Deer Season and Cannabis in Michigan: What Hunters Need to Know

Michigan's gun law has a number for a drunk hunter, 0.08. It has no number for a high one. Both are banned.

Archery deer season opened October 1. Regular firearm season starts November 15.

I'm Jamie. I grow Michigan sun-grown flower for Divine Toke. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice or medical advice. My tolerance isn't a typical tolerance, and I still would not climb into a stand high. Three rules get mixed up here. Weed at home is legal for adults. Hunting high is banned by the state. A cannabis user holding a gun is a federal problem.

Can You Hunt Deer in Michigan After Using Cannabis? #

No. You cannot hunt deer while you are under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. A controlled substance is any drug the law still lists, and weed is still on the list. The 2026 DNR deer regulations summary asks the question and gives that answer.

The DNR hunting safety page names marijuana in the same sentence as alcohol. It says not to drink or use mind-altering substances when you hunt, and it lists marijuana and medications.

Feeling fine in the morning is not the test. The test is whether you are under the influence while you hunt. Last night's joint has no box on the license. If you are still high when you climb into the stand, you are over the line. If you are sober, the state hunting rule is one conversation and the federal gun rule further down is another.

The short version, before the drive north:

Question	Short answer
Can I hunt deer while I am high?	No. Alcohol and controlled substances are in the same DNR ban.
Is there a THC number, like 0.08 for alcohol?	No. The firearm statute has 0.08 for alcohol only.
Can I carry a legal amount if I am 21?	Yes, within the adult-use limits, with the truck and public-use rules below.
Can a regular cannabis user possess the rifle?	Federal law says that is its own crime, even if you feel sober.

The state's Schedule 1 list still includes marihuana. The one exception is Schedule 2, for marihuana handled in compliance with state law and authorized by federal authority. Your jar is not federally authorized, so it still counts as a "controlled substance" for the gun rule.

A union hall in Detroit can argue this all Friday night. The digest has no trades exception. The rule reads the same in a blind up north and in the southern Lower Peninsula.

What Does the Hunting Statute Actually Say? #

A drunk or intoxicated hunter with a license is a disorderly person. That is MCL 750.167a, titled "Person hunting with firearms while drunk or intoxicated." It covers a firearm or other weapon.

A person who hunts with a firearm or other weapon under a valid license while drunk or intoxicated is a disorderly person. On conviction, the weapon is confiscated and handed to the Department of Natural Resources. The sentence also bars you from applying for or holding a hunting license for 3 years. Breaking that ban is its own misdemeanor.

The jail and fine sit in the next section. MCL 750.168 makes it a misdemeanor: up to 90 days, a fine of up to $500, or both.

The statute leaves a few things out:

• The text says "drunk or intoxicated" and never uses the word marijuana.
• The text says "firearm or other weapon" and never spells out bow, crossbow, or blind.
• It applies when you hunt under a valid license. A gun in your closet at home is a different question.
• It has no blood-alcohol number and no THC number.

The DNR deer digest names controlled substances for deer hunting. The safety page names marijuana. Read them together with the statute, and do not pretend 167a prints the word weed.

A bow fits inside "other weapon," even though the statute never names one. The DNR ban is on hunting deer under the influence, and archery season is deer hunting. If you are intoxicated with a weapon in your hands and a license in your pocket, the statute covers you.

What a conviction can cost you:

Piece	What the text gives you
Label	Disorderly person under MCL 750.167a
Jail or fine	Up to 90 days, or up to $500, or both, under MCL 750.168
The weapon	Confiscated and turned over to the DNR
The license	No applying for or possessing a hunting license for 3 years

The 3-year license ban is the part camp stories skip.

Does Michigan Treat a High Hunter Like a Drunk One? #

Yes, for a firearm. The gun statute lists alcoholic liquor and a controlled substance in the same ban. MCL 750.237 says a person may not carry, possess, control, use, or discharge a firearm in any of these cases:

• You are under the influence of alcoholic liquor, a controlled substance, or a combination of the two.
• Your alcohol content is 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine.
• Because of alcoholic liquor, a controlled substance, or both, your ability to use a firearm is visibly impaired.

