Wet Cannabis Still Illegal Per MI COA

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

The MMMA specifies many 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, and also roots of the plant. The Court found that due to the fact that the act chose to use the word "dried" before the remaining components, that suggested that wet, undried marijuana was not a part of what the protections of the act were implied to shield. Consequently, anybody in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying clients, remains in offense of the law, if they possess wet cannabis, no matter the purpose for which you possess it. Even you remain in the procedure of drying the cannabis, if you are raided and the cannabis is wet, you might be in trouble.

The ruling is fairly problematic for a number of factors. Initially, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, eventually, have wet marijuana that is drying yet not usable. Because of this, any caregiver should recognize that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the cops show up, you can be jailed and also the Court of Appeals has actually identified that you can be prosecuted and sentenced for possession with intent to deliver cannabis, and that the immunity provisions of Section 4 and Section 8 of the MMMA will not protect you. Second, the issue develops inquiries about the practicality of the caregiving model, and also produces a troublesome 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 showing that a component of your growing process creates you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, develops potential issues for the application review procedure. Additionally, if having wet cannabis cause for criminal arrest as well as prosecution, exactly how does that effect growers and processors who are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Seemingly, both statutes are not interlinked therefore, there should not be any type of problems. However, the MMFLA utilizes the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Particularly, 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.

Therefore, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Judiciaries prolong that MMMA definition to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road might place a major crimp in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, most likely as an outcome of a possible chilling effect. The judgment clearly creates concerns for registered caregivers, and, potentially, for MMFLA cultivators, must the Court increase this analysis to cover cannabis growing as well as processing under the MMFLA. Basically, because "wet" undried cannabis, according to the Court, does not meet the meaning of "usable" cannabis, if authorities were to come to the area as well as discover wet marijuana, you may be looking at prospective criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and are intending to proceed growing for your patients under the MMMA, and you have inquiries about the possible liability you have under this brand-new ruling, do not think twice to call our office for a consultation.

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