The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that medical marijuana users in Michigan are no longer allowed to purchase their legal drugs from shops or other patients. This was a 4 to 1 ruling and affects the nearly 124,000 registered medical marijuana users in Michigan.
This follows a recent decision by the Michigan Supreme Court that even unregistered patients may have a full defense to any possession of marijuana conviction whether or not they have registered with the state. This was an expansion of the law where defenses were only allowed to be asserted if the person had registered and actually applied for a medical marijuana card. Now, if defendants are under the care of a doctor and prescribed marijuana, even if unregistered, they may have a valid defense to their charges.
Those who possess a medical marijuana card will only be able to get their supplies by growing it themselves or having it grown for them by one of the 26,000 caregivers currently licensed by the state.
This case involved a dispensary in Mt. Pleasant named the Compassionate Apothecary. The Michigan Court of Appeals had determined that the commercial transfer of medical marijuana betwen patients was illegal under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.
This final ruling from Michigan’s highest court will most likely mean that prosecutors all over the state will begin taking action against dispensaries found selling marijuana.
Voters approved the use of medical marijuana but users and others have been thwarted by legal challenges. Many cities have denied dispensaries the opportunity to do business and others crafted ordinances to severely restrict them.