Loudest of the loud: Impacts of Michigan's medical marijuana legislation on procurement and use of marijuana

In 2008, Michigan joined 16 other states allowing for medical use of marijuana. Implementation of the laws have been erratic and inconsistent across the state, with marijuana users in different environments and social groups reporting varied effects on their use. The popular press reports that state income from the Michigan's medical certification program has approached $10 million (Detroit Free Press, 02/06/13). This research reports the effects of Michigan's Medical Marijuana laws on minority users within Detroit, most consuming illegally. Historical consumption as well as current drug seeking, purchasing and use are reported for 38 (on-going) users using a version of the Marijuana Smoking History Questionnaire (Bonn-Miller and Zvolensky, 2005). Qualitative interviews focus on participants' self reported patterns of seeking, purchasing and use following the passage of the medical marijuana laws, including choice of dealers, availability of varieties of marijuana, and preferences concerning the places where they buy/use or the people they buy from or use with. Findings suggest persistent racialized divisions between urban and suburban marijuana users, sometimes accompanied by divergent beliefs concerning the origin and quality of marijuana types. These findings are compared to existing research on legal marijuana purchasing (Aggarwal, in press), heroin purchasing (Roddy and Greenwald, 2009; Roddy, Steinmiller and Greenwald, 2011) and crack (Roddy and Draus, working paper). Current policies in Michigan and Detroit perpetuate inconsistent knowledge regarding the benefits and detriments of marijuana use. The data is part of a larger investigation examining racial and spatial differences in marijuana purchasing and use in metropolitan Detroit.