SHERIFF: DRYDEN MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY WAS 'TURNING QUICK DOLLAR'

DRYDEN -- A now-closed downtown marijuana dispensary that has been at
the center of controversy for more than a year was more akin to a
criminal operation than a medical facility, authorities claim.

The owner of the Compassion Care Center of Michigan, which was
padlocked in September, and two Romeo men face felony charges in
connection to the dispensary.

Police and prosecutors claim owner [name1 redacted] was not authorized by
the state to hand out medical marijuana and had more than the
allowable amount of marijuana in the building.

A police raid in August turned up 50 marijuana plants -- 38 more than
allowed under state law, police said.

"They were turning a quick dollar," said Lapeer County Sheriff Ron
Kalanquin. "It's not a medical reason -- it's a profit reason."

[name1 redacted], 54, of Dryden and [name2 redacted], 49, and [name3
redacted], 53, both
of Romeo, are charged with delivering/manufacturing marijuana, a
four-year felony.

Attorneys for the three men could not be reached for comment. Since
its inception in 2008, law enforcement officials around the state have
struggled with the specifics of the medical marijuana law.

But Tim Beck, political director of the Michigan Association of
Compassion Centers, said Lapeer County officials have been more
hostile toward the medical marijuana law and that it seemed as though
Lapeer County Prosecutor Byron Konschuh set out to shutter the Dryden
facility before any wrongdoing was discovered. The law is pretty
clear, said Konschuh.

Michigan's medical marijuana law allows for limited growth and sale of
cannabis to up to five patients, but not for a combined for-profit
operation of multiple caretakers, said Konschuh.

"One caretaker can have up to 12 plants and 2.5 ounces per patient,
and that's it," he said. "When you start combining and have something
that appears to be a dispensary and somebody sitting at a counter and
distributing marijuana to anyone with a card, that's not what the law
says."

Lapeer County law enforcement has been investigating the Dryden
facility for nine months, Kalanquin said.

Authorities raided the medical marijuana dispensary on Dryden's Main
Street in August. It was then padlocked by Konschuh in late September.

[name1 redacted] also was arrested charged with intent to deliver marijuana in
January in Oakland County when he and a Colorado woman tried to pick
up a package that had 31 pounds of marijuana in it.

Kalanquin said there are plenty of legal users of medical marijuana in
Lapeer County that his department leaves alone.

"We're not targeting cancer patients or people with legit ailments,"
said Kalanquin. "In fact, our sheriff's deputies get tips all the
time that someone is growing marijuana. We do what's called a 'knock
and talk.' If their father or mother are suffering from cancer, then
we leave them alone and won't harass them."

In Genesee County, Prosecutor David Leyton said he has not received
warrant requests against any of the estimated 20-plus dispensaries
and grow shops in the county.

Leyton, however, has said he has run into issues with
individuals.

This year, his office charged a Clarkston man on allegations that the
man had more marijuana than allowed for an individual. The Clarkston
man, 26, allegedly had about 50 plants and 1.75 pounds in Flint
Township, Leyton said.

But Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey Neithercut threw out the case,
Leyton said, because prosecutors did not show that the amount the man
had was "usable."

"The medical marijuana law is extremely vague, and we need the
appellate courts and the Legislature to fix it because right now we
are all kind of shadowboxing with respect to that law," Leyton said.

The law does not say whether dispensaries are allowed and says nothing
about patient-to-patient transfers, Leyton said.

If the allegations against the Dryden facility are true, Beck said he
doesn't think there will be a ripple effects against other
dispensaries.

"Abuses are going to end up happening with any law," said Beck.