Lansing Court Dismisses Case against HydroWorld Workers

This is a very serious development to be viewed with caution, it is a LOCAL ruling and unless you are in this district I wouldn't go jumping out with p2p sales, and if you are use EXTREME caution....

A Lansing judge has thrown out all charges filed by the state Attorney General’s office against four employees of two medical marijuana facilities, saying they were following a law that “screams for ... clarification.”

In a 19-page opinion issued last week dismissing felony drug-dealing charges against the employees of two HydroWorld locations in Lansing, 54A District Court Judge Hugh Clarke Jr. said that the state’s medical marijuana law “screams for legislative clarification in numerous areas.”

“Absent that clarification,” Clarke said in the opinion, “this court concludes that the transactions that took place here were undertaken in accordance with the (law).”

The case surrounded multiple purchases of marijuana last year by four undercover police officers at HydroWorld locations on South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and West Barnes Street.

They bought about 1/8-ounce of marijuana each time.

The Attorney General’s office filed charges against the employees, saying that the undercover officers were able to purchase marijuana even though they didn’t have state-issued medical marijuana cards.

The officers, according to testimony, filled out applications for the ID cards and a doctor — without ever seeing the officers — approved them.

Clarke said that, based on a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling, certification by a doctor “is sufficient to allow medicinal (marijuana) if, for whatever reason, the qualifying patient has not obtained a registry card.”

Clarke further said that no “sale” of marijuana had taken place. In order to have marijuana for medical purposes, someone has to deliver it, he said. The defendants — Zebediah Dewey, 32, Daniel Corbin, 46, Rick Gouin, 30, and Michael Lewis Jr., 35 — were engaged, Clarke said, in the “medical use” of marijuana as defined under the law, “which includes delivery and acquisition of (marijuana) for those medicinal purposes under the statute.”

Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office, declined to comment on Clarke’s ruling.

“We are reviewing our options regarding a possible appeal,” she said.

Civil lawsuits filed last year by Attorney General Bill Schuette seeking to close three HydroWorld locations, two in Lansing and one in Jackson, are still pending.

They are not related to this case.

HydroWorld’s owner, Danny Trevino, sees Clarke’s ruling as a victory against an overzealous attorney general.

“People are in favor of medical marijuana,” Trevino said, referring to the statewide vote in 2008 that approved the law by a wide margin. “The stuff is legal now. ... It’s not going anywhere.”

Trevino said that when he first opened, the state inspected how his business operates and told him he wasn’t violating the law.

“It’s not the state that makes you legal, it’s the doctor,” he said, adding: “I’m more than 100 percent confident that if we went to trial, we would have won.”

I am actually more than a little shocked at this. The doctor never met with the patient, just signed the cert for money and they allowed that? You can pay to have someone hand you marijuana over the counter, with different rates depending on how much they give you? Really?

While this more than likely will go further, I am really surprised at this ruling. Guess I am wasting my time actually seeing patients when I can just collect checks in the mail. I'd like to hear what the group has to say. I think I will continue to do things according to standards though, professional integrity doesn't have a price tag. Nor does walking in to court to protect a patient and being loaded for bear, able to handle any challenge the prosecutor tosses my way.

Dr. Bob

Here are some problems I have. And why I urge caution when reviewing the case.

First, this goes against any medical standards and the board is going to have a stroke. It is like selling a prescription for vicodin out of a gas station, it is against public policy and interests.

Second, based one this one local hearing, folks all over the state are going to think it means THEY can do it (without the best lawyers Danny's money can buy to back them) and we are going to see a FLOOD of prosecutions in counties that are as shocked over this ruling as I am and want to make case law covering THEIR districts.

Third, we are going to get a rash of 'internet experts' that will promote all sorts of stretches to the Act because, they will claim, their 'opions' were validated with this ruling. This too will lead to a crap load of prosecutions against patients without the legal resources to protect themselves.

Dr. Bob

This is a ruling by a frustrated judge demanding clarification from the legislature and/or higher courts- he is forcing the issue with a very broad and loose interpretation to make the courts define it better on appeal. McQueen will be the ruling and the behavior of the Lansing area people will be giving the SC a glimpse of what they are turning loose on the state if they rule in favor of P2P. The AG is also going to appeal based on the validity of the certification (no doctor saw the cops before they got signed paperwork- there is NO WAY that will fly between the AG and the Medical Board).

