Charges stand in med pot case

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- A western Michigan man licensed to grow marijuana for two ailing people can be charged with drug crimes for allowing others to raise plants in the same space, the state appeals court said Wednesday. It is another significant ruling interpreting Michigan's medical marijuana law, which was approved by voters in 2008 but widely criticized as confusing, vague and poorly written. In August, the appeals court said pot could not be sold through dispensaries, a key decision that has disrupted supplies. In the latest case, Ryan Bylsma, 32, is permitted by the state to grow marijuana for two people who are approved to use the drug to alleviate health problems. But he also allowed other caregivers and medical marijuana patients to keep their plants in the same locked space in a commercial building in Grand Rapids. Police counted 88 plants during a raid a year ago, dozens more than Bylsma was allowed to tend under the law. Kent County authorities filed drug charges. Bylsma "clearly possessed all 88 marijuana plants," a three-judge panel at the appeals court said. "He knew of the presence and character of the plants and he exercised dominion and control over them." Defense attorney Bruce Alan Block was disappointed but not surprised by the decision. He said Bylsma was not making money by allowing other people to grow marijuana with him. "He was just helping them out," Block said. "He thought it would be a secure place, locked tighter than a drum. What is the harm here? ... Every single person was registered. Every single one had a card." The Kent County prosecutor's office now has been backed by two courts. "Possession and manufacturing marijuana is illegal when you are not in compliance" with the medical marijuana law, assistant prosecutor Blair Lachman said. "It does not matter if you are possessing or manufacturing for financial gain." Published: Fri, Sep 30, 2011