Wet Marijuana Still Illegal 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 is in the drying out procedure, from prosecution. The Courts judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that because wet cannabis that remained in the drying out procedure was not usable marijuana, possession of wet marijuana was not protected by the MMMA.

The MMMA defines a lot 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 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 implied to shield. For that reason, anyone in the cannabis business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying clients, is in violation of the law, if they possess wet cannabis, no matter the function for which you have it. Also you are in the process of drying the cannabis, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you might be in trouble.

The ruling is rather bothersome for a number of reasons. First, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet marijuana that is drying yet not usable. Because of this, any caregiver must recognize that if you are in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the police show up, you can be jailed as well as the Court of Appeals has actually figured out that you can be prosecuted as well as punished for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 as well as Section 8 of the MMMA will not protect you. Second, the matter produces inquiries regarding the viability of the caregiving model, and also produces a problematic circumstance for caregivers applying under the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) for a growing or processing license.

Recognizing that you are caregiving, and that the Courts are indicating that a part of your cultivation procedure creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates prospective troubles for the application review process. Further, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal apprehension as well as prosecution, how does that effect growers as well as processors who are to be licensed under the mmfla. Ostensibly, both laws are not interlinked therefore, there should not be any kind of concerns. Nevertheless, the MMFLA makes use of the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Especially, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 specifies 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.

Consequently, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Courts expand that MMMA interpretation to the MMFLA. Such a ruling in the future could place a significant crimp in the medical cannabis industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a feasible chilling result. The judgment clearly creates concerns for registered caregivers, and also, possibly, for MMFLA farmers, should the Court increase this analysis to cover marijuana growing and processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, since "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not satisfy the interpretation of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the area as well as find wet marijuana, you may be looking at prospective criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are planning to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, as well as you have concerns regarding the possible liability you have under this new judgment, don't be reluctant to call our office for a consultation.