MIDLAND JUDGE MULLS MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUB'S FATE

WHETHER USE OF PROCLAIMED MEDICINE IS CONSTITUTIONAL

MIDLAND - A Midland County Circuit Court judge is pondering the
legality of a medical marijuana business this evening.

Midland County Prosecutor Michael Carpenter said the decision will
help towards establishing a legal consensus on medical marijuana.

If not nationally or even throughout the state, at least among the
Circuit Court judges in Midland County, he said.

Midland County Circuit Judge Jonathan E. Lauderbach ruled in early
June that Midland County judges have the right to set guidelines that
restrict convicts and defendants from ingesting and possessing medical
marijuana, regardless of whether they are state certified medical
users.

But the implication of the 27-page decision was more vast than that.

Lauderbach ruled that, because of the federal "supremacy clause" says
federal law trumps state law, that the entire medical marijuana act -
that legalizes in some instances a federally illegal drug - is
unconstitutional.

The judge's jurisdiction is confined to Midland County.

Carpenter on June 30, in part based on the Lauderbach decision, filed
a complaint against Twinn Bridges Compassion Club of Midland. He
requested it be deemed a public nuisance and ordered to close.

Carpenter believes the business - which according to its website
certifies patients and sells qualified patients plant clones,
marijuana-based baked goods, suckers and oils - violates state law,
regardless of constitutionality.

"The owner-operator testified today in court that he can provide to
anybody who comes into his store that is a medical marijuana
cardholder," Carpenter said. "We take a different position. We think
that you have to have a link between the patient-caregiver."

The Detroit-based Cannabis Counsel, which represents Twinn Bridges
Compassion Club, had not responded to a request for comment made by
The Saginaw News as of Wednesday evening.

State Attorney General Bill Schuette, in a show of support for
Carpenter, joined the case against the club Wednesday.

According to a press release issued by his office: "Michigan voters
didn't count on pot shops springing up across from their schools and
churches," Schuette said. "That's why I'm joining Prosecutor Carpenter
to support his efforts to close an illegal marijuana dispensary."

Carpenter, in the court of Midland County Circuit Judge Michael J.
Beale, requested the business be closed temporarily, without a
hearing, until a decision on its legality could be made.

Beale declined the request and conducted a hearing with both parties
present Wednesday.

Beale is currently reviewing the evidence and testimony and has not
rendered his decision.

"He's got a lot to digest and get back to us on," Carpenter said. "I
think we'll probably see a very well-reasoned, well-thought-out
opinion."

Carpenter said, in order for his office to properly enforce the law,
it must know whether there is a consensus between Beale and
Lauderbach's that the Medical Marijuana Act is unconstitutional.

He said if Beale's decision is contrary to Lauderbach's regarding
constitutionality, he may request clarification from a higher court.