Previously 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 is in the drying procedure, from prosecution. The Judiciaries ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that since wet marijuana that was in the drying procedure was not usable cannabis, possession of wet cannabis was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA specifies much 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, but does not consist of 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 suggested that wet, undried marijuana was not a part of what the protections of the act were indicated to shield. Consequently, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying patients, is in offense of the legislation, if they have wet marijuana, regardless of the objective for which you possess it. Even you remain in the procedure of drying the marijuana, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you might be in trouble.
The ruling is rather troublesome for a number of reasons. First, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some time, have wet marijuana that is drying yet not usable. Therefore, any caregiver must understand that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the police show up, you can be arrested and the Court of Appeals has actually established that you can be prosecuted and also punished for possession with intent to deliver cannabis, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 as well as Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the issue creates questions about the stability of the caregiving model, and also produces a problematic situation for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.
Understanding that you are caregiving, which the Courts are indicating that a part of your growing process creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates prospective troubles for the application review procedure. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal arrest and prosecution, exactly how does that influence cultivators and also processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, both statutes are not interlinked therefore, there shouldn't be any type of problems. Nonetheless, the MMFLA utilizes the exact 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 extend that MMMA meaning to the MMFLA. Such a ruling later on can place a significant kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as a result of a feasible chilling impact. The ruling clearly causes problems for registered caregivers, and also, potentially, for MMFLA farmers, should the Court increase this analysis to cover marijuana growing and processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, because "wet" undried marijuana, according to the Court, does not satisfy the definition of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the location and locate wet cannabis, you may be looking at possible criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and are intending to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, and also you have questions about the prospective obligation you have under this new ruling, don't be reluctant to contact our office for a consultation.
No comments:
Post a Comment