DOWAGIAC — Some Cass County officials already have an eye toward the November election.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz presented to the Dowagiac Rotary Club Thursday at the Dowagiac Elks. His presentation focused on proposal 18-1, which will be on the Nov. 7 ballot. Proposal 18-1, if passed, would authorize recreational marijuana use and possession.

Thursday, Fitz encouraged voters in the Dowagiac Rotary Club to vote against the proposal.

“We can talk about the pros and cons, but both myself and [Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke] think this is a bad, bad idea,” Fitz said. “This is not the same as medical marijuana. I don’t think anyone in this room would be against marijuana for the people who really and truly need it. … But recreational marijuana is a whole different issue.”

Proposal 18-1 would (according to anticipated ballot language):

• Allow individuals age 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption.

• Impose a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and require that amounts over 2.5 ounces be secured in locked containers.

• Create a state licensing system for marijuana businesses.

• Allow municipalities to ban or restrict marijuana businesses.

• Eliminate most criminal penalties regardless of quantity, including criminal penalties for delivery to minors.

• Permit commercial sales of marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles through state-licensed retailers, subject to a new 10-percent tax earmarked for schools, roads and municipalities where marijuana businesses are located.

Pointing to Colorado, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, Fitz said that a rise in crime and homelessness has been correlated to recreational marijuana, according to conversations he has had with law enforcement in Colorado.

Fitz took the time to answer the questions of Rotarians about the proposal.

Rotary Member Mary Lou Franks asked about the difference between recreational marijuana and alcohol.

“A long time ago, we had a commotion around alcohol, and we had prohibition, and the country was going to be doomed if we legalized it,” Franks said. “How do we know that this will not be the same? How is this fight different?”

Fitz responded by saying that marijuana, in certain scientific studies, has shown lowered IQ points in people who use marijuana. He also said that making recreational marijuana legal in Michigan will weaken the state.

“Alcohol has its own problems,” Fitz said. “We have to ask ourselves if we need another vice.”

Ultimately, Fitz told the Rotary Club that recreational marijuana legalization is not inevitable, pointing to the fact that ballot measures in both Ohio and Arizona have failed.

“We want to be a competitive state, and we can’t do that if we have a high percentage of our people and our kids using marijuana,” Fitz said. “We don’t want this in Cass County. … This is not good for Michigan.”