Medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan have operated in a grey area for quite some time now. Michigan’s medical marijuana law does not specify whether dispensaries are allowable or not. Michigan caregivers are allowed to help out other patients, which is usually the provision that dispensaries operate on. Michigan dispensaries have been under attack due to the lack of statewide regulations. The Michigan Appeals Court ruled against medical marijuana dispensaries recently, dealing a blow to the growing dispensary population in Michigan. Per Marijuana Business Daily:
Dispensaries in Michigan may be on their last legs after a state court of appeals effectively ruled that medical marijuana patients only can get their medicine by growing it themselves or from registered caregivers who are allowed to assist up to five patients.
The decision comes after two men who were charged with distributing medical marijuana appealed the plea deals they had reached, local broadcaster WOOD TV reported.
Michigan reminds me a lot of Oregon prior to the passage of statewide medical marijuana industry regulations. Just as in Michigan, Oregon dispensaries had already been around for a long time, with some areas of Oregon turning a blind eye to them, with other areas fighting them at all costs. In the absence of statewide rules, Michigan medical marijuana dispensaries will always be under attack in one way or another. Michigan’s Legislature needs to step up and pass comprehensive, fair rules. The patients, dispensary owners, and citizens of Michigan deserve it.
