[420 Girl]

The new Michigan Medical Marijuana Act has already got defense attorneys, prosecutors and those in law enforcement quibbling over how to interpret the statute.

Delta County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Parks said there are several issues within the act that will likely have to be worked out in appellate courts, including the date the law was effective, where the marijuana can be grown and what constitutes a debilitating medical condition.

l When did the law become effective, and is it retroactive?

Parks said although voters passed the act Nov. 4, the law itself became effective Dec. 4. The statute also has a provision indicating that no later than 120 days after the act becomes effective, the Department of Community Health must enact rules to implement the law. It is Parks' interpretation that this means the law is not binding until the rules were written, since there was no way to legally receive medical marijuana until community health created the current card and registry system. The rules became effective in April and it is this date that Parks believes it became legal to use marijuana for medical relief.

Parks said legally there are two issues with these conflicting dates. He said there are people that got in trouble with marijuana prior to Dec. 4 who may try to claim the benefit of the law before it took effect, and people who got in trouble after the law was enacted but before the rules were written who may try to claim the benefit of the law.

"Most prosecutors in Michigan are taking the position that until rules were promulgated and procedures were set forth by the Department of Community Health (medical marijuana was not legal)," said Parks.

"Until the rules came out there was no way to properly administer the statute," he explained.

Some of the terms within the act will also likely have to be sorted out in the court of appeals. They include what is an "enclosed, locked facility" for growing marijuana and what is considered "severe and chronic pain."

l What is an enclosed, locked facility?

The act defines it as: "a closet, room or other enclosed area equipped with locks or other devices that permit access only by a registered primary caregiver or registered qualifying patient."

Parks said there may be a legal question of whether the "other enclosed areas" must be indoors.

Parks said a defendant may argue that a 10-acre parcel of land with a 10-foot fence equipped with razor or barb wire and a locked gate constitutes an enclosed, locked facility.

"This is going to be a point of debate," he said. "We in law enforcement certainly would like to think that means four walls and a roof, (but) I'm sure it will be litigated."

l For what conditions is marijuana a treatment?

"Debilitating medical conditions" are spelled out in the law (cancer, AIDS, Chron's disease, and others), but there is one listing that may be debatable: severe and chronic pain.

"I would like to think there isn't going to be any debate among doctors if the diagnosis is cancer. The problem that's going to come up is sometimes there is no objective diagnosis and the doctor has to rely on what they are told by the patient," said Parks, saying people may try to abuse the law.

Severe and chronic pain may be a debatable diagnosis.

"I expect that will be an area of litigation," Parks said. "I think the door has been opened wider than anyone supposed."

Parks also said he will likely see more driving under the influence of marijuana charge cross his desk, as the county prosecutor.

"I think there's going to be a lot more people driving stoned on the highway," he said.

Using marijuana leaves substance THC in a person's system. After a while, it becomes THC metabolite. Parks said any THC in your system while operating a motor vehicle - provable through a blood test - makes you guilty of driving under the influence of drugs.

While the charge is similar to driving under the influence of alcohol, there is no quantifiable amount or legal limit, no 0.08.

It's all or nothing and sometimes people are no longer feeling the effects of marijuana but still have THC in their system. This is true hours and even days after use.

These and other issues with the new law may clog up courts for years.

"I think over the next few years there is likely to be a great deal of squabbling over what the law is until the appellate court sorts it out," said Parks. "Right now there are a lot of unresolved questions that will most certainly have to be resolved in the court system."

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