Ruling restricts use of medical marijuana in parking lots

MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) — Prosecutors have been given the green light to pursue charges against medical marijuana users who are smoking pot in their car in parking lots.

The Michigan Court of Appeals says a car is private property but parking lots generally are open to the public. The court says the state’s medical marijuana law prohibits use “in any public place.”

The recent decision involves a man with a medical marijuana card who was smoking pot in his car outside the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant.

Robert Carlton was charged with a misdemeanor.

The prosecutor appealed after judges in Isabella County said Carlton’s car wasn’t a public place and dismissed the charge.