Medical Marijuana patient given drug charges for growing plant in dog kennel

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Published - Connect Mid-Michigan.com

OWOSSO -- The Michigan appeals court has reinstated drug charges against an Owosso man who has a medical-marijuana card and was growing pot outdoors.
Larry King was growing marijuana inside a fenced-in dog kennel. The fence was 6 feet high and locked. But in a 2-1 opinion released Friday, the appeals court says the kennel doesn't qualify as an "enclosed, locked facility" under the medical-marijuana law. NBC25 wanted to know what an "enclosed, locked" facility exactly meant. We looked it up on the state's website and found that it means, "a closet, room, or other enclosed area equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access only by registered primary caregiver or registered qualifying patient."
Judges Henry William Saad and David Sawyer also say marijuana inside King's house was in an unlocked closet. They overturned a 2009 decision to dismiss drug charges in Shiawassee County.
Appeals court Judge E. Thomas Fitzgerald disagreed. He says the medical-marijuana law should be a "shield" for King, not a "sword."


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Published - The Associated Press

A lawyer says he'll consider appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court after drug charges were reinstated against an Owosso man who was growing medical marijuana outdoors in a dog kennel.
Matthew Abel says the appeals court decision is "blatantly wrong." He says many judges just don't like Michigan's medical-marijuana law.
Larry King of Shiawassee County has a medical-marijuana card. But the appeals court said Friday that a fenced-in outdoor dog kennel doesn't qualify as an "enclosed, locked facility" under the law.
The court reinstated charges that had been dismissed by a Shiawassee County judge. Abel doubts that a jury would convict King of illegally growing marijuana.