Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, figured out that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients who are in possession of wet cannabis that is in the drying procedure, from prosecution. The Courts judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour established that since wet marijuana that was in the drying out procedure was not usable cannabis, possession of wet cannabis was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA defines a number of the terms of the act. The term usable marijuana is specifically defined in the MMMA. The act defines usable marijuana to suggest the following: "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, but does not include the seeds, stalks, and also roots of the plant. The Court found that since the act chose to use the word "dried" before the remaining components, that suggested that wet, undried cannabis was not a part of what the protections of the act were suggested to shield. Therefore, anybody in the cannabis business of caregiving, that is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying patients, is in offense of the legislation, if they have wet marijuana, despite the function for which you have it. Also you are in the procedure of drying the marijuana, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you could be in trouble.
The ruling is quite troublesome for a number of factors. Initially, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet cannabis that is drying however not usable. As a result, any caregiver must recognize that if you are in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the police show up, you can be arrested and the Court of Appeals has determined that you can be prosecuted and also sentenced for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, and that the immunity provisions of Section 4 and also Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the matter creates questions concerning the stability of the caregiving model, as well as likewise produces a bothersome circumstance for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.
Knowing that you are caregiving, and that the Courts are indicating that a component of your farming procedure triggers you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates potential problems for the application review process. Better, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal apprehension and also prosecution, exactly how does that influence cultivators and processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, the two statutes are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any concerns. However, the MMFLA uses the same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Especially, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 specifies usable cannabis as follows: (ff) "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, but does not include the seeds, stalks, and roots of the plant.
For that reason, it would not be a stretch to see the Courts expand that MMMA meaning to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road can place a major kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as a result of a possible chilling impact. The judgment clearly creates concerns for registered caregivers, as well as, possibly, for MMFLA growers, should the Court expand this analysis to cover cannabis growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, since "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not satisfy the definition of "usable" cannabis, if authorities were to come to the area and also locate wet cannabis, you could be looking at possible criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are preparing to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, and also you have inquiries concerning the potential obligation you have under this brand-new ruling, do not wait to call our office for a consultation.
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