Michigan high court enters dispute over marijuana shops

LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday it will decide whether people permitted to use medical marijuana can sell the drug to others who also use it for medical reasons. The court will review an appeals court decision from last year that declared patient-to-patient sales illegal, especially through dispensaries. Authorities in many counties have used that ruling to shut down the shops. But in some areas, police and prosecutors have declined to intervene. The court's decision to take the case is significant because it addresses a key issue with the 2008 state law, which does not explain where people are supposed to get marijuana if they don't grow it themselves or have a caregiver who grows it for them. Caregivers licensed by the state can supply marijuana for up to five people. The case involves Compassionate Apothecary, a dispensary in Mount Pleasant, which allowed its members to sell marijuana to each other -- with the owners taking as much as a 20 percent cut. The appeals court said the 2008 voter-approved law does not permit dispensaries, and the shop was shut down as a public nuisance. Dispensaries are a popular source for people who don't have access to a care giver, want to grow their own marijuana or pay the high power bills that come with raising the plants. The Supreme Court already has heard arguments on other aspects of the medical marijuana law, the decisions on which are pending. Published: Fri, Mar 30, 2012