The county that has made the annual “Hash Bash” famous nationwide has also led the way in getting pot legalized in Michigan this past election via Proposal 1.
Bridge Magazine reports that Washtenaw County, home of Ann Arbor and the Hash Bash led all Michigan counties in voting to approve the legalization for recreational marijuana use by a margin of 68% in favor to 32% opposed. Total votes cast in the county for Prop 1 were 171,499.
Ingham County was the next highest with 65% in favor of legalizing pot and 35% opposed. Wayne County followed with 61% to 39%. Kalamazoo County voters approved Prop 1 with 60% of the vote.
You may notice that what all these counties have in common is that they are home to large college programs – U of M, MSU, Wayne State, and WMU respectively. Counties with large universities and colleges passed the proposal with wider margins than those without.
All in all, 50 of Michigan’s 83 counties approved legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Statewide totals show that 56% of voters approved the measure.
Ann Arbor’s Hash Bash began in 1972 and is held the first Saturday of April each year. The event is centralized on the University of Michigan’s Diag and draws around 10,000 participants. With the use of marijuana soon to be legal in Michigan, it will be interesting to see if the numbers grow or fade.
If you would like to see how the other counties in Michigan voted on Proposition 1, you can do so here.
