## Facts

- Compassionate Apothecary, LLC (CA) operated in Isabella County as a membership-based medical-marijuana dispensary limited to registered qualifying patients and registered primary caregivers.
- Members could rent lockers and store up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana; CA did not claim legal title to members’ marijuana.
- CA facilitated member-to-member transactions by enabling a member to obtain marijuana from another member’s locker after presenting an unexpired registry card.
- The prosecutor sued for injunctive relief, alleging CA’s activities were not authorized by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), violated controlled-substances prohibitions in the Public Health Code (PHC), and therefore constituted a public nuisance under MCL 600.3801.
- The circuit court denied a temporary restraining order and injunction, reasoning that patient-to-patient transfers fit within the MMMA’s definition of “medical use” (including “delivery” and “transfer”).
- The Court of Appeals reversed, holding the MMMA did not authorize CA’s patient-to-patient transfers and that CA was an enjoinable public nuisance.
- The Michigan Supreme Court granted leave to decide whether the MMMA permits patient-to-patient sales and transfers.

## Issues

1. Whether the MMMA permits a registered qualifying patient to sell or transfer marijuana to another registered qualifying patient for the recipient’s medical use.
2. If not permitted, whether a dispensary facilitating such transactions violates the PHC and constitutes a public nuisance under MCL 600.3801 warranting injunctive relief.

## Decision

- The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and remanded for entry of a preliminary injunction against CA.
- The Court held the MMMA does not permit a registered qualifying patient to transfer marijuana to another registered qualifying patient for the recipient’s medical use.
- Because CA’s operations depended on such transactions, the activity was not immunized by the MMMA, remained prohibited by the PHC, and supported a public nuisance finding under MCL 600.3801.

## Legal Principles

- The MMMA provides limited immunity tied to a qualifying patient’s own medical use of marijuana to treat or alleviate that patient’s debilitating medical condition or associated symptoms.
- Although “medical use” includes “delivery” and “transfer” (and a sale may constitute a type of transfer), MMMA immunity does not extend to patient-to-patient distribution for the recipient’s medical use outside the caregiver-patient framework contemplated by the statute.
- When MMMA immunity does not apply, the PHC’s general prohibitions on marijuana-related delivery and related conduct remain enforceable.
- A building used for the unlawful sale, keeping for sale, bartering, or furnishing of controlled substances is a public nuisance under MCL 600.3801 and may be enjoined at the state’s request.

## Conclusion

The court ruled that the MMMA’s protections do not cover dispensary-facilitated patient-to-patient marijuana sales or transfers for the recipient’s medical use; such conduct remains unlawful under the PHC and renders the premises an enjoinable public nuisance under MCL 600.3801.


Michigan v. McQueen, 828 N.W.2d 644 (Mich. 2013)