DISMISSAL SOUGHT IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

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 coming weeks after the attorney for the Rev. Frederick W. Dagit,
61, of Meridian Township, contended charges should be dismissed under
a provision of the nearly 2-year-old medical marijuana statute.
Prosecutors asked Giddings to declare that provision unconstitutional.

Dagit 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: whether Dagit, who admits he supplied marijuana to
the Green Leaf Smokers medicinal marijuana club in Williamstown
Township, should stand trial on allegations that he agreed to buy 50
pounds of marijuana May 26 from an undercover police informant and
also kept 41 marijuana plants in his home. Dagit said 12 of the
plants were to treat his own ailments.

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.

Amount Unclear

How much marijuana this means is unclear -- most witnesses Friday
agreed -- but Dagit testified that the club dispensed "least four or
five 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 County Assistant Prosecutor Guy Sweet dismissed the statute
provision as "crazy," "ridiculous," vague and unenforceable, saying
Giddings should declare it unconstitutional.

Both Sides Criticize

"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
medical marijuana users 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
Smoker's Club -- although critics have maintained that the statute
doesn't authorize their creation.

Club Raided

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."