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Michigan appeals court rules on marijuana dispensary
Posted: 08.24.2011 at 10:49 AM
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MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) -- A Mount Pleasant medical marijuana dispensary will no longer be allowed to serve customers the same way.
The Michigan appeals court ruled Wednesday in an Isabella County case where people with medical marijuana cards sold pot to each other.
The Mount Pleasant dispensary is called Compassionate Apothecary. It allows people to sell marijuana to each other, with the owners taking as much as a 20 percent cut. In less than three months, the business earned $21,000 before expenses after opening in 2010.
The three-judge panel says the 2008 law and the state's public health code do not allow such sales. It is the first time the appeals court has ruled in a case involving pot dispensaries.
The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals on other aspects of the medical marijuana law.
Antrim County Prosecutor Charles Koop tells 7&4 News he's always believed medical marijuana dispensaries were illegal, and says this ruling gives direction to communities while they determine what is legal and what is not.
"I would follow the Court of Appeals opinion saying that they're illegal, and we would proceed it to be like any other, in my opinion, any other drug dealer opening up and selling whatever drug they feel like selling," said Koop.
The complete court ruling can be found by CLICKING HERE.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)