Any time the legislature or the courts are put into a position they are 'forced' to act, the result is generally overkill and over regulation. So view this as a double edge sword, it will help some but may cost all something.

Dr. Bob

Danny T. named a strain after who? After himself of course. He pushes this strain. This guy serves his ego first inbetween grabbin' up cash for mediocre meds. After one visit to a short-lived third dispensary he part owned in Lansing's old town district, I've formed my opinion of his style and what's he's about. Unfortunately, this is a person that could make authorities closely scrutinize us all.

Point taken. Note too they went after the counter help, not the boss. When in doubt go after the weakest target is the motto of prosecutors it seems. My concern is that there are going to be folks out to make a buck off of this, encouraging folks to engage in p2p. The owners of the farmers markets are going to be protected by their money and lawyers, so the cops will go for the patients and caregivers because they are poor, relegated to public defenders, and inclined to plea to protect their jobs and families.

This is a local ruling and applies only to this case. Even if you end up before the same court, there is no certainty the ruling will be the same.

Dr. Bob

No one should go to jail for cannabis. That being said...it seems the issue is should LEO be able to hold people accountable for transferring meds to them with bogus recommendations. If these undercover LEO were considered legal with the recomendation, then no, the tranferers should not have been arrested and charged. Did they go after the Dr involved? Did the Dr do a skype session?

abe supercro said:

Danny T. named a strain after who? After himself of course. He pushes this strain. This guy serves his ego first inbetween grabbin' up cash for mediocre meds. After one visit to a short-lived third dispensary he part owned in Lansing's old town district, I've formed my opinion of his style and what's he's about. Unfortunately, this is a person that could make authorities closely scrutinize us all.

Click to expand...

I have one of those in my garden (Super Silver Haze x AK47) Should I call it something else? ShitHead sounds cool to me

I will admit I wouldl go there in a pinch (Im usually back in the area when it happens). Its a tad greasy but most places that arent greasy are few and far between. The Doc not seeing patients though is pretty damning in my opinion.

TheMan13 said:

I have one of those in my garden (Super Silver Haze x AK47) Should I call it something else? ShitHead sounds cool to me

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Sounds like a hella good cross. I'd call it SSH x AK47.

Limosnero said:

No one should go to jail for cannabis. That being said...it seems the issue is should LEO be able to hold people accountable for transferring meds to them with bogus recommendations. If these undercover LEO were considered legal with the recomendation, then no, the tranferers should not have been arrested and charged. Did they go after the Dr involved? Did the Dr do a skype session?

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With skype the patient and the doctor meet face to face. This one never had any contact of any sort with the patients.

Dr. Bob

Dr. Bob said:

Here are some problems I have. And why I urge caution when reviewing the case.

First, this goes against any medical standards and the board is going to have a stroke. It is like selling a prescription for vicodin out of a gas station, it is against public policy and interests.

Second, based one this one local hearing, folks all over the state are going to think it means THEY can do it (without the best lawyers Danny's money can buy to back them) and we are going to see a FLOOD of prosecutions in counties that are as shocked over this ruling as I am and want to make case law covering THEIR districts.

Third, we are going to get a rash of 'internet experts' that will promote all sorts of stretches to the Act because, they will claim, their 'opions' were validated with this ruling. This too will lead to a crap load of prosecutions against patients without the legal resources to protect themselves.

Dr. Bob

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wow this didnt work out for you and your group cpu did it .isnt it true cpu wants to controle the mmj market.isnt this your group dr bob ?the same group that had closed door meetings with the michigan state police trying to throw the patients under the buss .your smoke and mirrors dont work anymore folks on this forum and others need to look into the cpu

Lots of hatred toward 3MA & CPU in the mj community from what I have heard. Are you affiliated with CPU Dr. Bob? What denomination is CPU? Aren't they the compassion club only, cuz we have compassion clubs, denomination? I think CPU is anti-dispensary, pro-division from what I have heard. Dr. Bob has an office in Marquette's dispensary. So all that doesn't really add up.
I am pretty sure rollitup.org is pro-legalization, pro-decriminalization, pro-dispensary, pro-recreational, pro-farmer's market, pro-compassion club, pro p2p, pro fuck the police. That has always been my understanding.

Dr. Bob said:

This is a very serious development to be viewed with caution, it is a LOCAL ruling and unless you are in this district I wouldn't go jumping out with p2p sales, and if you are use EXTREME caution....

