Abel, a Detroit attorney, is no enemy of businesses that sell medical marijuana–in fact, he’s executive director of Michigan NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). But he’s pointing out an uncomfortable truth: though the state’s voters overwhelmingly approved a 2008 referendum permitting the medical use of marijuana, businesses that sell it remain on shaky legal ground.

The voter-approved law described a small-scale system in which small growers provided marijuana to a handful of patients. When dispensaries connecting multiple growers to hundreds of patients popped up all over the state, a backlash quickly developed. In 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that commercial dispensaries are illegal–and many promptly closed. “Lansing had over forty dispensaries,” recalls attorney Dennis Hayes. “Now it has two.”

The day after the decision, the regional LAWNET antidrug unit raided two local dispensaries: one reopened with a new name and owner; the other remains closed. Given their uncertain legal footing, the eight that survive are not eager for media attention. When the Observer called around, not one owner wanted to be quoted by name. “Everyone is still terrified,” explains longtime marijuana advocate Chuck Ream, who formerly managed one of the raided businesses.

This month, the dispensaries are looking to Lansing for relief. Two bills scheduled to come before the Michigan House of Representatives in September would create a legal framework for how and where dispensaries can operate. One would make it legal to sell edible pot products, like brownies, to registered patients. The other would allow communities to decide whether to permit dispensaries.

Both have already cleared the senate, and Chuck Ream, who has lobbied legislators, is optimistic they’ll pass the house. Abel sounds more cautious. While he believes “the legislation is urgent,” he warns that it’s not unusual for the house to “put out a substitute bill” the day of a scheduled vote.

Despite Ann Arbor’s famously indulgent attitude toward pot, the number of registered medical marijuana patients in Washtenaw County is typical for the state: according to Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, the county has almost 5,000 “active” patients, or about 3.6 percent of the county’s population; the statewide percentage is 3.5. But it’s not just local demand that’s feeding the dispensaries: one local owner estimates that 60 to 70 percent of his patients are from outside the area. They like Ann Arbor because its dispensaries are in “good neighborhoods,” he says, and because the cannabis here is viewed as high quality.

Asked if all his customers really have medical problems, this owner insists, “The large number of people truly use it as a medicine. Is there 10 or 15 percent bucking the system? Sure–but not as big a percentage as people think.”

One woman who drives from a Detroit suburb to shop at Arborside on Packard describes a medical history that includes migraines, a neck injury, and psychological stress from assisting her elderly parents. She says marijuana has helped her much more than prescription pain meds. She also appreciates that the plant is “natural. It’s in nature.”

Most marijuana users feel that way, says Kriss Pullen, the owner of Gro Blue, a local hydroponic gardening store. “Alternative seekers of medical treatment is a huge part of the industry,” Pullen says. Many patients are “people who never use doctors–who always use herb treatments.”

When she started the business, Pullen hoped that many caregivers would set up their own small growing operations. Instead, she says, most patients gravitated to dispensaries for their needs. The attraction, according to four patients and the dispensary owner, is the quality and variety of products available. For example, Medical Marijuana Dispensary on E. Liberty lets customers choose from three “strains” of marijuana (indica, sativa, and hybrid) that can be smoked, inhaled through a vaporizer, or eaten in foods that include not just the proverbial brownies but also candy and popcorn. It’s a bit like going to a specialized grocery store.

The most outspoken supporters of medical marijuana make no secret about their desire to see it legalized altogether. Chuck Ream believes that knowledge of its beneficial properties has been suppressed by the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. “This is a sacred, healing plant!” he declares with passion. “How long are we going to fight a plant?”