STATE APPEALS COURT DENIES GRAND HAVEN MAN'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLAIM

A Grand Haven Township man may still face felony charges for
manufacturing marijuana in his home after the Michigan Court of
Appeals rejected his medical marijuana claim in a decision released Friday.

Benjamin Curtis Walburg, 24, had originally been charged with the
seven-year felony after police searched his home on a tip and found
25 marijuana plants in 2009, according to Ottawa County Assistant
Prosecuting Attorney Greg Babbitt.

Walburg cooperated with police and did not conceal his plants,
Babbitt said. The man told police he was using the marijuana
medically to treat insomnia and anxiety.

The case was dismissed by Ottawa County Circuit Judge Ed Post in late
2009 after the man provided a doctor's prescription for medical use
of the marijuana, Babbitt said. The man was not a registered medical
marijuana user.

The Ottawa County prosecutor's office then appealed the decision -
noting that even if he was growing the marijuana for medical use,
Walburg still had more than the 12 plants allowed by the new state
law, Babbitt said.

The state Appeals Court did not agree with the plant number issue,
saying that was a decision for the "trier of fact," Babbitt said.
According to the definition from Legal-Explanations.com, trier of
fact "refers to a judge or jury who decides the facts and law of a court case."

But the court did base their decision on a previous case that said a
person must have their prescription for medical marijuana prior to
being charged with growing the weed, not after the fact, Babbitt said.

Walburg now has about a month to appeal the decision to the Michigan
Supreme Court, Babbitt said. If this is not done, the case will
re-enter the Ottawa County Circuit Court.