Pubdate: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 Source: Lansing State Journal (MI) Copyright: 2011 Lansing State Journal Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/qbTWpGoq Website: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/232 Authors: Kevin Grasha and Lindsay VanHulle RULING BANS SALES OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA Many Lansing Marijuana Dispensaries Closed After Court Decision Many of Lansing's medical marijuana shops were closed Wednesday in light of a Court of Appeals ruling that bars commercial sales. But business was steady at TNT Industries MMP Resource Center on Michigan Avenue, which doesn't consider itself a medical marijuana dispensary. In addition to providing marijuana to card-holding patients, people working there said it's a resource center that offers services like doctor referrals and growing assistance. A man working behind the counter, who declined to give his name, said the business doesn't sell marijuana. Instead, it receives "compensation for costs assumed," which he said is allowed under the state's medical marijuana law. Beverly Hynes, 52, was among the steady stream of patients Wednesday afternoon. Hynes, who manages a Lansing apartment community, said she suffers from debilitating back pain. She said dispensaries should be available to people suffering from ailments that are best treated by marijuana. "I think it should be legal, at least for people who have medical issues, and they shouldn't be closing these places down," Hynes said. "We've got the pharmacies, we've got the bars - why can't we have a dispensary?" In a ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge appeals' court panel unanimously found the state's 2008 voter-approved medical marijuana law "does not include patient-to-patient sales of (marijuana)." Isabella County case The ruling stemmed from a Isabella County case. Authorities went to court to shut down a dispensary in that county but a judge refused, saying the medical marijuana law allowed the transfer of marijuana from patient to patient. It was unclear how the ruling will affect the more than 30 medical marijuana dispensaries believed to be operating in Lansing. Typically the businesses sell to medical marijuana patients with state-issued medical marijuana cards. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he always believed dispensaries were illegal under the law. It was too early Wednesday, he said, to know what kind of prosecutions might arise from the ruling. One problem, Dunnings said, was the fact that the city of Lansing allowed medical marijuana businesses to apply for licenses. That may have allowed the businesses to believe they were legitimate, he said. Clarifying law The Court of Appeals, he said, has clarified a poorly written law. "People who have medical marijuana needs should have access to medical marijuana," he said. "But the statute sets limits as to how that access should occur." Lansing City Council this summer capped medical marijuana dispensaries at 48 citywide after adopting an ordinance to regulate them. As of Wednesday, 48 applications for licenses had been submitted, City Clerk Chris Swope said, although no licenses have been issued. City to review "I'm sure we will review our ordinance and any licenses before they're issued in light of this ruling," Swope said, adding that he imagines no licenses would be issued "if it turns out that what they're doing is not permitted under law." City Attorney Brig Smith could not be reached for comment. Attorney Matt Newburg, whose Lansing-area practice focuses almost exclusively on medical marijuana criminal defense cases, fielded several phone calls Wednesday from dispensaries wondering if they should stay open. Newburg said his advice was the same each time. "I told them to shut down," he said. "There's no way anybody should be open and be comfortable. I think they could be subjecting themselves to a criminal prosecution." Appeal likely Brant Johnson, who represents dispensaries with the Greater Lansing Medical Marijuana Association, said the law is open to interpretation. The Court of Appeals ruling is one interpretation, he said. The view of dispensary owners is another. The latter "are saddened and very, very cautious," Johnson said. "Most are closing down today because they don't know the future of their ability to provide access to patients. "It's going to put a lot of people out of business." Robin Schneider, a spokeswoman for a state advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of dispensaries, said it's the dispensaries that safely regulate the distribution of medical marijuana. She expects the ruling to be appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. "All of the marijuana is going to go back on the streets, back into the neighborhoods, where we don't want it," she added. "People need safe places to acquire their medicine." Ken Van Every, owner of the Compassionate Apothecary of Lansing, said the ruling could negatively affect patients who, under state law, have the right to access the drug for their medical needs. His business follows a similar model to the one in Isabella County that served as a focus of the case. He doesn't purchase marijuana. Instead, patients and caregivers rent locker space to distribute their products. An average month can yield about $65,000, Van Every previously has said. "It's just going to hurt the patient," he said Wednesday. "We just need to find out what the city is going to do." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.