Michigan marijuana: Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello said Tuesday there's nothing unconstitutional about a time limit on petition signatures. Pictured: Participants gather for the annual Hash Bash protest at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 2, 2016. (Junfu Han, The Ann Arbor News via AP)

Michigan setback: Judge rules the legalization question won’t make ballot; appeals planned

LANSING, Mich. –A group trying to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Michigan has failed to persuade a judge to put the question on the fall ballot.

Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello said Tuesday there’s nothing unconstitutional about a time limit on petition signatures.

A group called the Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee, more popularly known as MI Legalize, submitted 354,000 signatures, apparently enough to get marijuana on the ballot. But the Board of State Canvassers in June said more than 200,000 were collected outside a 180-day period, a decision that left the group short of enough names.

The judge says the secretary of state’s office and other defendants “have no clear legal duty” to count the stale signatures.

Appeals are planned, possibly all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court.