| ACLU asks court to dismiss felony drug charges
against registered patient
DETROIT – In an order announced today, the Michigan
Supreme Court agreed to review the American Civil
Liberties Union of Michigan’s appeal in the case of a
registered medical marijuana patient who is facing
felony drug charges despite complying with state law.
This will be the first time the Michigan Supreme Court
weighs in on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.
“We look forward to the opportunity to explain to the
Michigan Supreme Court that Larry is a law-abiding
citizen who followed all the rules,” said Dan Korobkin,
ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. “The criminal
prosecution of Larry King is a gross injustice. The
overwhelming majority of Michigan voters approved the
Medical Marijuana Act to protect people like Larry from
criminal punishment.”
King, a 55-year-old Owosso resident who suffers from
severe and chronic back pain, was issued a medical
marijuana card in 2009 by the Michigan Department of
Community Health after being examined and approved by a
doctor. As permitted under the law, King grew 12
marijuana plants for his own medical use. The Shiawassee
County Prosecutor, however, charged him with
manufacturing marijuana, a felony, because some of his
plants were being grown outside.
King’s plants were in a sturdy dog kennel behind lock
and key, but the prosecutor claimed that he was
violating the law because the six-foot-high, ten-foot by
ten-foot chain link dog kennel did not have a roof. The
Shiawassee County Circuit Court dismissed all charges,
ruling that King was a legal medical marijuana patient
whose plants were kept in an “enclosed, locked facility”
as required by the law.
The Court of Appeals, however, in a 2-1 decision by
Judge Henry Saad, ordered that King’s felony drug
charges be reinstated. The court ruled that the locked
dog kennel was not secure enough and that King would not
be permitted to raise a medical defense to the serious
felony drug charges he was facing.
Judge E. Thomas Fitzgerald dissented, writing: “This
is a case involving an individual who went through the
necessary procedure to become a qualifying patient who
has been issued a valid registry identification card.
The MMMA’s susceptibility to multiple interpretations
should not result in the use of the act as a sword,
rather than a shield, under the circumstances of this
case.”
The ACLU is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to
reverse the appeals court decision.
In 2008, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act was
approved on a statewide ballot with 63 percent of the
vote. The law specifically states that registered
patients and their caregivers "shall not be subject to
arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner" for
growing, possessing, or using medical marijuana. It also
requires courts to dismiss drug charges against anyone
who was using marijuana to treat their medical condition
based on the advice of their doctor.
King is being represented by Korobkin, ACLU of
Michigan Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg, and ACLU
of Michigan cooperating attorney John Minock of Cramer &
Minock, PLC.
To read the order, go to: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/KingAppeal.pdf
To read the ACLU’s brief, go to: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/KingBrief.pdf
To read the Court of Appeals' majority opinion, go to:
http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/KingAppealsMajority.pdf
To read Judge Fitzgerald's dissent, go to: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/KingAppealsDissent.pdf
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