Robert Celt
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Dispensary, compassion club, pot shop; they are all terms to describe a facility in which medical marijuana is sold to patients in Michigan under the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, and they are illegal... kind of.
In 2013, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a case against a Mt. Pleasant dispensary, ruled medical marijuana dispensaries that handle patient-to-patient sales could be deemed a public nuisance and shut down.
Many were. Many weren't. Some simply restructured.
Detroit has more than 200 dispensaries in operation. Ottawa County has at least one, Spring Lake Dispensary, and up until recently Allegan County had as many as six. It's hard to get an accurate count, dispensaries are not licensed or tracked.
So how are they able to operate despite the state Supreme Court ruling?
For some, it's just lack of enforcement.
Several law enforcement agencies, including those in Lansing, have opted to act based on complaints from cities as opposed to actively shutting dispensaries down.
But medical marijuana facilities are watched closely to assure they are acting in at least some accordance with the law.
Four dispensaries in Allegan County were recently raided by the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a narcotics unit, for a number of different reasons. Some had more usable marijuana than the law allows, some had edibles, which are illegal, as of now.
Mainly, the four dispensaries were selling medical marijuana to "anyone who came into the door with a paper or a card, regardless of if there was a patient/caregiver relationship," said Lt. Andy Fias, who heads the WEMET narcotics team.
MMMA requires during registration that primary caregivers, who are allowed to cultivate up to 12 plants and have 2.5 ounces of processed marijuana for up to five patients each, to specify his or her patient list. If a patient is added or dropped, the registry must be updated.
The same is true for patients, who must register his or her caregiver, if there is one. They are not required to have a caregiver and are allowed to grow their own medical marijuana.
This registration process, which makes it so a single caregiver can only provide medical marijuana to five patients, makes it tough for dispensaries to legally operate, unless it has a large amount of caregivers associated with it.
Matthew Abel, attorney for the Cannabis Council, a proponent of medical marijuana, said the current system makes it hard not only for dispensaries, but ultimately for their patients.
"We're sitting here doing nothing and patients are not getting what they need. The police are raiding people left and right," he said. "It's not easy to find a caregiver who will provide what you want at a price you can afford and in a reasonable quantity, and nearby. There are patients who only get supplied through dispensaries."
And for patients who do get their medical marijuana through an individual caregiver, there are times in which the caregivers don't have usable medicine.
Christopher Martinez, team leader of Lakeshore Alternatives, a dispensary in the Saugatuck area that was one of those raided, said he frequently gets card-holding patients coming to his store who at that time can't get medicine from their registered caregivers.
Caregivers can be between harvests or have lost a crop because of a variety of reasons, such as loss of power or an infestation, he said.
"Where are they supposed to get their medicine?" he asked.
Martinez said he knows it is illegal to sell to someone who is not his registered patient, but has "made exceptions" to people he said really needed it.
It so happens, one of those exceptions he made was to an undercover police officer. It was the third time he's been raided and he's served nearly two combined years for delivery of marijuana charges. He has not yet been charged with a crime in the most recent raid.
"All we're trying to do is help people out," Martinez said.
He said he hopes the state can sort out it's cloudy rules on dispensaries, considering the 2008 medical marijuana law was passed by voters.
There are legislative efforts aimed at doing that.
Several bills have now passed through the House that would establish five different regulated medical marijuana businesses: growers, processors, dispensaries, testing facilities and transporters. Each "tier" would have to obtain a license from the state.
The bills would establish what is called a "seed-to-sale" tracking system to monitor the manufacturing, transportation and sale of medical marijuana. The bill would mean a 3 percent excise tax on medical marijuana businesses and the 6 percent sales tax on sales of medical marijuana.
Individual municipalities would also have a say in whether any of the tiers would be allowed within their boundaries.
A separate bill, paired with the others, would allow non-smokable forms of medical marijuana, including edibles and oils.
"In this model, you create licenses where it's kind of like a tiered system like alcohol and tobacco," said Callton. "If you're going to create such an industry, I think this is the model and situation where you serve the patients and prevent diversion," he said, alluding to the opportunity for crime.
Both Abel and Martinez said they were in favor of a licensing system for dispensaries, which would clear up a lot of the confusion, but there is skepticism regarding these bills.
"This legislation has been kicking around in one form or another for two years," Abel said, adding the tiered system would essentially set up a handful of commercial growing operations who would provide medical marijuana to caregivers.
Adding the middle-man, he said, would drive up costs.
"All they are doing by setting up this tightly regulated program is opening up the illegal market because people aren't going to pay $30 for a gram," he said. "This is not a patient-centered bill, this is a corporate-centered bill."
For eight years, medical marijuana patients, caregivers and dispensaries have been holding their breath hoping for the smoke to clear. Some are still waiting.
Dispensary, compassion club, pot shop; they are all terms to describe a facility in which medical marijuana is sold to patients in Michigan under the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, and they are illegal... kind of.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Waiting To Exhale: A Cloud Of Mystery Surrounds Legality Of Dispensaries In Michigan
Author: Curtis Wildfong
Contact: Holland Sentinel
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Holland Sentinel
In 2013, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a case against a Mt. Pleasant dispensary, ruled medical marijuana dispensaries that handle patient-to-patient sales could be deemed a public nuisance and shut down.
