Previously this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split choice, figured out that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients who are in possession of wet marijuana that is in the drying procedure, from prosecution. The Courts ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour figured out that due to the fact that wet cannabis that remained in the drying process was not usable marijuana, possession of wet cannabis was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA defines 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, yet 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 implied that wet, undried cannabis was not a component of what the protections of the act were implied to shield. For that reason, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, that is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying people, is in infraction of the legislation, if they possess wet marijuana, regardless of the objective for which you possess it. Even you are in the process of drying the cannabis, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you might be in trouble.
The ruling is fairly problematic for a number of reasons. Initially, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet cannabis that is drying yet not usable. Because of this, any caregiver needs to recognize that if you are in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the police arrive, you can be arrested as well as the Court of Appeals has actually established that you can be prosecuted and also sentenced for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, and that the immunity provisions of Section 4 and Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the issue develops questions about the feasibility of the caregiving model, and likewise creates a problematic circumstance for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.
Recognizing that you are caregiving, and that the Courts are indicating that a component of your farming procedure creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, develops potential problems for the application review procedure. Even more, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal arrest as well as prosecution, exactly how does that impact growers and also processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, the two statutes are not interlinked therefore, there shouldn't be any kind of concerns. However, the MMFLA utilizes the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Especially, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 defines usable marijuana 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.
As a result, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Judiciaries expand that MMMA interpretation to the MMFLA. Such a ruling later on can put a major crimp in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, likely as a result of a feasible chilling effect. The ruling clearly triggers problems for registered caregivers, and also, potentially, for MMFLA cultivators, must the Court expand this analysis to cover cannabis growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Basically, due to the fact that "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not satisfy the definition of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the area and locate wet marijuana, you may be looking at prospective criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are planning to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, and also you have questions about the prospective responsibility you have under this brand-new ruling, do not be reluctant to call our office for a consultation.
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