Royal Oak, MI Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Section 278-46, within Chapter 278's run of individual-conduct offenses between the loitering rule at § 278-45 and the prostitution offenses at § 278-47, splits the marijuana offense into two subsections. Subsection A makes it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally possess marijuana except as authorized by state law, and Subsection B separately makes it unlawful to use marijuana except as authorized by state law, so possession and consumption are charged as distinct offenses rather than a single combined violation. Neither subsection sets its own fine, so a conviction defaults to Chapter 278's general penalty clause at § 278-52: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both, in the court's discretion.

Section 278-46 is distinct from Chapter 435, Marihuana, which regulates the municipal licensing, application and operational requirements for marihuana establishments such as retail and grow facilities under §§ 435-1 through 435-9; § 278-46 instead governs an individual's personal possession or use rather than a licensed business's operations. Because both subsections condition the offense on the absence of state-law authorization, the Royal Oak Police Department must identify that the specific possession or use observed fell outside whatever exemption state law otherwise provides before citing a person under this section.