Many were. Many weren't. Some simply restructured.
Detroit has more than 200 dispensaries in operation. Ottawa County has at least one, Spring Lake Dispensary, and up until recently Allegan County had as many as six. It's hard to get an accurate count, dispensaries are not licensed or tracked.
So how are they able to operate despite the state Supreme Court ruling?
For some, it's just lack of enforcement.
Several law enforcement agencies, including those in Lansing, have opted to act based on complaints from cities as opposed to actively shutting dispensaries down.
But medical marijuana facilities are watched closely to assure they are acting in at least some accordance with the law.
Four dispensaries in Allegan County were recently raided by the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a narcotics unit, for a number of different reasons. Some had more usable marijuana than the law allows, some had edibles, which are illegal, as of now.
Mainly, the four dispensaries were selling medical marijuana to "anyone who came into the door with a paper or a card, regardless of if there was a patient/caregiver relationship," said Lt. Andy Fias, who heads the WEMET narcotics team.
MMMA requires during registration that primary caregivers, who are allowed to cultivate up to 12 plants and have 2.5 ounces of processed marijuana for up to five patients each, to specify his or her patient list. If a patient is added or dropped, the registry must be updated.
The same is true for patients, who must register his or her caregiver, if there is one. They are not required to have a caregiver and are allowed to grow their own medical marijuana.
This registration process, which makes it so a single caregiver can only provide medical marijuana to five patients, makes it tough for dispensaries to legally operate, unless it has a large amount of caregivers associated with it.
Matthew Abel, attorney for the Cannabis Council, a proponent of medical marijuana, said the current system makes it hard not only for dispensaries, but ultimately for their patients.
"We're sitting here doing nothing and patients are not getting what they need. The police are raiding people left and right," he said. "It's not easy to find a caregiver who will provide what you want at a price you can afford and in a reasonable quantity, and nearby. There are patients who only get supplied through dispensaries."
And for patients who do get their medical marijuana through an individual caregiver, there are times in which the caregivers don't have usable medicine.
Christopher Martinez, team leader of Lakeshore Alternatives, a dispensary in the Saugatuck area that was one of those raided, said he frequently gets card-holding patients coming to his store who at that time can't get medicine from their registered caregivers.
Caregivers can be between harvests or have lost a crop because of a variety of reasons, such as loss of power or an infestation, he said.
"Where are they supposed to get their medicine?" he asked.
Martinez said he knows it is illegal to sell to someone who is not his registered patient, but has "made exceptions" to people he said really needed it.
It so happens, one of those exceptions he made was to an undercover police officer. It was the third time he's been raided and he's served nearly two combined years for delivery of marijuana charges. He has not yet been charged with a crime in the most recent raid.
"All we're trying to do is help people out," Martinez said.
He said he hopes the state can sort out it's cloudy rules on dispensaries, considering the 2008 medical marijuana law was passed by voters.
There are legislative efforts aimed at doing that.
Several bills have now passed through the House that would establish five different regulated medical marijuana businesses: growers, processors, dispensaries, testing facilities and transporters. Each "tier" would have to obtain a license from the state.
The bills would establish what is called a "seed-to-sale" tracking system to monitor the manufacturing, transportation and sale of medical marijuana. The bill would mean a 3 percent excise tax on medical marijuana businesses and the 6 percent sales tax on sales of medical marijuana.
Individual municipalities would also have a say in whether any of the tiers would be allowed within their boundaries.
A separate bill, paired with the others, would allow non-smokable forms of medical marijuana, including edibles and oils.
"In this model, you create licenses where it's kind of like a tiered system like alcohol and tobacco," said Callton. "If you're going to create such an industry, I think this is the model and situation where you serve the patients and prevent diversion," he said, alluding to the opportunity for crime.
Both Abel and Martinez said they were in favor of a licensing system for dispensaries, which would clear up a lot of the confusion, but there is skepticism regarding these bills.
"This legislation has been kicking around in one form or another for two years," Abel said, adding the tiered system would essentially set up a handful of commercial growing operations who would provide medical marijuana to caregivers.
Adding the middle-man, he said, would drive up costs.
"All they are doing by setting up this tightly regulated program is opening up the illegal market because people aren't going to pay $30 for a gram," he said. "This is not a patient-centered bill, this is a corporate-centered bill."
For eight years, medical marijuana patients, caregivers and dispensaries have been holding their breath hoping for the smoke to clear. Some are still waiting.
Dispensary, compassion club, pot shop; they are all terms to describe a facility in which medical marijuana is sold to patients in Michigan under the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, and they are illegal... kind of.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Waiting To Exhale: A Cloud Of Mystery Surrounds Legality Of Dispensaries In Michigan
Author: Curtis Wildfong
Contact: Holland Sentinel
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Holland Sentinel
