Michigan Medical Marihuana - People v Nicholson - MMMA Cardholders - Patients and Caregivers - Michigan Marihuana Lawyer

A short yet important topic that impacts Michigan Medical Marijuana patients and caregivers revolves around medical marijuana cards and paperwork. The Court of Appeals indicated that patients and caregivers must have their paper or medical marijuana card on them in order to receive protection under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA). See People v Nicholson.

The facts of the case, in Nicholson, indicated that the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle and was holding one ounce of marijuana. The defendant had applied for his medical marijuana card, yet he had not received actually it. Moreover, the paperwork that indicating he was authorization to use medical marijuana was in his own vehicle, which they were not driving at the time of the arrest.

The court inevitably concluded that immunity would not be granted to the defendant because he did not have his paperwork accessible to him at the time of arrest. However, the court went on to indicate that the defendant is immune from prosecution because he does possess his card prior to the time of prosecution. The court inevitably remanded the case back to the circuit court for further investigation into whether the activities on the date of arrest involved the medical use of marijuana.

Therefore, the issue, in Nicholson, came down to whether he had his card/paperwork prior to prosecution and whether his actions that lead to his arrest qualify as medical use as indicated in the MMMA. It should be noted that the defendant was arrested because he did not have his paperwork on him, which any medical marijuana patient and/or caregiver should take note of. You should ALWAYS carry your paperwork or card, even if you are not holding.

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