington D.C. on marijuana is inconsistent, at best,” Yaroch said. “This uncertainty has done nothing to help Michigan. It is time for Congress to fulfill its duty under the Constitution to decide whether states will be allowed to regulate marijuana according to the will of the people. This is simple: Congress should either stand by the law or respect states’ rights and grant waivers to states from Federal law to regulate it under state law. ”

Inconsistency between federal and state law has led to difficulty with law enforcement, banking, taxation and zoning related to marijuana. HCR 4 is currently under consideration in the House Judiciary Committee.

About Rep. Jeff Yaroch:

State Rep. Jeff Yaroch is a second-term lawmaker representing the 33rd House District. The 33rd District is in Macomb County, including the townships of Armada, Lenox, Ray and Richmond, the majority of Macomb Township, the Macomb County portion of the cities of Richmond and Memphis, and the villages of New Haven and Armada. Rep. Yaroch can be reached at (517)373-0820, via email at [email protected] or on his website. For additional updates follow House Republicans on Facebook.