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 remain in possession of wet cannabis that remains in the drying out procedure, from prosecution. The Judiciaries ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour figured out that because wet marijuana that remained in the drying out procedure was not usable marijuana, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.
The MMMA specifies a number 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, however does not consist of the seeds, stalks, and also roots of the plant. The Court found that because the act chose to use the word "dried" before the remaining components, that suggested that wet, undried cannabis was not a part of what the protections of the act were indicated to shield. For that reason, anyone in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying individuals, remains in infraction of the regulation, if they possess wet cannabis, despite the objective for which you possess it. Also you are in the process of drying out the marijuana, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you might be in trouble.
The ruling is rather troublesome for a variety of reasons. Initially, 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 should recognize that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the police show up, you can be arrested and also the Court of Appeals has figured out that you can be prosecuted as well as punished for possession with intent to deliver cannabis, and that the immunity provisions of Section 4 as well as Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the matter develops questions about the practicality of the caregiving model, as well as additionally produces a problematic circumstance 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 component of your cultivation process creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates potential problems for the application review process. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal apprehension and prosecution, exactly how does that effect farmers as well as processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, both laws are not interlinked therefore, there should not be any problems. Nonetheless, the MMFLA utilizes the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Particularly, 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 would not be a stretch to see the Judiciaries prolong that MMMA definition to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road might place a major kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a feasible chilling effect. The ruling clearly causes issues for registered caregivers, and, potentially, for MMFLA farmers, should the Court broaden 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 fulfill the interpretation of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the place and find wet marijuana, you could be looking at possible criminal liability. If you are a caregiver as well as are planning to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, as well as you have concerns about the prospective obligation you have under this brand-new judgment, don't wait to contact our office for a consultation.
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