Previously this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, determined that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients that are in possession of wet marijuana that is in the drying out process, from prosecution. The Judiciaries judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour established that since wet marijuana that remained in the drying process was not usable marijuana, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA defines most 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 component of what the protections of the act were implied to shield. As a result, anybody in the cannabis business of caregiving, that is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying clients, is in infraction of the law, if they have wet marijuana, no matter the objective for which you possess it. Even you remain in the procedure of drying the cannabis, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you could be in trouble.
The ruling is rather problematic for a variety of reasons. First, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some time, have wet cannabis that is drying however not usable. Therefore, any caregiver should comprehend that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the police show up, you can be detained and also the Court of Appeals has determined that you can be prosecuted and sentenced for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 and Section 8 of the MMMA will not protect you. Second, the matter creates concerns concerning the feasibility of the caregiving model, as well as likewise creates a problematic scenario for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.
Recognizing that you are caregiving, which the Courts are suggesting that a part of your cultivation procedure creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates prospective troubles for the application review process. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal apprehension as well as prosecution, exactly how does that influence growers and processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, both statutes are not interlinked therefore, there shouldn't be any kind of concerns. However, the MMFLA uses the same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Particularly, 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.
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 place a significant kink in the medical cannabis industry under the MMFLA, likely as an outcome of a possible chilling result. The judgment clearly causes concerns for registered caregivers, and also, potentially, for MMFLA farmers, needs to the Court increase this analysis to cover marijuana growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, since "wet" undried marijuana, according to the Court, does not fulfill the meaning of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the location and also discover wet marijuana, you could be looking at possible criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are planning to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, as well as you have inquiries about the potential obligation you have under this new ruling, do not wait to call our office for a consultation.
No comments:
Post a Comment