A medial marijuana dispensary owner in Lansing, MI, who advertised free products to patients who registered to vote has been charged with breaking Michigan state election law. Specifically, the owner of the Your Healthy Choice clinic, Shekina Pena, has been charged with a misdemeanor count of “influencing voters with money or other valuable consideration.” The charge was filed by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, and state Attorney General Bill Schuette, and comes with a sentence of up to 90 days in jail.
The charges were caused by a post on the dispensary’s website, made last July, which offered a free half-gram of marijuana or a free edible marijuana products in return for proof that they’d registered to vote.
In a statement to the press, Schuette said, “Voters did not intend for marijuana to be handed out as a door prize, especially when it undermines the integrity of our elections process.”
John Sellek, a spokesperson for Schuette said that Pena was notified of the pending charges last Friday, and subsequently turned herself in. The 34-year-old Pena did not respond to requests from the press for comments.
The web post in question also listed the dispensary owner’s thoughts on the MMJ voting records of several local political candidates.
On July 29th, Pena posted on the dispensary’s Facebook page that her clinic, Your Healthy Choice, was participating in a voter registration drive along with other MMJ shops in Lansing, but she also posted, “Your Healthy Choice has not and will not compensate ANYONE to vote nor will we compensate ANYONE for voting for a particular candidate. ANYONE who says or implies that we are compensating people for a vote is dishonest and shameless.”
Your Healthy Choice has ceased dispensing medical marijuana.