The 0.08 line is for alcohol. This statute has no THC number. "Like a drunk hunter" means the under-the-influence ban and the visibly-impaired ban share one list. The state has no weed number that works like 0.08. The blood THC and impairment post covers the driving version of this problem. Hunting does not borrow a number the driving law also did not set.

A rifle in your hands in the blind is possession. You do not have to pull the trigger for 750.237 to apply.

The penalties depend on what happened:

What happened	What MCL 750.237 says
Carry or possess while under the influence	Misdemeanor, up to 93 days, fine up to $100, or both
Use or discharge while under the influence	Misdemeanor, up to 93 days, fine up to $500, or both
You cause a serious impairment of a body function	Felony, up to 5 years, fine of $1,000 to $5,000, or both
You cause a death	Felony, up to 15 years, fine of $2,500 to $10,000, or both

The DNR mandatory-penalties chart lists "carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs." Its penalty is a $500 fine and/or up to 90 days in jail. The statute is more detailed. It sets a fine of up to $100 for carry and up to $500 for use or discharge. The jail cap in 750.237 is 93 days. The 90-day line matches the disorderly-person penalty in 750.168. A complaint will name a section, so do not treat the chart as the whole statute.

An officer with probable cause can ask for a breath, blood, or urine test under 750.237. You can refuse, and the officer can seek a court order. That is the process on paper. A real stop in the woods can go differently.

The gun rule covers the whole state. Private land in the Upper Peninsula does not switch it off, and neither does a long drive up I-75 after a shift. Private land changes the smoking rules below. A high person holding a gun is banned everywhere.

When Is Deer Season, and What Gear Can You Carry? #

Archery season opened October 1, 2026. Regular firearm season is November 15 through November 30, statewide. Those dates come from the 2026 deer regulations summary. As of October 9, early archery is open and firearm season is still ahead.

Season	Dates	Where
Archery, early	Oct. 1 – Nov. 14	Statewide
Regular firearm	Nov. 15 – Nov. 30	Statewide
Archery, late	Dec. 1 – Jan. 1	Statewide
Muzzleloader	Dec. 4 – Dec. 6	Upper Peninsula deer management units
December firearm	Dec. 4 – Dec. 6	Lower Peninsula deer management units

The digest also says you cannot possess or carry afield a pistol, revolver, or other firearm while bow hunting during the archery deer seasons. There are exceptions, including a pistol carried under a concealed pistol license (CPL). Even then, the CPL does not authorize you to use that pistol to take game except as the law already allows.

Upper Peninsula crossbow rules tighten in the late archery segment. From December 1 through January 1, the digest bars crossbows and modified bows in the Upper Peninsula. The exceptions are a disabled-hunter crossbow permit, or being a resident senior with a valid senior deer license. The senior line took effect September 12, 2026. Lower Peninsula hunters can use a crossbow through both archery segments. None of that is about cannabis. It is here for a Detroit crew that hunts a Lower Peninsula camp one weekend and an Upper Peninsula camp the next.

The safety page also says to transport firearms unloaded and in a case. That is a separate rule from the weed one, and both apply in the same truck.

Can You Carry Cannabis in the Truck or to Camp? #

If you are 21 or older, adult-use law says transporting 2.5 ounces or less is not unlawful. It also bars consuming while you drive and smoking in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public way. Those are two different sections.

MCL 333.27955 is part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, the 2018 voter law people call MRTMA. For a person 21 or older, possessing, using, and transporting 2.5 ounces or less is not unlawful, except as section 4 limits it. That holds notwithstanding any other law. No more than 15 grams of that 2.5 ounces may be concentrate. Concentrate is the stronger extracted form of the plant.

MCL 333.27954(1)(g) is the limit that matters in the cab. The act does not authorize consuming marihuana while you operate, navigate, or are in physical control of a vehicle. That covers a motor vehicle, aircraft, snowmobile, off-road vehicle, or motorboat. It also does not authorize smoking marihuana in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public way. This subsection says nothing about a closed jar in the back seat.

