Medical Marijuana Act May Be Unfixable, Says Attorney

[bobandtorey]

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Michigan Court of Appeals decision upholding the conviction of a Kentwood man for violating the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does little to clarify a law many see as confusing.

In fact, a local attorney who specializes in medical marijuana defense says it shows that the act is so convoluted and frequently misapplied that the only solution may be legalization at the hands of the voters.

John Christopher Placencia, 42, was arrested in Kentwood in the summer of 2012 on charges of selling marijuana and operating a drug house.

In a bench trial before Judge Dennis Leiber, Placencia's defense was that he was acting as a caregiver under the law when he provided marijuana to people.

But the Michigan Supreme Court that year determined that caregivers can only provide marijuana to no more than five designated patients. That decision came after Placencia was arrested, but the Kent County Prosecutor's Office had sent letters to so-called dispensaries saying it considered them to be illegal. Placencia received a letter from the prosecutor before his arrest, according to court records.

Related: Medical marijuana: Authorities target dispensaries after Michigan Supreme Court ruling

Placencia was convicted and was sentenced to time-served and an 18-month probation in April 2014. 

In its affirmation of the conviction, the appeals court said Placencia should have known that he was in danger of prosecution and therefore his defense that the Supreme Court decision came after his arrest did not hold water.

The decision released this week is six pages long and several of those pages are half-filled with footnotes.

For attorney Bruce Block, who was not involved in this appeal but has argued many others, this is another case of someone trying to follow the law as it is written but being stymied by the convoluted interpretations it has undergone in the seven years since it was approved by voters.

"There's no rhyme or reason to the enforcement of this law," says Block, who practices in Grand Rapids and specializes in marijuana cases. "It begs the question; are we at the point where Michiganders are fed up with the way the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act has been tortured by the legislature and are ready to say 'let's just legalize it.'"

We’re in the wild, wild west here. -- Attorney Bruce Block

 

Attorney Bruce BlockCourtesy Photo

While Block says it was probably not the smartest move to sell marijuana after Placencia was sent a letter by a prosecutor warning of potential charges, following the law is unnecessarily difficult.

Block said it is likely that if Placencia had been operating in the same manner in other counties, such as Oakland or Muskegon, he would not have faced prosecution. But since he was in Kent County, he was convicted of a felony.

"We're in the wild, wild west here," Block said.

Block said judges and law enforcement have decided to read the act in the most narrow sense with numerous restrictions when it was meant to be applied in the broader sense with limited restrictions.

"The judiciary is very hostile to marijuana," Block said.

Block said the act as written was very easy to understand, but the rulings from both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals have made it nearly impossible to follow. The result has been a decline in the number of people seeking medical marijuana legally.

Block said there is nothing in the appellate pipeline that would clarify the law. He said it is possible that the legislature could amend the law to make it more clear, but that is a longshot considering the politics involved.

Right now, the judiciary committee in the Michigan House of Representatives is looking at a package of bills that would regulate marijuana dispensaries, but there is opposition even among marijuana rights advocates.

A number of legalization efforts likely to show up on the 2016 statewide ballot may put the whole issue to rest.

Barring the passage of legalization, Block says confusion will likely remain the main feature of medical marijuana law in Michigan.

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/09/medical_marijuana_act_may_be_u.html