Dispensaries, Not Illegal

This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on February 13, 2013.

It was with a deep sigh that I read State of Michigan vs. McQueen. The Michigan Supreme Court, consistent with its political supporters, narrowed the breadth of the voter enacted Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. It was as simple as one politician stated, “you make the laws, I’ll make the procedures, and I’ll win every time.” Last week, again, it wasn’t the voters that won, it was the “no” supporters.

Keep in mind that what the Court ruled on was a civil case and not a criminal case. And, keep in mind that this ruling did not say dispensaries are illegal. Let me repeat, the McQueen ruling does not rule that dispensaries are illegal.

What the Court did politically achieve, with assistance from Attorney General Schuette’s new playbook, was to provide a road map for communities to close down selected medical marijuana distribution models; such as, one patient supplying another patient. With this ruling, communities that so wish can now use the “public nuisance” process to further restrict the public’s voice. The voice that showed its unequivocal support for the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. A landslide.

The real question going forward is how local communities react to the ruling. It’s hard to serve two masters: one the voter and the other the bureaucracy.

As they say in politics, all politics is local. From where I sit and watch the world today, I’d say it looks pretty gnarly out there. I wouldn’t want to be the local politician that circumvented the public’s intent, particularly when the public could be in one of those famous gnarly moods. Some might call it a lack of trust – and – at the local level.