An older criminal statute has the trunk words. MCL 750.474, added in 2012, says usable marihuana in a motor vehicle must be enclosed in a case carried in the trunk. With no trunk, the case must not be readily accessible from the interior. A violation is a misdemeanor, up to 93 days, a fine up to $500, or both. "Usable marihuana" there follows the medical-marijuana definition: the dried leaves and flowers. The compiler's note says the cross-cite should be read as the medical act.

The two laws pull in different directions:

1. The 2012 law tells you to use a case in the trunk.
2. The 2018 voter law says transporting 2.5 ounces or less is not unlawful, notwithstanding any other law, except the limits in section 4.
3. Section 4 bans consuming while you drive and smoking in the passenger area. It does not say "trunk," and it does not say "sealed."

The 2012 law is still on the books, and the 2018 law never uses the word trunk. A closed case in the trunk satisfies the older text and stays clear of the smoking ban. With no trunk, use a spot you cannot reach from the seat. An open jar in the cup holder on I-75 is how a hunter turns a license check into a different case.

The cannabis travel guide covers state lines, airports, and the bridge to Canada. This section is only the truck to camp. Do not take weed across a state line because it is legal at home. Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin do not become Michigan because you are hauling a stand.

Where the weed is	What the text supports
Closed case in the trunk, 2.5 ounces or less, driver is sober	Fits the 2012 trunk rule and the 2018 transport right
You are smoking in the cab on a public road	Not authorized, MCL 333.27954(1)(g)
You are high and driving	Not authorized by MRTMA, and it is a driving case under the vehicle code
Open jar in the center console	The 2012 statute is aimed at this. Do not bet the weekend on a debate

If you are high, you do not drive. A blood THC number will not tell you that you are sober either, which is the whole point of the blood THC post.

Can You Bring Cannabis to a Hunting Camp? #

On private land, adult-use law does not ban possession inside the limits. It does ban consuming in a public place, and the owner can ban smoking. On a national forest, federal law bans possession itself.

MCL 333.27954(1)(e) says the act does not authorize consuming marihuana in a public place. It also does not authorize smoking it where the owner, occupant, or manager of the property prohibits it. The act gives "public place" no dictionary definition. It carves out one thing: a designated consumption area that a municipality approved and people under 21 cannot enter. A deer camp does not qualify.

What that means at camp:

• A private cabin or private acreage is not a public sidewalk. Adults 21 and older can possess a legal amount if the owner allows it.
• The owner can still say no smoking in the bunk room, the blind, or the pole barn. Their rule is the rule.
• A state forest, a state game area, or a roadside pull-off is not your kitchen. Consuming there is the public-place problem.
• Anyone under 21 is outside the law's permission. MCL 333.27954(1)(c) says the act does not authorize a person under 21 to possess, consume, or transport marihuana. The right to give away up to 2.5 ounces, in MCL 333.27955, runs only to another person who is 21 or older.

More than 2.5 ounces inside a person's residence has to sit in a container or area with a lock, under MCL 333.27954(1)(i). I would not call a weekend camp your residence. Over 2.5 ounces is past the away-from-home limit anyway. Leave the extra at home.

Youth and mentored hunters are still in the woods in October. The Liberty Hunt for youth and hunters with disabilities ran September 12–13, 2026, and is over by now. Archery season is not. If a kid is in camp, the jar does not come out. That is the age line in the act.

Can You Bring Cannabis onto a Michigan National Forest? #

No. Possessing cannabis on National Forest land is still a federal violation, including in Michigan. 36 CFR 261.10(p), as it stood on October 9, 2026, prohibits knowingly or intentionally possessing any controlled substance in violation of federal law.

Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act lists marihuana. A state voter law does not rewrite that list on federal land, and a state hunting license does not either.

