Wet Cannabis Still Prohibited Per MI COA

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals, in a split choice, 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 process, from prosecution. The Courts ruling in the case of People v. Vanessa Mansour determined that because wet marijuana 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, however does not consist of the seeds, stalks, as well as 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 implied that wet, undried cannabis was not a component of what the protections of the act were indicated to shield. As a result, anyone in the marijuana business of caregiving, who is growing under the MMMA for themselves or various other registered qualifying people, remains in infraction of the legislation, if they have wet marijuana, no matter the objective for which you have it. Even you are in the procedure of drying out the marijuana, if you are raided and the marijuana is wet, you can be in trouble.

The ruling is quite troublesome for a number of factors. Initially, any caregiver that is currently growing under the MMMA, will, at some point, have wet marijuana that is drying out yet not usable. Therefore, any caregiver must recognize that if you remain in possession of wet, non-usable marijuana, and the authorities arrive, you can be arrested as well as the Court of Appeals has actually identified that you can be prosecuted as well as punished for possession with intent to deliver cannabis, which the immunity provisions of Section 4 as well as Section 8 of the MMMA will not protect you. Second, the matter develops concerns about the feasibility of the caregiving model, and also creates a problematic situation 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 cultivation process triggers you to commit, at minimum, a misdemeanor, creates potential troubles for the application review procedure. Further, if having wet marijuana cause for criminal arrest and prosecution, how does that impact farmers and processors who are to be licensed under the MMFLA. Ostensibly, both laws are not interlinked and so, there shouldn't be any kind of concerns. However, the mmfla makes use of the exact same "usable" marijuana definition as the MMMA. Particularly, subsection (ff) of M.C.L. § 333.27102 defines 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.

For that reason, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Judiciaries expand that MMMA interpretation to the MMFLA. Such a ruling down the road can put a significant kink in the medical marijuana industry under the MMFLA, likely as an outcome of a feasible chilling effect. The ruling plainly creates problems for registered caregivers, as well as, possibly, for MMFLA farmers, needs to the Court expand this reading to cover cannabis growing and processing under the MMFLA. Essentially, because "wet" undried marijuana, according to the Court, does not satisfy the meaning of "usable" marijuana, if authorities were to come to the location and also find wet cannabis, you could be looking at potential criminal liability. If you are a caregiver and also are planning to continue growing for your patients under the MMMA, and also you have concerns concerning the prospective liability you have under this new ruling, do not hesitate to contact our office for a consultation.