Wet Marijuana Still Prohibited Per MI COA

Previously this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, identified that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients who are in possession of wet marijuana that remains in the drying out process, from prosecution. The Judiciaries ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour figured out that due to the fact that wet marijuana that remained in the drying out procedure was not usable cannabis, possession of wet marijuana 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 imply the following: "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, yet 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 meant that wet, undried cannabis was not a component of what the protections of the act were suggested to shield. For that reason, any person in the cannabis business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying patients, remains in offense of the legislation, if they possess wet cannabis, despite the objective for which you have it. Also you are in the process of drying out the cannabis, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you can be in trouble.

The ruling is rather problematic for a variety of reasons. First, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet cannabis that is drying however not usable. As a result, any caregiver should comprehend that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the cops show up, you can be apprehended and the Court of Appeals has actually identified that you can be prosecuted and also sentenced for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 and also Section 8 of the MMMA will not protect you. Second, the issue develops inquiries concerning the feasibility of the caregiving model, and likewise creates a bothersome situation 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 showing that a component of your farming procedure causes you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, produces possible troubles for the application review process. Better, if having wet marijuana cause for criminal apprehension and also prosecution, how does that effect growers as well as processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, both statutes are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any issues. However, the MMFLA utilizes the very same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Particularly, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 defines 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 would not be a stretch to see the Judiciaries prolong that MMMA definition to the MMFLA. Such a ruling in the future can place a major crimp in the medical cannabis industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a possible chilling impact. The judgment clearly creates problems for registered caregivers, and also, potentially, for MMFLA growers, ought to the Court expand this reading to cover marijuana growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Basically, because "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not meet the interpretation of "usable" cannabis, if authorities were to come to the area and also find wet marijuana, you could be looking at potential criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and are intending to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, and also you have inquiries regarding the prospective liability you have under this new ruling, don't wait to contact our office for a consultation.

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