Three forests cover a lot of the deer woods Detroit hunters drive to:

Forest	Where it sits	Weed rule
Huron-Manistee National Forests	Between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, northern Lower Peninsula, nearly a million acres	Federal possession ban
Hiawatha National Forest	Upper Peninsula	Federal possession ban
Ottawa National Forest	Western Upper Peninsula, from Lake Superior south to the Wisconsin border	Federal possession ban

If your camp, trail, or stand is on one of those forests, the jar stays home. "We hunt under state rules" covers the season dates. Drug possession on federal land is a separate question. State land and federal land can share a fence line, and the rule changes when you cross it.

National wildlife refuges are federal too. The deer digest sends hunters to local U.S. Fish and Wildlife offices for reserved hunts, including Shiawassee. Same idea: federal ground, federal drug law. Do not assume a refuge hunt is a state-land hunt with a different patch on the map.

What Does Federal Gun Law Say About Cannabis Users? #

Federal law makes it a crime for an unlawful user of a controlled substance to possess a firearm or ammunition. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) makes it unlawful for that person to ship or transport a firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce. It also bars possessing one in or affecting commerce, or receiving one.

The crime is possession, so it does not depend on being high when you shoot. A sober hunter who uses cannabis regularly can still fall under this statute with a rifle in the blind. The state hunting rule and this federal rule answer different questions.

Rule	What it polices	Sober in the blind
MCL 750.167a and the DNR digest	Hunting while drunk, intoxicated, or under the influence	The state hunting ban is about impairment while you hunt
MCL 750.237	A high or drunk person carrying or shooting a firearm	Aimed at being under the influence or visibly impaired
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3)	An unlawful user possessing a gun or ammo	Feeling sober does not, by itself, end the federal question

A knowing violation of 922(g) can mean up to 15 years under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8). That is the statutory maximum.

Federal rules also define the words. 27 CFR 478.11 says a controlled substance includes marijuana. It calls an unlawful user a person who regularly uses a controlled substance without a lawful prescription. The use must continue over an extended period into the present. A few parts of that definition matter:

• Use is not limited to the day you hold the gun, or the days just before.
• You can be a current user even if you are not using at the precise time you possess the firearm.
• The regulation says you are not an unlawful user if you have stopped the regular use. Isolated or sporadic use with no pattern of ongoing use does not count either.

Regular use into the present is the federal problem. One night last spring and a jar in the tote every weekend are different facts. I am not your lawyer. The regulation draws that line, and a prosecutor is the one who argues which side of it you are on.

The purchase form tracks the same ban. A federally licensed dealer asks if you are an unlawful user of marijuana or any other controlled substance. A knowing false statement made to get a firearm from a licensed dealer is its own crime under 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6), and 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(2) sets that penalty at up to 10 years.

What the courts have actually decided #

The 2024 Supreme Court gun case was not about marijuana, and the 2024 appeals case that was about marijuana does not control Michigan.

United States v. Rahimi was decided June 21, 2024. It dealt with 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), the ban for a person under a domestic-violence restraining order. The Court held that ban can be constitutional when a court has found a credible threat. It did not decide whether a state-legal cannabis user may possess a hunting rifle.

United States v. Connelly is a Fifth Circuit opinion filed August 28, 2024. Paola Connelly sometimes smoked marijuana. She was not intoxicated when police found guns in the house. The court rejected a facial attack on 922(g)(3). It said history may support limits on a person who is intoxicated now. It affirmed dismissal of the charge as applied to her, and it called that holding narrow.

Michigan is not in the Fifth Circuit. A Texas case does not reset the rule for a hunter in the Lower or Upper Peninsula. The statute is still on the books, and so is the regulation that counts regular use. Do not read Connelly as a permission slip to bring a rifle to camp because you feel sober on Saturday.

Does a Michigan CPL Change the Federal Rule? #

No. A concealed pistol license does not cancel 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3).

MCL 28.425b is the state statute on applying for, issuing, and denying a CPL. It does not list state-legal cannabis use as its own reason to deny the license. It does list certain criminal convictions, including controlled-substance convictions under the public health code. Current legal use and an old drug conviction are different things.