A Lansing judge has thrown out all charges filed by the state Attorney General’s office against four employees of two medical marijuana facilities, saying they were following a law that “screams for ... clarification.”

In a 19-page opinion issued last week dismissing felony drug-dealing charges against the employees of two HydroWorld locations in Lansing, 54A District Court Judge Hugh Clarke Jr. said that the state’s medical marijuana law “screams for legislative clarification in numerous areas.”

“Absent that clarification,” Clarke said in the opinion, “this court concludes that the transactions that took place here were undertaken in accordance with the (law).”

The case surrounded multiple purchases of marijuana last year by four undercover police officers at HydroWorld locations on South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and West Barnes Street.

They bought about 1/8-ounce of marijuana each time.

The Attorney General’s office filed charges against the employees, saying that the undercover officers were able to purchase marijuana even though they didn’t have state-issued medical marijuana cards.

The officers, according to testimony, filled out applications for the ID cards and a doctor — without ever seeing the officers — approved them.

Clarke said that, based on a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling, certification by a doctor “is sufficient to allow medicinal (marijuana) if, for whatever reason, the qualifying patient has not obtained a registry card.”

Clarke further said that no “sale” of marijuana had taken place. In order to have marijuana for medical purposes, someone has to deliver it, he said. The defendants — Zebediah Dewey, 32, Daniel Corbin, 46, Rick Gouin, 30, and Michael Lewis Jr., 35 — were engaged, Clarke said, in the “medical use” of marijuana as defined under the law, “which includes delivery and acquisition of (marijuana) for those medicinal purposes under the statute.”

Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office, declined to comment on Clarke’s ruling.

“We are reviewing our options regarding a possible appeal,” she said.

Civil lawsuits filed last year by Attorney General Bill Schuette seeking to close three HydroWorld locations, two in Lansing and one in Jackson, are still pending.

They are not related to this case.

HydroWorld’s owner, Danny Trevino, sees Clarke’s ruling as a victory against an overzealous attorney general.

“People are in favor of medical marijuana,” Trevino said, referring to the statewide vote in 2008 that approved the law by a wide margin. “The stuff is legal now. ... It’s not going anywhere.”

Trevino said that when he first opened, the state inspected how his business operates and told him he wasn’t violating the law.

“It’s not the state that makes you legal, it’s the doctor,” he said, adding: “I’m more than 100 percent confident that if we went to trial, we would have won.”

I am actually more than a little shocked at this. The doctor never met with the patient, just signed the cert for money and they allowed that? You can pay to have someone hand you marijuana over the counter, with different rates depending on how much they give you? Really?

While this more than likely will go further, I am really surprised at this ruling. Guess I am wasting my time actually seeing patients when I can just collect checks in the mail. I'd like to hear what the group has to say. I think I will continue to do things according to standards though, professional integrity doesn't have a price tag. Nor does walking in to court to protect a patient and being loaded for bear, able to handle any challenge the prosecutor tosses my way.

Dr. Bob

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the judge was basing the merits of this case NOT on how the officers obtained their mmj certification, but whether or not the transfer of marijuana in this manner was legal. The employees who dispensed mmj to the undercover cops would have no idea, nor would they care how these guys obtained their certification. The only legal burden on the hydroworld employees was to assure IF they had a doctors recommendation, not HOW they obtained it.

gladstoned said:

Lots of hatred toward 3MA & CPU in the mj community from what I have heard. Are you affiliated with CPU Dr. Bob? What denomination is CPU? Aren't they the compassion club only, cuz we have compassion clubs, denomination? I think CPU is anti-dispensary, pro-division from what I have heard. Dr. Bob has an office in Marquette's dispensary. So all that doesn't really add up.
I am pretty sure rollitup.org is pro-legalization, pro-decriminalization, pro-dispensary, pro-recreational, pro-farmer's market, pro-compassion club, pro p2p, pro fuck the police. That has always been my understanding.

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I've heard some dirt about cpu as well. I honestly don't know who to believe. If there is money to be made, you can be sure that there are sharks in the water .... it's just tough to identify them.

I just got a pm of dr bob's website and it has cpu all over it. I am getting info sent to me. I will go back to work and read up on the arguments later, but this sure the fuck doesn't smell right. I've never gotten straight answers about CPU and I've asked plenty. Pretty fucking sure they are 100% for compassion clubs and motherfuck everyone else. 3MA are fucking crooks on the other end of the rainbow and both are convinced the pot of gold belongs on their side. That why I have always said fuck both of them. If either are legitimate, then same on them for acting like crooks. Nothing but clouds of suspicion over them both. I don't like this shit at all. .

