6 Cleared By Port Huron Judge In Pot Shop Probe
PORT HURON (WWJ/AP) - A judge in Port Huron has dismissed charges against six people linked to medical marijuana dispensaries, saying it wasn't clear the pot shops were illegal until the Michigan Supreme Court ruled earlier this year.
The judge says the six couldn't have known the Supreme Court would bar the sale of medical marijuana through shops. They'd been ordered to stand trial before the court made a decision in February.
Doug Amsdill, Debra Amsdill and Amanda Amsdill were accused of operating marijuana dispensaries in St. Clair, Tuscola and Sanilac counties.
The attorney general's office says the charges should stick. Prosecutors say there shouldn't have been any confusion because dispensaries were illegal under other Michigan laws at the time the charges were filed.
The state is considering an appeal.
In February, the state Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that Michigan's 2008 medical marijuana law does not allow people to sell pot to each other, even if they're among the tens of thousands who have state-issued marijuana cards.
The state's marijuana law makes no mention of dispensaries, nor does it indicate how people should get the drug. It says people can possess up to 2.5 ounces of "usable" marijuana and keep up to 12 plants in a locked place. A caregiver also can provide marijuana.
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