Medical marijuana ruling: Pot backers, critics disagree on whether dispensaries can operate
At least one Michigan medical marijuana dispensary was making plans to close, following an appeals court ruling Wednesday that pot sales are not allowed under the state’s medical marijuana law, the Grand Rapids Press reported.
Meanwhile, critics and supporters of medical marijuana disagreed about whether the ruling means dispensaries are not allowed, the Detroit Free Press reported today.
Schuette planned to send a letter to all county prosecutors advising that the court ruling “empowers them to close dispensaries” based on the state’s nuisance laws.
The court ruling Wednesday was based on an Isabella County case involving a medical marijuana dispensary called Compassionate Apothecary.
The Compassionate Apothecary collects a $5 monthly membership fee from medical marijuana caregivers and patients. It allows them to rent lockers and store small amounts of marijuana there, then allows for patient-to-patient sales of marijuana while collecting a 20 percent fee for facilitating sales.
The court said the state’s medical marijuana law does not allow patient-to-patient marijuana sales.
Ann Arbor-area officials and dispensaries were struggling late Wednesday to determine the immediate impact of the ruling was unclear. Ann Arbor recently passed an ordinance regulating marijuana dispensaries. Ypsilanti put its ordinance in place earlier this year.
Comments
Concerned Party
Fri, Aug 26, 2011 : 10:49 a.m.
I think that if dispensaries were non-profit organizations and one were allowed in each city then they would reflect the idea of compassionate care. However this is not the case. I have heard many people involved in the dispensary business talk about the profits they expect. If they were not in it to make a buck then I could understand the arguments for them. When you rent prime real estate in downtown Ann Arbor you have targeted a major market in Ann Arbor which is students. If the goals and objectives of the dispensary operators were in line with "compassionate care" then I think that they would be more like a co-op, who's prime objective was to provide ill people with medicine. This is not the case when you have competing dispensaries within blocks of one another. So perhaps the concerned members of the medicine community that it is there own desire to profit from the illness of others realize that they have created this situation themselves. A single non-profit, co-op dispensary could serve the entire community quite well. If you are making profits from medical pot what make you any different from the big drug companies. They have a simular motivation. Benefit from the illness of others. Is this not the root of problems at our entire health care system. If you are really concerned about sick people and compassionate care then you would get on the side of something smart, like a single co-op.
Messa
Fri, Aug 26, 2011 : 2:30 a.m.
The state was quick enough to take my money for the medical marijuana card, which I want back, by the way. If I can't use it, why did I pay them all that money that they were only too happy to take?
Mr Blue
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 8 p.m.
Activist judges. Conservative hypocrites. Fascist Police. Welcome to the gulag, cancer patients.
Mr Blue
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 7:56 p.m.
The only reason that dispensaries are now "illegal" is because Bill Scheutte says so. It has nothing to do with the law passed by 74% of Michigan voters. There was once a time in this nation when people could do whatever a law did not prohibit and law enforcement could only prohibit and enforce what the law allowed. Not anymore it seems since Scheutte shows his Fascist stripes and rules by decree.
Bob Krzewinski
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 6:29 p.m.
The cable series South Park, using satire, addressed the situation of medical marijuana awhile back - <a href="http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s14e03-medicinal-fried-chicken" rel='nofollow'>http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s14e03-medicinal-fried-chicken</a>
John A2
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 4:43 p.m.
Some people with crippling illnesses really can't grow there own. There is no site for people can hook up with providers and care takers neither. Lets get some thing going here. siting around and groping is not doing any good for the cause.
Mike Villwock
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 3:38 p.m.
What's the point of voting when conservative fundamentalist Christian Republicans are just going to make the voice of the people illegitimate, irrelevant or illegal? We voters already declared our will on this matter but rather than abide by that will, the lawyers and politicians, who are against all freedom that doesn't meet their narrow biblical definition, have decided that will, our voice, doesn't matter so much as their dogma. Democracy doesn't exist if a handful of religious zealots can cancel out the sovereignty of the people.
grye
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
Grow your own. You have that right under the law. Or is that too much work?
redwingshero
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 3:46 p.m.
One doesn't have to be a republican to be a Christian. Labels are ridiculous. I am neither a Dem or Rep., but I follow Christ's Biblical teachings, and yet what their "morale majority" says (although there real number does not represent a majority), is often not Biblical at all. For the record, not all who call themselves "Christians" agree with Schuette. I would wager there are many who do not. Voters voted on it, enough said. You can change the law if you wish, but that should be up to the people and/or our state legislature, not the AG. He over stepped his bounds (regardless what his party affiliation is).
redwingshero
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 3:31 p.m.
I certainly hope no one in Schuette's family ever gets an illness where traditional medicine causes awful side-effects and they need relief from those symptoms... Hey Bill, you ever spend time with a person that has ALS or MS? I think you might change your mind.
grye
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 4:12 p.m.
Have those individuals tried Marinol and if not, why not? It is a legal form of marjuana in a pill. Best part is you don't have to get high to have relief from the illness. Of course that probably takes away the best part of the medical marijuana.
Merrily McDonald
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.
Police didn't waste any time raiding dispensaries... Go to Packard and Stadium.... 1818 goes bye bye! The AG just has it out for those that are helping others under the LAW!
CB
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 2:22 p.m.
The Michigan Business Tax wasn't successful in getting rid of all Michigan Businesses - lets clean it up so we have no employment whatsover.
redwingshero
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
Seems that we have an overzealous State AG that decided to pick apart a very vague law that had no specific element for dispensaries included within and since the law didn't say "they were legal", he threw the kitchen sink at it. "The court said the state's medical marijuana law does not allow patient-to-patient marijuana sales." Does it exhaustively say you cannot have P2P sales, or is it just not specifically mentioned and therefore, it can be ripped apart in court? How's this for a possible scenario: The Dispensary's role-for a monthly fee, they will provide secure storage and procure marijuana for licensed caregivers (thus the dispensary being licensed as well). They can only sell to those specified caregivers and not direct to patients (as there are many caregivers/"compassion groups" that can support patients). Those dispensaries pay taxes on their income (as they are collecting rent from caregivers) and are law-abiding citizens (the Dude abides...). Patients would be purchasing the marijuana from those caregivers. We have 2 dispensaries in Jackson (I believe). In a town of more than 30,000, it doesn't seem like a nuisance to me. The law needs to be changed to specifically involve dispensaries (and yes, some did pop-up overnight), but simple economics would tell you that if too many pop-up in the same area, they all won't survive.