Actually the only thing on my website about CPU is a link to their webpage, along with others. You want to know what CPU is about, here is their mission statement (which is right on the website). Always go to the source rather than listen to rumors. Clearly you have been hearing things you were meant to hear (compassion clubs, dispensaries, throwing patients under the bus, etc.

Remember the Detroit Ballot Issue that just passed- CPU lawyer got it on the ballot. Oakland has to return grow equipment, CPU Lawyer. Kalamazoo Dispensary Ordinance- Written by CPU lawyer.

Here it is...

Statement of Purpose
Statement of Purpose

Cannabis Patients United (“CPU&#8221 is a non-profit corporation organized under Michigan law. Its members are committed to maintaining the core principles of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (“MMMA&#8221 and to ensuring that the provisions of the MMMA are applied fairly and as intended. CPU’s members include patients, caregivers, attorneys, physicians and business professionals.

Formed out of the necessity to ensure proper implementation and understanding of the MMMA, CPU has worked with state and local representatives, prosecutors, law enforcement and health officials to achieve our goals. CPU believes in common sense interpretations of the MMMA, and insists that the plain language of the Act must be interpreted in a manner to protect the individuals for whom it was written – the patients.

CPU recognizes that when the MMMA was overwhelmingly approved by Michigan voters in 2008 the voters expressed their intent to protect patients who need marijuana as a medicine as well as their caregivers. CPU consists of and represents patients, caregivers, physicians and other affiliated businesses that stand committed to the principles of professionalism, honest and ethical business practices, fairness, compassion, and respect for the law. It is CPU’s position that the key to the proper implementation of the Act is to provide education to community leaders, state legislators and the law enforcement community.





OUR CORE PRINCIPLES

l. CPU believes the law as passed by the voters is satisfactory and we do not support any effort to amend or change it in any way: We oppose any attempt to reopen the MMMA.

2. CPU believes the Medical Cannabis community needs to be able to defend itself from opponents that could be elected to higher office. Such individuals could make life very difficult for patients, caregivers, physicians and legitimate businesspersons who are providing services to the community

3. On an immediate day-to-day level, CPU is the eyes and ears of the community; maintaining constant vigilance for any threats that emerge from state legislators, interest groups or regulatory authorities that could be hostile to the MMMA.

4. CPU is officially neutral on the issue of “dispensaries.” These entities are not mentioned in the MMMA one way or another. Michigan’s current policy was set by the Attorney General and leaves this issue to the discretion of local community authorities.

Not here to represent them or be their cheerleader. My opinions are mine and based on my own research. I add what I can to the discussion.

You want to know about them, go to their website... http://cannabispatientsunited.org/
It is all right there.

Dr. Bob

st0wandgrow said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the judge was basing the merits of this case NOT on how the officers obtained their mmj certification, but whether or not the transfer of marijuana in this manner was legal. The employees who dispensed mmj to the undercover cops would have no idea, nor would they care how these guys obtained their certification. The only legal burden on the hydroworld employees was to assure IF they had a doctors recommendation, not HOW they obtained it.

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I don't have the transcript of the ruling, only the same news report I presented. But it appears as if you are correct. That was the ruling, but there are deeper issues and clearly there is a possibility this one is going to be kicked upstairs or overruled by the SC on McQueen (pro or against). It is just a local court ruling, but I am concerned it will be used to promote risky behavior and get folks arrested. I've put up why here and elsewhere. Might even write something for my site in the next day or two when I've studied it more.

Dr. Bob

and now dr bob will come here and say he isnt involved with cpu he is only there mmj expert i call bullshit alot of people have expert witnesses and they dont plaster there website with them .theres alot more then meets the eye with this shady fucker..thats why he has so much hate for joe cain becouse he called them out on it ...there are plenty of good dr s out there you dont have to settle for a fucking sellout like dr bob .now try and sue me dr boob

I'm happy with that ruling. I am with anybody being let off for marijuana. I'm all about no jail time for the plant. that's just me and my opinions from my expert studies tho. No hate for the good doctor; jsut wondering why a ruling like that would piss you off nearly as much as a conviction. sounded like a win to me.