Michigan’s Marijuana Laws Explained with Michael Komorn
Attorney Michael Komorn and activist Richard Clement explain Michigan's medical and recreational marijuana laws, the conflict with federal law, the federal sentencing of Danny Trevino, and why marijuana was made illegal in the first place.
About This Episode
Michael Komorn is a veteran criminal defense and cannabis law attorney and podcaster who’s been at the forefront of the marijuana legalization effort in the United States for years, representing cannabis patients, caregivers, physicians, and business owners both in and out of the courtroom. He’s supported many landmark pieces of cannabis legislation in Michigan including the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA), the Michigan Marijuana Facilities Act (MMFLA), and the Adult Recreational Use Act (MRTMA).
In this episode of Open Mike, Michael digs deep into current marijuana laws in Michigan and the current effort to federally legalize marijuana for recreational use in the United States. He and his guest, cannabis activist Richard Clement, reveal why marijuana was originally made illegal in the United States, and the current efforts being made to federally legalize cannabis for recreational use.
Show Notes
FAQs
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How did Michigan's 2008 medical marijuana law protect patients?
Michael Komorn said that, as the courts later interpreted it, the 2008 law did not legalize marijuana; it remained illegal by default, with the public health code penalties still in place. Instead, it gave individuals engaged in certain behavior an immunity or exemption from arrest, prosecution or penalty for what would otherwise be illegal. Patients needed a recommendation from a licensed physician and a card from the state.
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How many marijuana plants could a caregiver legally grow under the old law?
Komorn said a patient could grow 12 plants or designate a caregiver, someone over 21 with no prior felonies, to grow 12 plants and carry up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana on the patient’s behalf. A caregiver could do this for no more than five patients; Komorn said a caregiver for five patients who is also a patient can grow all 72 plants in one location.
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Why was Danny Trevino sentenced to almost 16 years in federal prison?
Richard Clement said what got Trevino into federal trouble was having over 100 plants, the threshold where federal law comes in, and that he had been raided 26 times in Lansing and won in state court. Komorn said the U.S. Attorney’s Office would say Trevino’s behavior went far beyond what the medical marijuana law intended, and noted he was not state licensed at the time and had a felony.
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Are Michigan's licensed marijuana businesses protected from federal prosecution?
Komorn said no: businesses that follow Michigan’s rules are still subject to federal prosecution because the behavior is not legal federally. But he said licensed facilities that are open and doing business have not been getting raided, which he called an unwritten rule, and he thinks that is because of their transparency.
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Why was marijuana originally made illegal in the United States?
The guests said President Nixon created a commission that studied cannabis for two years while it was temporarily placed in Schedule One, and that it recommended cannabis should not be illegal, but Nixon went ahead anyway. They quoted John Ehrlichman, who later said the Nixon campaign and White House had two enemies, the anti-war left and Black people, and that by getting the public to associate hippies with marijuana and Black people with heroin and criminalizing both heavily, they could disrupt those communities.
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