Citing new laws and weak cases, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel is dismissing charges against four people in two pending marijuana cases, officials announced Monday.
“We are focusing all of our efforts and resources on the truly bad actors and those who have non-marijuana related charges,” Nessel said in a statement. “They will be held accountable and we will pursue them.”
Nessel’s actions affect two of three pending marijuana cases in her office — changing course from her predecessor, Republican Bill Schuette.
There are still 12 individuals facing charges from marijuana cases brought by the attorney general’s office.
In a case out of St. Clair County, Nessel is seeking the dismissal of charges of felony delivery/manufacture of marijuana against Mark Sochacki and Terra Sochacki, and charges of conducting a criminal enterprise against Amanda Amsdill.
The three are part of a larger lawsuit — People v. Mark Sochacki, Terra Sochacki, James Amsdill, Debra Amsdill, Amanda Amsdill. It stems from a 2011 Michigan State Police investigation into James and Debra Amsdill’s marijuana dispensaries, according to media reports. The Amsdills, their daughter Amanda Amsdill and employees Mark and Terra Sochacki, were all arrested as a result, according to media reports.
“We’re delighted to hear that the attorney general had the courage to dismiss against the Sochackis,” said Michael Komorn, lawyer for Matt and Terra Sochacki. “They were merely employees that were working at this facility …. They were merely the people at the door that interacted with an undercover DEA agent.”
The case against the Amdsills and Sochackis was dismissed twice by the Court of Appeals, Komorn said.
“It doesn’t repair eight years of litigation,” Komorn said of the dismissal announcement.
