LANSING, Mich. (March 27, 2014) — House bill 5104 passed by a vote of 100 to 9 in favor of legalizing medical marijuana edibles for registered patients.
Now the senate is scheduled to discuss medical marijuana edibles.
State Representative Eileen Kowall sponsored the legislation.
The Republican lawmaker from White Lake said it was sparked by a Michigan Supreme Court ruling from the summer of 2013 (Carruthers v. People of MI). The case determined Michigan’s voter approved Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 only referred to smoking marijuana. All condensed or liquid forms were considered illegal.
It stopped legitimate cardholders or caregivers from being able to use marijuana extracts in e-cigarettes, or using it to make candy, cookies, butter, and brownies.
Case in point, four Kent County corrections officers are facing criminal charges for making or possessing marijuana butter. According to court documents, three of them and one of their wives are medical marijuana card holders, who say they planned to use it for pain relief.
An attorney for the men said, “Because the medibles were made with THC extract instead of THC leaves and buds, magically takes them out of protection and immunity and subjects this to this rather distasteful process.”
Kowall said the child of a voter in her district suffered a seizure right in front of her, and that family advocated for a law that would allow them to give their kid marijuana in an alternative form.
“So this gives people who need this medication, who legitimately need it, that avenue to
have recourse for their medical care,” Kowall said.
She said, “I like to think that it certainly clarifies and ever since the citizens initiative was passed in 2008. There’s been a lot of gray areas that we’ve been tackling here or there, to the extent that there are still some law enforcement issues with it. I’m perfectly happy to work with law enforcement to address those issues.”
Another bill passed the House of Representatives that would legalize dispensaries with provisions. That includes allowing individual cities and townships to prohibit them.
The senate is scheduled to start a workgroup to discuss the medical marijuana edibles soon.
