Does a person violate the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), MCL 333.26421 et seq., by growing marijuana for other caregivers or patients?
The Michigan Supreme Court may provide an answer. The Court has ordered oral arguments in People v. Bylsma, ___ Mich App ___ (2011), on Bylsma’s application for leave to appeal an adverse Court of Appeals ruling.
Bylsma, a registered caregiver under the MMMA, had 88 marijuana plants under cultivation in a rental space. Following a police raid, Bylsma was charged with manufacturing marijuana. Under the MMMA, a registered caregiver may possess 12 marijuana plants for each registered patient that the caregiver is connected to through the Michigan Department of Community Health’s registration process.
Bylsma was connected to two registered patients, entitling him to possess 24 plants. The remaining plants, Bylsma said, belonged to other registered caregivers and patients. Bylsma argued that he was entitled to immunity under § 4(b) of the MMMA because nothing in the act prevents other caregivers or patients from using the same space to grow marijuana.
The COA denied his motion to dismiss the charge. The COA reasoned that the evidence, which Bylsma did not dispute, showed that he possessed all 88 plants, and that under the MMMA, he was entitled to only 24.
The MSC has directed the parties to address:
“(1) whether the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), MCL 333.26421 et seq., permits qualifying patients and registered primary caregivers to possess and cultivate marijuana in a collective or cooperative; and
“(2) whether, under the circumstances of this case, the defendant was entitled to immunity from prosecution for manufacturing marijuana under § 4 of the MMMA, MCL 333.26424, or entitled to dismissal of the manufacturing charge under the affirmative defense in § 8 of the act, MCL 333.26428.”
The Michigan Lawyer 