LOCAL IMPACT OF MARIJUANA RULING UNCLEAR

ADRIAN, Mich. - How a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling on medical
marijuana will affect two medical marijuana facilities in Adrian was
unclear Thursday.

In its ruling published Tuesday, the court said Michigan's 2008
medical marijuana law does not allow medical marijuana patients to
sell marijuana to each other, or in fact allow the sale of marijuana at all.

The case involved a Mount Pleasant medical marijuana dispensary
called Compassionate Apothecary at which registered medical marijuana
patients sold marijuana to each other and the Compassionate
Apothecary took 20 percent of the sales.

The ruling allows local officials to close the Compassionate
Apothecary as a public nuisance.

In a news release Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette
said he would be sending a letter to all of Michigan's 83 county
prosecutors, "explaining that the ruling clearly empowers them to
close dispensaries and provid(ing) instructions on how to file
similar nuisance actions to close dispensaries in their own counties."

Schuette had joined Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick in the
suit to shut down Compassionate Apothecary.

Lenawee County Prosecutor Jonathan Poer said Thursday he would need a
complaint that either of the two Adrian establishments were violating
the law as interpreted by the appeals court in order to bring a
prosecution based on the ruling.

"I have to know exactly how they are operating," Poer said. "I would
have to know there's actually a violation."

The two medical marijuana facilities in Adrian are Medicinal
Solutions Wellness Center, 227 N. Winter St., and the MMM Alliance,
112 W. Maumee St.

A person answering the phone Thursday at Medicinal Solutions Wellness
Center referred questions to attorney Matthew Abel of Detroit. Abel
was not available for comment Thursday afternoon.

Two calls to the MMM Alliance were not returned.

Adrian City Administrator Dane Nelson said the city does not have any
knowledge right now that patient-to-patient sales of marijuana are
occurring at either of the two facilities in the city. If someone
became aware of such sales, they could file a complaint, Nelson said.

In May, the Adrian City Commission tabled proposed zoning and
licensing laws for medical marijuana facilities, and on Aug. 1 the
commission extended the city's moratorium on new medical marijuana
facilities for 90 days because of pending court cases elsewhere in the state.

In its ruling, the court of appeals also said Michigan's medical
marijuana law does not authorize medical marijuana dispensaries.

Portions of the law, cited in the court ruling, allow registered
patients to grow 12 marijuana plants for their own use and allow
registered caregivers to have a maximum of five patients and to grow
12 marijuana plants for each of those patients. The law also allows
caregivers to be compensated for costs associated with assisting patients.