Wet Marijuana Still Unlawful Per MI COA

Earlier 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 cannabis that is in the drying out process, from prosecution. The Judiciaries judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that because wet cannabis that remained in the drying process was not usable marijuana, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.

The MMMA defines much of the terms of the act. The term usable marijuana is specifically defined in the MMMA. The act defines usable marijuana to indicate the following: "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, but does not include 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 implied that wet, undried marijuana was not a component of what the protections of the act were meant to shield. Therefore, anyone in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying patients, is in violation of the regulation, if they have wet cannabis, despite the function for which you have it. Also 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 fairly troublesome for a number of reasons. First, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet marijuana that is drying out however not usable. As a result, any caregiver should understand that if you are in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the authorities arrive, you can be detained and also the Court of Appeals has identified that you can be prosecuted as well as punished 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 matter creates concerns about the practicality of the caregiving model, as well as likewise creates a bothersome scenario for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.

Understanding that you are caregiving, and that the Courts are showing that a part of your farming process creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, produces prospective issues for the application review procedure. Better, if having wet marijuana cause for criminal apprehension as well as prosecution, just how does that impact growers as well as processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, both statutes are not interlinked and so, there should not be any kind of concerns. Nonetheless, the MMFLA utilizes the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Specifically, 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.

For that reason, it would not be a stretch to see the Courts prolong that MMMA definition to the MMFLA. Such a ruling in the future could put a major crimp in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, likely as a result of a feasible chilling effect. The ruling plainly causes problems for registered caregivers, as well as, potentially, for MMFLA cultivators, must the Court expand this reading to cover cannabis growing and also processing under the MMFLA. Basically, due to the fact that "wet" undried marijuana, according to the Court, does not fulfill the meaning of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the area as well as discover wet cannabis, you could be looking at potential criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are preparing to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, and you have inquiries regarding the potential obligation you have under this new judgment, don't hesitate to contact our office for a consultation.

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