Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has signed SB 72 into law, which should be effective on or about April 10, 2017, codifying part of a 2011 opinion by the State Attorney General.
SB 72 has added the following (bold text) to the state statute created by the previous voter-initiated legislation on medical marijuana:
“Nothing in this act shall be construed to require any of the following: …(3) A private property owner to lease residential property to any person who smokes or cultivates marihuana on the premises, if the prohibition against smoking or cultivating marihuana is in the written lease.“
Note that the new language only applies to residential leases; a prior version of the bill would have also allowed bans on a business’s private property, but the scope of the bill was narrowed by the House Judiciary Committee.
SB 72 was passed with significant support in both the house and the senate, clearing the 75% vote necessary to amend statute created by voter-initiated legislation. Proponents claim the bill provides additional legal protections for landlords that want to protect their property from damage, and they also point to the fact that marijuana-infused products like edibles are now allowed for medical marijuana patients. Opponents claim the legislation was not necessary given the 2011 opinion and is another step in the wrong direction for patients’ rights to take their prescribed medicine.
