POLICE RAID HOLLAND MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOP THE MIX

Holland, MI - Prosecutors will weigh whether to issue criminal charges
following a police raid Thursday at a Holland medical marijuana dispensary.

The West Michigan Enforcement Team confiscated "a quantity of
suspected marijuana" from The Mix, 897 S. Washington Ave., on
Thursday, Lt. Cam Henke of WEMET said.

He wouldn't say how much marijuana officers seized or what led police
to seek a search warrant.

"The bottom line is our investigation led us to believe that marijuana
was being sold illegally at that location," Henke said. "We felt it
was outside the framework of the law."

Compounding the case, Holland has a moratorium on medical marijuana
dispensaries until it can develop a zoning rule for them.

When asked by the city last fall, the owner said he was not running a
medical marijuana dispensary, said Cindy Osman, assistant director of
Community and Neighborhood Services. He later asked how to prove he
was grandfathered out of the moratorium.

More recently, two city inspectors saw fliers about different strains
of marijuana. When asked again, the owner said he liked having the
information around to provoke conversation, Osman said.

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act was passed nearly three years ago
by a public referendum. It allows patients to possess up to 12 plants
or 2.5 ounces of marijuana and caregivers (for those who cannot grow
their own medical marijuana) to serve up to five patients.

An attorney for The Mix said he wasn't sure what triggered the raid,
because he had not yet seen the affidavit that authorized WEMET's
search warrant.

"It's possible that WEMET used undercover officers to find what they
believed was improper conduct," attorney Richard German said.

The amount of marijuana seized from the business was "a minor amount -
in the grams, not pounds," he said.

The store's owner is properly licensed and caters only to patients who
"have the right credentials and paperwork," to obtain medical
marijuana, German said.

The Mix, which also sells smoking paraphernalia such as hookahs and
pipes and functions as a consignment shop, has been open more than a
year, German said. The store was open Monday.

"What it boils down to is the medical marijuana law is relatively
new," German said. "I don't think WEMET is up to date on the issue of
medical marijuana and a patient's right to privacy."

Several area communities including Holland are now debating zoning
rules that would govern or even eliminate the medical marijuana
dispensaries.