The best laid plans of Detroit-area high school students went to pot on Thursday night, after their limousine driver was arrested and taken away by police, leaving them stranded at the prom.

Lisa Smith sits on her porch, with son Noah, at their home Belleville, Mich., Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Noah is registered to use marijuana to control epileptic seizures; the effect on his autism was an unexpected benefit. Based on that success, Smith is asking the state of Michigan to add autism to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana. A public hearing will be held in Lansing on May 27.

Lisa Smith says her son's behavior was dangerous: hair pulling, kicks, punches, all related to a severe form of autism. But it began to change more than a year ago when he was given daily oral doses of oil extracted from marijuana.

Legalize marijuana in Michigan and the taxes could help repair roads, educate children and pay for public safety.

Those are some of the reasons Grand Rapids State Representative Brandon Dillon says the time has come to not just "decriminalize" marijuana, but make it legal, available and taxable as it is in a few states like Colorado.

"I think even people who are somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of legalization understand that what we are doing right now is not working," explains Representative Dillon. Continuing to direct precious resources to prosecute people for marijuana offenses is not in anyone's best interests."

With nearly half of the country having already legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes, physicians prescribing opioids for pain management have another alternative at their disposal. As medical marijuana laws become more relaxed, practitioners now have the option of treating chronic pain patients with prescription opioids, medical cannabis or both. Among many, however, there’s a concern about the adverse effects in patients using both.

It's no secret that Michigan has a problem finding enough money to invest in critical priorities like roads, education and public safety. The costs of providing a good education to our kids, fixing our roads and providing even basic services to residents continue to climb.

Taxpayers have made it clear in the voting booth that they are skeptical about forking over more of their hard-earned money until they know the Legislature has asked corporations to pay their fair share and looked to alternative options to generate significant revenue. What we need are consistent, permanent revenue solutions that don't simply raise taxes on middle-class, working families.

Many believe that the legalization of marijuana will mean less jail time, more jobs, and more tax dollars.

“The first thing we’re saying is regulate it and the second thing is, let’s bring in tax revenue,” said Matt Marsden, a spokesman for the Oakland County-based Michigan Cannabis Coalition.

In April, the group filed language for a ballot proposal with the Board of Canvassers in Lansing and a decision is expected sometime this month. If approved, the Michigan Cannabis Coalition would have 180 days to collect at least 252,000 signatures. Maybe more, considering some of those signatures could be deemed invalid.

Michigan voters legalized medical marijuana in 2010 but legislators still struggle to agree on terms for licensing and regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.(Photo: Ed Andrieski, Associated Press)

Medical marijuana is back on agendas in Lansing.

The Michigan House Judiciary Committee is to begin new hearings today for two medical-marijuana bills. Both passed the House overwhelmingly last year, then hit roadblocks in the lame-duck session of the state Senate last fall, when statewide police groups lobbied hard against them.

The bills would allow two big additions to Michigan's medical-marijuana landscape:

LANSING, MI — A small majority of Michigan voters support the legalization of recreational marijuana, according to the results of a new statewide poll, but many Republicans and older voters remain opposed.

The Marketing Resource Group survey of 600 likely voters revealed 51 percent support for legalizing marijuana "if it was regulated and taxed like alcohol." Another 45 percent of respondents were opposed.

The live operator poll, conducted April 13 through 17, included a mix of landline and cell phone calls.

EAST LANSING – Advocates of marijuana decriminalization, like East Lansing lawyer and activist Jeffrey Hank, are sometimes surprised at how far their efforts have come.

“That is quite an interesting picture of the times we live in, when sensible marijuana law reform is agreed on by everyone and is the least controversial subject on the ballot,” Hank wrote in an e-mail. “Fifteen or 20 years ago that would have been unthinkable.”

One of three proposals on the May 5 ballot for East Lansing voters would repeal the city’s marijuana laws and allow the use, possession and transfer of up to 1 ounce of the drug on private property by people 21 and older.

The Michigan House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved on Tuesday an amendment to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act that will protect landlords on prohibiting the use of marijuana on their property, including medicinal marijuana.

The amendment, introduced as Senate Bill 72 by state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, states that a landlord is not required to lease residential property to any person who smokes or cultivates marijuana on the premises if the lease stipulated a prohibition on the drug.

Attorney and Michigan Cannabis Development Association spokeswoman Denise Pollicella testified in favor of the amendment, and said it will prevent “unnecessary litigations.”