Wet Cannabis Still Illegal Per MI COA

Previously this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, figured out that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does NOT protect caregivers or patients that are in possession of wet cannabis that is in the drying out procedure, from prosecution. The Judiciaries judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that because wet cannabis that remained in the drying procedure was not usable cannabis, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.

The MMMA specifies much 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, yet does not include 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 meant that wet, undried marijuana was not a component of what the protections of the act were indicated to shield. For that reason, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or other registered qualifying patients, remains in offense of the law, if they possess wet marijuana, regardless of the purpose for which you have it. Even you remain in the process of drying the marijuana, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you can be in trouble.

The ruling is fairly troublesome for a variety of factors. Initially, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, eventually, have wet marijuana that is drying yet not usable. Consequently, any caregiver has to comprehend that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable cannabis, and the police arrive, you can be apprehended as well as the Court of Appeals has actually established that you can be prosecuted and also punished for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, and that the immunity provisions of Section 4 and also Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the issue creates concerns regarding the stability of the caregiving model, and additionally creates a bothersome situation for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.

Understanding that you are caregiving, which the Courts are suggesting that a component of your growing procedure triggers you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates prospective problems for the application review procedure. Further, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal arrest as well as prosecution, exactly how does that effect farmers as well as processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, the two statutes are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any problems. Nevertheless, the MMFLA makes use of the same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Especially, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 specifies 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 wouldn't be a stretch to see the Judiciaries expand that MMMA meaning to the MMFLA. Such a ruling later on might place a significant kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, likely as a result of a feasible chilling effect. The ruling plainly causes concerns for registered caregivers, and also, possibly, for MMFLA cultivators, must the Court broaden this analysis to cover marijuana growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, due to the fact that "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 discover wet cannabis, you may be looking at prospective 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 concerns regarding the possible responsibility you have under this new judgment, don't think twice to contact our office for a consultation.

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