DETROIT (AP) — A man accused of growing 1,100 marijuana plants in an unlicensed operation protected by dogs will avoid felony charges after a major decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said a voter-approved law with lighter consequences controls the case.
Shaaln Kejbou was charged with violating the state health code, which carries a possible 15-year prison sentence, with his extensive operation in Michigan's Thumb region. But a 2018 law that allows cultivation and recreational use of marijuana would make it only a 90-day misdemeanor to grow so many plants.
In a 3-0 opinion, the appeals court said Kejbou is covered by the more recent law.
The court acknowledged that businesses that have paid for permits and gone through rigorous state licensing to grow and sell marijuana may view the decision as “unjust.”
“The remedy, however, lies within the sole responsibility of the Legislature,” judges Michelle Rick and Kirsten Frank Kelley said in a footnote to the opinion Thursday.
The court affirmed a ruling by a Tuscola County judge, who had dismissed felony charges against Kejbou.
“This was a law that was approved by the electorate, and the Court of Appeals simply followed the plain language of the statute,” Kejbou's attorney, Michael Kemnitz, said Friday.
The law made recreational use of marijuana legal for people who are at least 21. They can possess up to 12 plants and also buy marijuana products at state-licensed shops.
In August, Eric Wanink of the prosecutor’s office told the appeals court that Kejbou's marijuana could have been worth as much as $3.5 million on the “black market.”
“That is not personal use by any stretch of the imagination,” Wanink said.
Kemnitz conceded to the court that “this is still a crime” — just not a felony.
“If you engage in this conduct you are still subject to having your entire operation raided, destroyed. All the plants here were burned," he said. “That is not an economically viable plan. So I don't think he's being protected by some loophole.”
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