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FERNDALE POT LAW BREEDS CONFUSION, ANGER - WHICH IS THE POINT

So Ferndale police will continue to enforce Michigan laws prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana even though the city's voters agreed to legalize it.  Confusing? Apparently it's meant to be.  Residents this month voted by better than 2-1 to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less by persons age 21 or older on private property.

But Police Chief Timothy Collins points out that such possession remains prohibited by state law.  "If our officers are in a place they are legally allowed to be and see someone smoking marijuana, they will take action.  If we found ourselves in that situation, we would use state law."

Collins says his officers are sworn to uphold state law.  "We are not empowered to simply not enforce it." The penalty for violating the law, a misdemeanor, is up to a year in jail.

Similar ballot questions were approved in Jackson and Lansing.  All were shepherded by a statewide advocacy group, Safer Michigan.  Its leader, Tim Beck, acknowledged the confusion and conflict the elections create with state law.  "That's exactly our goal"-- getting attention and increasing pressure on state legislators to change the state law.

Other cities appear to be taking a different tack: Beck said police in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are saying, "...we don't have time for activities that shouldn't even be a crime."

Ferndale Mayor David Coulter opposed the ballot question and called the ordinance "largely symbolic" since it can't supersede federal and state law.

So even if it isn't safe to light up in Ferndale, advocates hope that the confusion and probably some anger as well will be transmitted to state legislators, from sufficient numbers of users and to sufficient numbers of lawmakers eventually to legalize possession of marijuana as several other states have done.

If that happens, we would expect Michigan to tax the substance.

Meanwhile, while some anger is sure to be directed at Collins and his police force, it's hard to fault him.  He's taking an oath seriously.