MEDICAL POT CASES HEAD TO COURT

Enforcement of State Law Leaves Cities, Defendants Confused

Several showdowns over Michigan's medical marijuana law are slated
for courtrooms across the state this year as users and law
enforcement officials clash over the drug's legality.

Oakland County prosecutors have until Friday to file legal arguments
stating why nine people arrested in a medical marijuana raid should
be tried on felony drug charges in a Ferndale court.

In a Wayne County courtroom Jan. 21, attorneys for Birmingham and
Bloomfield Hills will ask to have a lawsuit against their cities
moved to Oakland County, where prosecutors and law enforcement have
declared medical marijuana dispensaries illegal.

And a Madison Heights couple, certified under Michigan law to use,
possess and grow medical marijuana, are asking the Michigan Supreme
Court to dismiss felony drug charges against them. A decision is
expected this year.

In another case, federal agents want the state of Michigan to turn
over records in a medical marijuana investigation of seven people in
the Lansing area. The U.S. Attorney's Office is asking a judge to
order the state to comply with a subpoena. In a court filing last
week, prosecutors said the state is resisting because of a privacy
provision in Michigan law.

These controversies stem from the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,
passed in 2008 by Michigan voters. The act approved use of the drug
for people with qualifying debilitating medical conditions. It allows
patients certified by a doctor to use marijuana and caregivers to
grow and provide it for up to five patients.

In the Ferndale case, prosecutors are challenging the law, saying the
sale and distribution of any marijuana is illegal.

But lawyers for the nine defendants who worked or were co-owners of
Clinical Relief, a marijuana dispensary, are fighting the charges and
asking a district court judge to dismiss the case.

An undercover narcotics officer admitted he used a phony Michigan
medical marijuana identity card to make purchases at the clinic,
which was raided by an Oakland County Sheriff's SWAT team in late August.

The officer said he got approval from his superiors at the Sheriff's
Office and from the Prosecutor's Office before making the card. The
state issues the ID cards to people certified by a physician to use
marijuana to treat a medical condition.

Lawyers for the defendants said that because the state considers the
cards private medical information, there is no way for a marijuana
dispensary to confirm if a card is real or fake.

Judge Joseph Longo has set a Feb. 7 deadline for defense lawyers to
file their arguments, court officials said. A decision in the case is
expected after March.

Cities Take Action

Across the state, as communities struggle to interpret the law, many
have enacted measures that essentially prohibit medical marijuana
use, saying the drug remains illegal under federal law.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan
sued three Metro Detroit communities over their bans, claiming they
don't have the power to veto state law.

The lawsuit alleges that Livonia, Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham
have violated state law with ordinances that effectively banned a
Birmingham couple and other patients from legally using medical marijuana.

In an unrelated case, an Oakland County couple certified to use
medical marijuana under state law are asking the Michigan Supreme
Court to dismiss felony drug charges against them.

Robert Redden and Torey Clark were charged with drug possession after
police found 21 marijuana plants in a raid at their Madison Heights
home in 2009.

Prosecutors allege the couple possessed more than the allowable
number of plants and did not keep the plants in an enclosed, locked
facility as required.

Their case received attention in September after a state appellate
judge wrote a 30-page opinion urging state lawmakers to take action
on the "inartfully drafted" medical marijuana law, which he said
clashes with other Michigan laws.

Law's Consequences

Confusion over Michigan's medical marijuana law has led to patients
with valid prescriptions losing their jobs or being threatened with
eviction from their homes. Many federally subsidized housing
complexes think they must follow federal laws or risk losing federal funding.

James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community
Health, which issues the state ID cards, said 83,552 applications had
been sent to the state as of Dec. 10. Of those, 45,808 patient
registrations were issued. The number of caregivers is not available
and is not included in this number, officials said. More than 9,560
applications have been denied.

Matthew Abel, a Detroit-area attorney who specializes in medical
marijuana defense cases, does not predict drastic changes to
Michigan's medical marijuana law from any court rulings.

It's not certain what lawmakers will do, he said, under the new,
Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov.-elect Rick Snyder.

"I think the law is going to stay intact. It's possible but unlikely
that the Legislature will come to some agreement to modify the law.
They need a three-fourths majority to repeal the law," Abel said. "We
are looking to see what changes the new administration is going to
bring to this."