Wet Cannabis 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 process, from prosecution. The Judiciaries judgment in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that since wet cannabis that was in the drying out procedure was not usable marijuana, possession of wet marijuana 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 mean the following: "Usable marihuana" means the dried leaves, flowers, plant resin, or extract of the marihuana plant, however does not include the seeds, stalks, and roots of the plant. The Court found that because the act chose to use the word "dried" before the remaining components, that indicated that wet, undried cannabis was not a component of what the protections of the act were meant to shield. For that reason, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, that is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying clients, remains in offense of the regulation, if they possess wet marijuana, regardless of the function for which you possess it. Even you are in the process of drying out the cannabis, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you could be in trouble.

The ruling is fairly bothersome for a number of factors. First, any caregiver that is presently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet cannabis that is drying however not usable. Because of this, any caregiver should understand that if you are in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the police arrive, you can be detained and also the Court of Appeals has determined that you can be prosecuted and punished for possession with intent to deliver cannabis, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 and Section 8 of the MMMA will certainly not protect you. Second, the issue creates concerns about the feasibility of the caregiving model, and also produces a troublesome 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 indicating that a part of your farming procedure causes you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, develops possible troubles for the application review process. Even more, if having wet marijuana cause for criminal apprehension as well as prosecution, just how does that impact farmers and also processors that are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, the two laws are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any kind of issues. However, the MMFLA uses the 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.

As a result, it would not be a stretch to see the Courts expand that MMMA definition to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road can put a major kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a possible chilling impact. The judgment clearly causes concerns for registered caregivers, and, potentially, for MMFLA growers, needs to the Court increase this analysis to cover cannabis growing and also 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 and also locate wet cannabis, you might be looking at prospective criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and are preparing to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, as well as you have concerns concerning the possible responsibility you have under this new ruling, do not hesitate to call our office for a consultation.