AFTER COURT DECISION, MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES HAZIER THAN EVER

In 2008 Michigan voters passed a ballot measure that allows for the
use of marijuana by people with certain medical conditions. With the
new law came a haze of confusion about the scope and limits of
marijuana use and distribution.

In this week's Michigan Politics Minute, Press Editorial Page Editor
Ed Golder and Press politics reporter Jim Harger talk about medical
marijuana in Michigan -- especially in light of a recent court decision.

Last week the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against a medical
marijuana dispensary, that sold medical marijuana to registered
users. The court ruled that nowhere in the voter-approved Michigan
Medical Marijuana Act does it provide for the sale of the otherwise
illegal drug. (The court decision spells the drug with an 'h'
throughout; I'll stick with the conventional spelling.)

The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel said a Mount Pleasant
dispensary, Compassionate Apothecary, should be shut down. The
"'medical use' of marijuana, as defined by the Michigan Medical
Marihuana Act, does not include patient-to-patient sales of
marijuana, and no other provision of the MMMA can be read to permit
such sales," the court ruled. "Therefore, defendants have no
authority to actively engage in and carry out the selling of
marijuana between (apothecary) members."

The decision puts in doubt some 300 to 400 dispensaries across the
state, and leaves at least some patients without access to the drug.
Two dispensaries in Washtenaw County were raided by law enforcement
and shut down. Others continue to operate, though with uncertain legal status.

The 2008 law allows people to register with the Michigan Department
of Community Health to become sanctioned medical marijuana patients.
A registered patient must have a condition defined under the law --
including AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, chronic pain and others -- and be
certified by a physician.

Patients are allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of the drug at one
time and grow 12 plants in "an enclosed, locked facility." Qualified
"caregivers" can grow plants for up to five patients. To date, nearly
100,000 people have registered to be medical marijuana patients.

Lacking more specific guidelines from the state, local communities
have enacted their own ordinances. Regulations vary wildly. The City
of Wyoming has banned medical marijuana altogether because the use of
marijuana is against federal law.

The city of Grand Rapids enacted regulations that treat medical
marijuana growers as home-based businesses. The result is a
hodgepodge of local regulations. Michigan Attorney General Bill
Schuette has expressed concern the law opens the door for illegal use
of marijuana not intended by voters. A variety of legislative fixes
are in the pipeline, including one that would require a stricter
doctor-patient relationship before someone is authorized to use the drug.

Final word, however, will likely rest with the state Supreme Court,
which frequently becomes the ultimate arbiter of voter initiatives.
There is no word yet on whether this Court of Appeals ruling will go there.