Michigan lawmakers unleashed a package of proposed laws intended to crack down on black market marijuana.
For years, there’s been a lack of clarity regarding what punishment operators of illegal grows may face. This has led to reluctant prosecution and enforcement, prosecutors and police say.
The “current scheme” is “inviting organized crime into our state because it’s seen as something that doesn’t have a serious penalty,” said Iosco County Prosecutor James A. Bacarella, who is currently prosecuting four Chinese nationals accused of operating an illegal grow. “It’s just a misdemeanor, so it doesn’t matter how large your grow is.”
Laws created in the 1970s include a punishment of up to 15 years in prison and $10 million in fines for anyone convicted of possession with intent to deliver more than 200 plants or nearly 100 pounds of marijuana.
However, the state Court of Appeals in 2023 ruled in the case of an illegal, 1,000-plus-plant grow that those laws no longer apply.
Instead, the 2018, voter-passed recreational marijuana law that limits possession of any amount to a misdemeanor takes precedence.
Related: Illegal marijuana grow of any size only a misdemeanor in Michigan, court rules
“We acknowledge this outcome may be viewed unjust by those businesses that legitimately operate within the parameters of the (law),” the Court of Appeals opinion said. “The remedy, however, lies within the sole responsibility of the Legislature.”
The newly proposed legislation may provide that remedy.
House Bill 5105, introduced by Rep. Pauline Wendzel, R-Watervliet, and discussed at a House Regulatory Reform Committee hearing on Thursday, Oct. 23, would create new penalties for possession of marijuana, plants or concentrate as follows:
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