The Plain-Meaning
Definition Of “Usable Marihuana
The Court of Appeal on July 11, 2011, provided an opinion
that was high in parts, yet very low in other parts. See
People v Carruthers. The court specially and repeatedly stated that resin (or
THC extract) based brownies are not considered to be “usable marihuana” as explained
in Section
4 (Immunity). However, the court also explained that because resin brownies
are not considered to be “usable” an individual in possession of such brownies
does not qualify for Section
4.
The court, in essence, found a loophole around qualifying an
act, involving marihuana,
as being covered by Section
4, similarly as the Michigan Supreme Court in People
v McQueen found.
So…. Usable Marihuana is what?
Usable Marihuana
is defined as:
“dried leaves and flowers of the
marihuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include
the seeds, stalks, and roots of the plant.” MCL
§ 333.2642(3)(k).
Therefore, usable
marihuana does not include all parts of the marihuana plant, meaning the
resins, nor “every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or
preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin.” Marihuana on the other hand
includes “all parts” of the cannabis plant, as well as “the resin extracted
from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative,
mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin. See
People v Carruthers.
The court dealt with the resin based product known as
“Cannabutter,” which contained THC extract. The THC extract can be taken from
any part of the plant, and it would still, under the Court of Appeals opinion,
not be considered “usable marihuana” under the Michigan
Medical Marihuana Act (aka MMMA).
So in the end, the Court of Appeals narrowed the definition
of what constitutes “usable
marihuana,” and explained that substance must contain plant material in
order to be considered or attempting consider it “usable,” as required by Section
4. It also went on to explain that Section
8 (Affirmative Defense) does not maintain a narrow definition for marihuana used to treat or
alleviate a medical condition. Therefore, it allows for Section
8 to be used when edibles are involved in the factual basis of the act at
issue.
The court, however, did note that the potency of resin
brownies, under a Section
8 defense, would come into play when determining whether the individual
possessed an amount reasonably necessary to alleviate or treat the medical
condition. The court stated that “[g]iven
the unmeasurable nature of the highly potent THC contained in such edibles, the
health and welfare of Michigan citizens would be threatened, and prosecutions
for possession and use of edibles containing higher-than-allowed quantities of
THC would be systematically thwarted.” See
People v Carruthers.
It is always necessary to know the law, know your rights,
and maintain your ability to fight, especially when dealing with the MMMA. This opinion
has made Section
4 narrower and more specific on what you can and cannot do in order to
qualify for Immunity. So who has
your back when you want to smoke or munch carefree?
