Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split decision, 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 ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that since wet cannabis that was in the drying procedure was not usable marijuana, possession of wet cannabis 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 indicate the following: “Usable marihuana” means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, but 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 implied that wet, undried marijuana was not a part of what the protections of the act were indicated to shield. For that reason, anybody in the cannabis business of caregiving, that is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying clients, is in violation of the law, if they possess wet cannabis, regardless of the objective for which you possess it. Also you remain in the process of drying the marijuana, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you might be in trouble.

The ruling is rather bothersome for a number of factors. First, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some time, 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 cops arrive, you can be apprehended and also the Court of Appeals has established that you can be prosecuted as well as 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 produces concerns about the feasibility of the caregiving model, and additionally produces a problematic situation for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.

Knowing that you are caregiving, which the Courts are showing that a part of your farming process creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, produces potential problems for the application review process. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal apprehension as well as prosecution, just how does that effect farmers as well as processors who are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, the two statutes are not interlinked therefore, there should not be any kind of issues. Nonetheless, the MMFLA utilizes the same “usable” marijuana definition as the MMMA. Especially, 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.

Therefore, it would not be a stretch to see the Judiciaries extend that MMMA meaning to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road could put a significant crimp in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as a result of a feasible chilling result. The judgment clearly causes problems for registered caregivers, and, possibly, for MMFLA farmers, needs to the Court broaden this reading to cover cannabis growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Basically, due to the fact that “wet” undried marijuana, according to the Court, does not meet the definition of “usable” cannabis, if authorities were to come to the place and discover wet cannabis, you may be looking at prospective criminal liability. If you are a caregiver as well as are intending to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, and you have concerns regarding the potential obligation you have under this new judgment, don’t wait to call our office for a consultation.

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