LANSING-AREA MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS LOOK AT OPTIONS

A Day After Ruling Bans Sales, Some Stay Open, Others
Close

In a corner of Lansing's Gone Wired Cafe, a group of nearly 50 medical
marijuana patients and business owners sought an answer to a question
that, for now, might not have one.

What do we do?

Hours after a Michigan appeals court panel Wednesday struck down
dispensaries as a violation of state law, advocates of the 2008
referendum met at the Michigan Avenue restaurant to decide their next
steps.

Some have heeded the advice of local attorney Matt Newburg and closed
their doors, perhaps indefinitely.

Others are choosing to play their hand, staying open despite the risk
of prosecution.

How this will play out remains to be seen.

The appeals court's ruling in an Isabella County case took immediate
effect and essentially bars the sale of marijuana, something that is a
main component of some shops' business models.

The City of Lansing recently approved an ordinance governing marijuana
dispensaries. But the ordinance is so new no licenses have been
issued, although 48 applications remain in the pipeline.

Some have paid a nonrefundable $1,000 application fee.

City Attorney Brig Smith issued a written statement Thursday evening
advising that, for now, no licenses will be issued.

"I intend to send letters to medical marihuana establishments
apprising them of the ruling and directing them immediately to cease
any activities that are not in compliance with the Michigan Medical
Marihuana Act, as interpreted by the Court of Appeals," he wrote.

Smith did not return telephone messages left seeking comment Wednesday
or Thursday.

Danny Trevino runs two HydroWorld dispensaries in Lansing and said he
is renting new space on South Cedar Street.

Sales of marijuana only are part of his business plan, which he also
said includes the sale of growing equipment and preparing paperwork
for new applicants.

But he doesn't plan to shut it down, nor stop selling
marijuana.

"We're still a full-service medical marijuana facility," Trevino
said.

"We're going to basically play it by ear."

Many close in state

Marijuana shops across the state have closed, although it was unclear
Thursday how many remained open.

Two Ann Arbor dispensaries were raided Thursday, although police
claimed it had nothing to do with the Court of Appeals ruling.

All dispensaries opened before Lansing City Council adopted its
ordinance took a risk, said Brant Johnson, of the Greater Lansing
Medical Marijuana Association. But those that rely more on sales or
are less successful might disproportionately be affected.

"This may completely damage them," he said.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero decried the outcome Thursday in an official
statement and on Facebook.

Bernero called the court ruling a "train wreck of epic proportions"
and criticized lawmakers for not clarifying the law in the three years
since voters approved it.

"The Legislature has left us to our own devices to struggle with the
legal confusion that they dropped in our laps," the statement reads.
"And now, after we have done what we thought was correct from a
regulatory standpoint, the whole works is summarily tossed out by a
court."

Attorney General Bill Schuette said Wednesday he will notify
prosecutors in all 83 Michigan counties about how to close
dispensaries in the wake of the state Court of Appeals ruling in an
Isabella County case.

To Supreme Court

Okemos attorney James White, who has represented medical marijuana
cases, said that decision should be left to local prosecutors.

He ultimately thinks the Michigan Supreme Court will take up the
issue, even if it's not this case on appeal.

"I think they have to," White said. "The communities are begging for
some guidance in regards to how this is ultimately going to be resolved."