By Mike Householder
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — It is illegal to sell medical marijuana through private shops, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday in a decision one lawyer called “the end of the road” for the hotly debated issue.
In a 4-1 decision, the state’s highest court affirmed an Appeals Court finding that Michigan’s 2008 medical marijuana law does not allow people to sell pot to each other, even if they’re among the tens of thousands who have state-issued marijuana cards.
“The Court of Appeals reached the correct conclusion that defendants are not entitled to operate a business that facilitates patient-to-patient sales of marijuana,” the court’s majority wrote.
The state’s marijuana law makes no mention of dispensaries, nor does it indicate how people should get the drug.
The law says people can possess up to 2.5 ounces of “usable” marijuana and keep up to 12 plants in a locked place. A caregiver also can provide marijuana.
Matthew Abel, a Detroit attorney who specializes in medical marijuana law, said now the issue of dispensaries has been settled, it is time for Michigan lawmakers to weigh in.
“This is the end of the road. This is it,” said Abel, whose firm is known as Cannabis Counsel PLC. “It will be a mess until the Legislature clarifies
what kinds of business entities are allowed to exist.”
The Supreme Court said Compassionate Apothecary in Mount Pleasant can be shut down as a “public nuisance.”
The business’ owners had claimed they weren’t doing anything illegal because the law allowed for the “delivery” and “transfer” of marijuana.
The business allowed its members to sell marijuana to each other, with the owners taking as much as a 20 percent cut.
Messages seeking comment were left with a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette and another with Isabella County Prosecutor Rita Scully, who has said the state’s medical marijuana statute does not allow for dispensaries.
The attorney general called last year’s Appeals Court decision “a huge victory for public safety.”
The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice Robert Young, who was joined by Justices Stephen Markman, Mary Beth Kelly and Brian Zahra.
Justice Michael Cavanagh dissented, and Justice Bridget McCormack, who won election in November, did not take part in the case.
The case was argued in October.
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