Michigan Medical Marijuana Pages

The State has a Medical Marihuana Homepage with information and links to forms and frequently asked questions. The cost for the Medical Marijuana ID Card is $60 plus an additional $25 if you designate a primary caregiver. Only an M.D. or a D.O. can sign a medical marijuana certification.

For those who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act does not bestow a ticket to "light up and be happy," and relive the glory days. On the other hand, Michigan's law is more liberal than most. Only Nevada's law is more expansive and allows a patient to possess up to 18 plants, plus 6 mature plants, and up to 24 ounces of usable weed.

Given the cold climate, short growing season and the prohibition on storing or stockpiling more than 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana, most registered patients will likely chose to grow plants indoors. The indoor yield is less than outdoor plants. Conventional wisdom is that the average yield of an indoor pot plant is about 1.2 ounces per plant; since indoor plants will bloom three to five times before dying, the annual yield of a 12-plant indoor marihuana grow site could be 44 to 72 ounces.

Once you receive your Michigan medical marihuana ID card, in theory you are state-approved to grow and smoke marijuana; however, it is entirely up to you to figure out how. In contrast, many states such as California and Colorado have marijuana dispensaries where an approved medical patient or caregiver can obtain marijuana and marijuana seeds. Other states have dispensary legislation on the books. Michigan will roll out state-licensed dispensaries in early 2018 under the 2016 legislation Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act.

California was bold by being the first state to approve medical marijuana and marijuana dispensaries. But to be sure, California has the eighth largest economy in the world and tremendous financial clout. Patients and caregivers should be aware that they cannot legally transport seeds or marijuana over state lines in airplanes, boats, trains, or by mail, as doing so violates federal anti-drug laws. The federal government is not required to abide by nor recognize state medical marijuana laws.

Michigan does not have formal reciprocity agreements with other medical marijuana states. However, the Medical Marihuana Act says a medical marijuana card or its equivalent properly issued by another medical marijuana state has the same effect as a Michigan card. Generally, a visitor is someone who has been in Michigan less than 30 days.

The new Medical Marihuana Act creates some extremely interesting Catch-22 situations. The Marijuana Act allows a patient or caregiver to obtain marijuana from someone on the street, but the person selling it to them can be prosecuted for a crime. Similarly, patients can grow their own medical marijuana, but there is nowhere to legally obtain the seeds or plants. And, nothing in the Act protects a patient from being fired from their job at a private employer for using medical marijuana.

A registered patient or caregiver is required to keep their medical marijuana plants in a "secure locked facility," which means the backyard garden is not the place to grow. If you have marijuana plants growing in your living room window for natural sunlight, is this not the ultimate invite to a would-be-thief to break in and steal them or to have your house raided by police when a nosy neighbor reports it? There is also the issue of purchasing hydroponic grow lights and indoor growing equipment, which is expensive and can make you a potential target of drug enforcement authorities who apparently monitor credit card purchases of such "suspect" equipment.

It is rather surprising that Michigan does not distinguish between seedlings and mature, producing plants. Most other states specify that a patient can have a total of 6 plants, with 3 of them producing pot. According to unnamed sources, a good rule of thumb would be to have a combination of 4 seedlings, 4 medium sized, and 4 mature-producing plants so as to not go over the maximum.

With street marijuana costing between $100 - $400 per ounce, there is little doubt that most patients will probably choose to grow their own. A caregiver can grow 12 marijuana plants per patient for up to five patients. However, the law does not set any parameters as to how much the caregiver can be reimbursed for services.

Eligible juveniles, under the age of 18 can qualify to receive and use medical marijuana. The risks must be explained to them by their parent or guardian and two (2) doctors must must give a written certification. The parent or guardian must sign the application and agree to be their caregiver.

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act prohibits smoking marijuana while driving a car or operating any type of motorized equipment. There is no breathalyzer to determine when a marihuana driver is "impaired." We have heard reports that a user should wait a minimum of 4 hours before driving. Medical marijuana ID card patients are exempted from zero tolerance laws. The government must show actual impairment of the patient's ability to drive, much as it would with any prescription drug. Those who use medical marijuana are urged to exercise caution and perhaps use a designated driver. Visit our THC- Drugged Driving Page for more information on marijuana and driving.

For those who are on bond, probation or parole, the court can overrule the Medical Marihuana Act and refuse to allow an otherwise authorized patient or caregiver to use or possess marijuana - even if they have a Medical Marijuana ID Card. When you are on probation or parole, you are on what is called 'conditional release,' meaning that your release is conditioned on your obeying the terms. If you do not follow them you are put back in jail or prison.

Do NOT make the mistake of just assuming that because you have a Marijuana Medical ID Card you can continue to smoke marihuana while on bond, probation, or parole. You must understand that most judges grew up at a time when marijuana was demonized and strictly illegal. It still has a very negative stigma attached. It will be a long time before public perception of marijuana changes and it is accepted as a legitimate medicine. Many people still view medical marijuana as a smokescreen or sham, that these laws are nothing more than an excuse to allow people to get high.

So absent permission, smoking pot while on probation or parole will automatically lead to a probation violation for 'using illegal drugs or substances." Inotherwords, you must first ask and receive permission from the judge in your case so that you can continue to use marijuana during probation. Be prepared to bring in your medical documents and proof of your condition. Judges will likely begin allowing more patients to use while on probation in the future.

There seems to be some relief on the horizon from the direct contradiction between state laws that allow medical marijuana and the strict federal laws that don't. In 2009 and 2011, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to shift attention away from prosecuting medical marijuana users and to instead focus on those who violate both federal and state law. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice went a step further, when it decided to not challenge state laws that de-facto legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington. Laws in these states allow persons to possess and use marijuana for medical and non-medical purposes. In these states individuals are given state-issued licenses to grow, sell, and dispense marijuana. Taxes are collected and turned over to the state treasurer. The new federal policy seems to be that the feds will stop enforcement of its contradictory anti-marijuana laws in these states - so long as states self-police themselves and marijuana is kept out of the reach of children, drug organizations, the black market, and is not brought onto federal property. Read the Memo here: DOJ Oct 2013 Policy Statement MJ


Regardless of one's personal opinion of this most controversial drug, the Obama Administration policy statement is just shy of being characterized as an unconditional surrender in the War on Drugs. The Marijuana War is lost. It is time the feds declare victory and return control to the states, just as it did at the end of the alcohol Prohibition Era in 1933.