What a CPL covers:

• It can matter under state law for carrying a pistol, including the archery-season exception in the deer digest.
• The digest still says the license does not authorize you to use that pistol to take game except as other law allows.
• It does not make marijuana legal under federal law.
• It does not turn an unlawful user into a lawful gun possessor.
• It gives a hunting rifle no state exception to 922(g)(3). A rifle is still a firearm.

State hunting rules let a CPL holder carry a pistol in archery season. If you use cannabis regularly, that pistol still raises the federal possession question.

How Should a Hunting Camp Handle Weed? #

The shooter should be sober, and the jar should stay away from anyone under 21 and away from federal land. That is camp language for the statutes above, since no code section is titled "sober shooter."

NIDA's cannabis drug facts say cannabis can alter time perception and can impair thinking, memory, and body movement. Those are bad changes when you are judging distance, a deer, and a trigger. The page gives no minute count for a gummy. If you ate one and you are waiting to see if it hits, you are not the person on the gun. A gummy does not wear off because you walked to the stand.

Camp rules that track the law:

1. One sober shooter. If someone has been using, that person does not hold the firearm. MCL 750.237 covers possession, not only the shot.
2. No smoking in a shared blind while a gun is in someone's hands.
3. No smoking in the truck on a public road. That is MCL 333.27954(1)(g).
4. No sharing with anyone under 21, including a mentored youth in camp for archery season.
5. If the stand is on the Huron-Manistee, the Hiawatha, or the Ottawa, the jar does not make the trip.
6. On private land, ask the owner. Their no is binding for smoking on that property.
7. Transport the firearm unloaded and in a case, the way the DNR safety page says. Keep the closed cannabis case in the trunk, not loose in the same tote as the ammo.

What a Detroit weekend looks like #

Friday at home and Saturday in the blind are different legal hours. A hunter coming off shift can walk this list without guessing.

Hour	Where you are	What holds
Friday night	Home in Detroit, 21 or older	A legal amount at home is the adult-use right. Lock anything over 2.5 ounces.
Saturday before dawn	I-75, public road	No consuming while you drive. No smoking in the cab. Closed case in the trunk.
Saturday morning	Private camp, owner said yes	Adults can possess. The shooter stays sober. Nobody under 21 gets a hit.
Saturday morning	Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha, or Ottawa	The jar does not come. Federal possession ban.
Saturday in the blind	Firearm in hand	Under the influence is the state ban. Regular use is still the federal possession question.
Sunday night	Back home, rifle cased	The hunt is over. This is the porch hour.
Monday	Shop, plant, or hall	A urine test does not care that Saturday was legal.

Monday is its own problem. A legal amount at a private camp on Saturday does not mean a urine test at a shop, plant, or union hall comes back clean. THC can linger long after you feel normal. The firing and drug-test post covers work rules. Read it before you treat deer camp as a free weekend from a test you know is coming.

Frequently Asked Questions #

No, you cannot hunt deer while you are high, and feeling sober does not erase the federal gun rule.

Can I hunt deer in Michigan if I used cannabis last night but feel sober? #

The state hunting ban turns on being under the influence. The federal gun rule turns on regular use. MCL 750.167a and the 2026 deer digest ban hunting while you are intoxicated or under the influence. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) can still apply to a person who regularly uses cannabis and possesses a firearm, even at a moment they are not high.

Is there a THC limit for hunting in Michigan, like 0.08 for alcohol? #

No. The firearm statute has a 0.08 alcohol number and no THC number. MCL 750.237 sets 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood for alcohol only. The under-the-influence ban still lists a controlled substance next to alcohol. Do not wait for a nanogram to tell you the shot is legal.

Can I bow hunt while high if I am not carrying a gun? #

The DNR says you cannot hunt deer while under the influence, and the hunting statute covers a firearm or other weapon. The digest ban covers deer hunting, whatever you carry. MCL 750.167a does not print the word bow. MCL 750.237 is the firearm statute, so a bow alone falls outside that gun section. Archery season opened October 1, 2026, and being high in it is still deer hunting under the influence.

