RULING BANS SALES OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Many Lansing Marijuana Dispensaries Closed After Court
Decision

Many of Lansing's medical marijuana shops were closed Wednesday in
light of a Court of Appeals ruling that bars commercial sales.

But business was steady at TNT Industries MMP Resource Center on
Michigan Avenue, which doesn't consider itself a medical marijuana
dispensary. In addition to providing marijuana to card-holding
patients, people working there said it's a resource center that offers
services like doctor referrals and growing assistance.

A man working behind the counter, who declined to give his name, said
the business doesn't sell marijuana. Instead, it receives
"compensation for costs assumed," which he said is allowed under the
state's medical marijuana law.

Beverly Hynes, 52, was among the steady stream of patients Wednesday
afternoon. Hynes, who manages a Lansing apartment community, said she
suffers from debilitating back pain. She said dispensaries should be
available to people suffering from ailments that are best treated by
marijuana.

"I think it should be legal, at least for people who have medical
issues, and they shouldn't be closing these places down," Hynes said.
"We've got the pharmacies, we've got the bars - why can't we have a
dispensary?"

In a ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge appeals' court panel
unanimously found the state's 2008 voter-approved medical marijuana
law "does not include patient-to-patient sales of (marijuana)."

Isabella County case

The ruling stemmed from a Isabella County case. Authorities went to
court to shut down a dispensary in that county but a judge refused,
saying the medical marijuana law allowed the transfer of marijuana
from patient to patient.

It was unclear how the ruling will affect the more than 30 medical
marijuana dispensaries believed to be operating in Lansing. Typically
the businesses sell to medical marijuana patients with state-issued
medical marijuana cards.

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he always believed
dispensaries were illegal under the law. It was too early Wednesday,
he said, to know what kind of prosecutions might arise from the ruling.

One problem, Dunnings said, was the fact that the city of Lansing
allowed medical marijuana businesses to apply for licenses. That may
have allowed the businesses to believe they were legitimate, he said.

Clarifying law

The Court of Appeals, he said, has clarified a poorly written
law.

"People who have medical marijuana needs should have access to medical
marijuana," he said. "But the statute sets limits as to how that
access should occur."

Lansing City Council this summer capped medical marijuana dispensaries
at 48 citywide after adopting an ordinance to regulate them.

As of Wednesday, 48 applications for licenses had been submitted, City
Clerk Chris Swope said, although no licenses have been issued.

City to review

"I'm sure we will review our ordinance and any licenses before they're
issued in light of this ruling," Swope said, adding that he imagines
no licenses would be issued "if it turns out that what they're doing
is not permitted under law."

City Attorney Brig Smith could not be reached for comment.

Attorney Matt Newburg, whose Lansing-area practice focuses almost
exclusively on medical marijuana criminal defense cases, fielded
several phone calls Wednesday from dispensaries wondering if they
should stay open.

Newburg said his advice was the same each time.

"I told them to shut down," he said. "There's no way anybody should be
open and be comfortable. I think they could be subjecting themselves
to a criminal prosecution."

Appeal likely

Brant Johnson, who represents dispensaries with the Greater Lansing
Medical Marijuana Association, said the law is open to
interpretation.

The Court of Appeals ruling is one interpretation, he said. The view
of dispensary owners is another.

The latter "are saddened and very, very cautious," Johnson said. "Most
are closing down today because they don't know the future of their
ability to provide access to patients.

"It's going to put a lot of people out of business."

Robin Schneider, a spokeswoman for a state advocacy group that lobbies
on behalf of dispensaries, said it's the dispensaries that safely
regulate the distribution of medical marijuana.

She expects the ruling to be appealed to the Michigan Supreme
Court.

"All of the marijuana is going to go back on the streets, back into
the neighborhoods, where we don't want it," she added. "People need
safe places to acquire their medicine."

Ken Van Every, owner of the Compassionate Apothecary of Lansing, said
the ruling could negatively affect patients who, under state law, have
the right to access the drug for their medical needs.

His business follows a similar model to the one in Isabella County
that served as a focus of the case. He doesn't purchase marijuana.

Instead, patients and caregivers rent locker space to distribute their
products. An average month can yield about $65,000, Van Every
previously has said.

"It's just going to hurt the patient," he said Wednesday. "We just
need to find out what the city is going to do."