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An Ingham County judge will decide whether to throw out charges against a man accused of illegally dealing medical marijuana in what could be a test case for how the herb can be dispensed in Michigan.
Circuit Judge James Giddings said Friday he would render his decision in the coming weeks after the attorney for the Rev. Frederick W. Dagit, 61, contended charges should be dismissed under a provision of the nearly two-year-old law on medical marijuana. Prosecutors asked Giddings to declare that provision unconstitutional.
Dagit, of Meridian Township, is charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver between 11 and 99 pounds of marijuana; growing 20 or more marijuana plants; maintaining a drug house and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
The key question is whether Dagit, who admits he supplied marijuana to the Green Leaf Smokers medical marijuana club in Williamstown Township, ought to stand trial on allegations that he agreed to buy 50 pounds of marijuana May 26 from an undercover police informant and kept 41 marijuana plants in his home. Dagit said 12 of the plants were to treat his own ailments.
The statute clearly sets limits on the amounts of marijuana allowed. Patients can grow up to 12 marijuana plants and have 2.5 ounces of marijuana for themselves, or a caregiver to grow up to 12 plants for up to five patients each.
But James White, Dagit's attorney, said the statute also states a judge "shall" dismiss charges if he or she finds the quantity of marijuana seized was necessary to medically treat a patient's ailment.
How much marijuana this means is unclear – most witnesses Friday agreed – but Dagit testified that the club dispensed "least 4 or 5 pounds" of marijuana daily at the club.
"These are very sick people. ... A hundred to 120 people used the facility on a daily basis," White said. "Was Mr. Dagit's behavior criminal? The marijuana the police brought to his house was going to be taken to the club."
But Assistant Prosecutor Guy Sweet dismissed the statute provision as "crazy," "ridiculous," vague and unenforceable, saying the judge should declare it unconstitutional.
"Somebody could park a pickup truck in their garage filled with bales of marijuana and say, 'This is amount of marijuana I need for treatment until I die,' " Sweet said. "This statute isn't fair to anybody. Nobody knows what it means, and nobody can enforce it."
Giddings questioned whether Sweet had standing to ask that the provision be declared unconstitutional because he isn't a defendant in the case.
Since the state implemented the marijuana act in April 2009, both patients who use medical marijuana and authorities have criticized the law as being overly vague. This year, a number of medical marijuana dispensaries have sprouted in Ingham County – such as the Green Leaf Smokers Club – although critics have maintained that the statute doesn't authorize their creation.
The Green Leaf club was raided by police the same day that Dagit was arrested, but authorities allowed the club to continue to operate.
Before the hearing, Terry Clark, a Williamston man who used to frequent the club as a medical marijuana patient, said he believes authorities unfairly targeted Dagit.
"The only reason they went after him was because they're mad the law was passed," Clark said. "(Dagit) is outspoken. They don't like it when you're outspoken."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: livingstondaily.com
Author: Scott Davis
Contact: livingstondaily.com | Howell Staff Directory | Livingston Daily
Copyright:2010 livingstondaily.com
Website:Dismissal sought in marijuana case | livingstondaily.com | Livingston Daily
Circuit Judge James Giddings said Friday he would render his decision in the coming weeks after the attorney for the Rev. Frederick W. Dagit, 61, contended charges should be dismissed under a provision of the nearly two-year-old law on medical marijuana. Prosecutors asked Giddings to declare that provision unconstitutional.
Dagit, of Meridian Township, is charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver between 11 and 99 pounds of marijuana; growing 20 or more marijuana plants; maintaining a drug house and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
The key question is whether Dagit, who admits he supplied marijuana to the Green Leaf Smokers medical marijuana club in Williamstown Township, ought to stand trial on allegations that he agreed to buy 50 pounds of marijuana May 26 from an undercover police informant and kept 41 marijuana plants in his home. Dagit said 12 of the plants were to treat his own ailments.
The statute clearly sets limits on the amounts of marijuana allowed. Patients can grow up to 12 marijuana plants and have 2.5 ounces of marijuana for themselves, or a caregiver to grow up to 12 plants for up to five patients each.
But James White, Dagit's attorney, said the statute also states a judge "shall" dismiss charges if he or she finds the quantity of marijuana seized was necessary to medically treat a patient's ailment.
How much marijuana this means is unclear – most witnesses Friday agreed – but Dagit testified that the club dispensed "least 4 or 5 pounds" of marijuana daily at the club.
"These are very sick people. ... A hundred to 120 people used the facility on a daily basis," White said. "Was Mr. Dagit's behavior criminal? The marijuana the police brought to his house was going to be taken to the club."
But Assistant Prosecutor Guy Sweet dismissed the statute provision as "crazy," "ridiculous," vague and unenforceable, saying the judge should declare it unconstitutional.
"Somebody could park a pickup truck in their garage filled with bales of marijuana and say, 'This is amount of marijuana I need for treatment until I die,' " Sweet said. "This statute isn't fair to anybody. Nobody knows what it means, and nobody can enforce it."
Giddings questioned whether Sweet had standing to ask that the provision be declared unconstitutional because he isn't a defendant in the case.
Since the state implemented the marijuana act in April 2009, both patients who use medical marijuana and authorities have criticized the law as being overly vague. This year, a number of medical marijuana dispensaries have sprouted in Ingham County – such as the Green Leaf Smokers Club – although critics have maintained that the statute doesn't authorize their creation.
The Green Leaf club was raided by police the same day that Dagit was arrested, but authorities allowed the club to continue to operate.
Before the hearing, Terry Clark, a Williamston man who used to frequent the club as a medical marijuana patient, said he believes authorities unfairly targeted Dagit.
"The only reason they went after him was because they're mad the law was passed," Clark said. "(Dagit) is outspoken. They don't like it when you're outspoken."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: livingstondaily.com
Author: Scott Davis
Contact: livingstondaily.com | Howell Staff Directory | Livingston Daily
Copyright:2010 livingstondaily.com
Website:Dismissal sought in marijuana case | livingstondaily.com | Livingston Daily