Can I keep weed in the cab of my truck during deer season? #

Do not smoke in the passenger area on a public way, and do not drive while you are consuming. MCL 333.27954(1)(g) is that rule. MCL 750.474 still says usable marihuana goes in a case in the trunk, or in an unreachable case if you have no trunk. A violation is a misdemeanor of up to 93 days or $500. Put the closed case in the trunk.

Does a concealed pistol license let me use cannabis and still carry? #

No. A CPL does not override the federal ban on an unlawful user possessing a firearm. MCL 28.425b does not name state-legal cannabis use as its own disqualifier. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) still covers possession of a firearm or ammunition. The deer digest also says a CPL does not authorize you to use the pistol to take game.

Can I bring cannabis to a camp on the Huron-Manistee? #

No. The Huron-Manistee National Forests are federal land in the northern Lower Peninsula. 36 CFR 261.10(p) prohibits possessing a controlled substance in violation of federal law. The same ban covers the Hiawatha and the Ottawa in the Upper Peninsula. Leave the jar at home.

What happens to my hunting license if I am convicted of hunting while intoxicated? #

The statute forbids you to apply for or possess a hunting license for 3 years, and the weapon is confiscated. That is MCL 750.167a. MCL 750.168 adds a disorderly-person misdemeanor of up to 90 days or up to $500, or both. The DNR chart's $500 and 90-day line summarizes those two sections.

Can I smoke at a private deer camp? #

If you are 21 or older and the owner allows it, a private camp falls outside the public-place ban. MCL 333.27954(1)(e) still lets the owner prohibit smoking, and it still bars consuming in a public place. Being high with a firearm in your hands falls under MCL 750.237 even on private land. The property line does not turn off the gun rule.

Will weed from camp show up on a work drug test Monday? #

It can. A legal weekend does not clear a urine test at work. THC can remain after you feel normal. Detroit plants, trades, and union shops still test. The firing and drug-test guide covers what employers can do.

Can I give a hunting partner under 21 a hit at camp? #

No. The adult-use law does not authorize anyone under 21 to possess or consume, and the giveaway right stops at 21. MCL 333.27954(1)(c) is the age line. MCL 333.27955 allows a no-money transfer of up to 2.5 ounces only to another adult who is 21 or older. A mentored youth in camp does not qualify.

Does United States v. Connelly mean hunters can own guns and use weed? #

No. Connelly is a narrow Fifth Circuit case from August 28, 2024, and Michigan is not in that circuit. The court refused to strike 922(g)(3) on its face and affirmed dismissal for one defendant who sometimes smoked marijuana and was not intoxicated. Rahimi, decided June 21, 2024, was about domestic-violence orders, not cannabis. The federal statute still bans an unlawful user from possessing a firearm.

Is this legal advice? #

No. This is an education piece from a grower. I am not a law firm, and I am not the DNR. Statutes change, and a charge depends on facts I do not have. If you hunt and use cannabis, ask a lawyer before you bet a license, a rifle, or a federal case on a camp story.

After the Guns Are Put Away #

The blind is the wrong place for the jar. The porch, after the rifle is unloaded and cased, is where this plant belongs.

Divine Toke is a Detroit-rooted brand. We grow sun-grown flower in living soil and sell it by mail at divinetoke.org. There is no storefront. Shop pre-rolls are 1 gram. The 20-pack is 20 of those 1-gram joints for $120. If your camp sits on the Huron-Manistee, the Hiawatha, or the Ottawa, leave the pre-rolls home with the rest of the jar.

For the drive, start with the travel guide. For a blood number and a shift on the road, read blood THC versus impairment. For a Monday test at work, read can you get fired for legal weed in Michigan.

This article is for education. It is not legal advice and it is not medical advice. Cannabis can impair thinking, memory, and movement. Do not hunt, drive, or work a dangerous job while you are high. Talk to a lawyer about your gun and your license, and talk to a clinician before you mix cannabis with medicines.