Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, determined that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients who are in possession of wet cannabis that remains in the drying out procedure, from prosecution. The Courts judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour established that since wet marijuana that was in the drying procedure was not usable cannabis, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA specifies a lot of the terms of the act. The term usable marijuana is specifically defined in the MMMA. The act defines usable marijuana to mean the following: "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, however does not include the seeds, stalks, as well as roots of the plant. The Court found that since the act chose to use the word "dried" before the remaining components, that indicated that wet, undried cannabis was not a part of what the protections of the act were meant to shield. Consequently, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying clients, remains in infraction of the regulation, if they have wet cannabis, no matter the function for which you have it. Also you remain in the procedure of drying out the cannabis, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you could be in trouble.
The ruling is rather problematic for a number of factors. First, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet cannabis that is drying out however not usable. Because of this, any caregiver has to recognize that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the authorities arrive, you can be detained and also the Court of Appeals has actually figured out that you can be prosecuted and punished for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 as well as Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the matter develops questions concerning the feasibility of the caregiving model, and additionally develops a troublesome scenario 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 suggesting that a part of your farming process causes you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, develops possible issues for the application review process. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal arrest and prosecution, just how does that impact farmers and also processors who are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, both statutes are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any concerns. Nevertheless, the MMFLA makes use of the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Specifically, 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.
Therefore, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Judiciaries extend that MMMA interpretation to the MMFLA. Such a ruling in the future could place a major crimp in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a possible chilling effect. The judgment plainly creates issues for registered caregivers, and, potentially, for MMFLA growers, must the Court broaden this reading to cover marijuana growing and also processing under the MMFLA. Basically, due to the fact that "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not meet the interpretation of "usable" cannabis, if authorities were to come to the place and also find wet cannabis, you may be looking at potential criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are intending to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, as well as you have questions concerning the prospective liability you have under this brand-new ruling, do not wait to call our office for a consultation.
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