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Patient Busted At Extravaganja

SweeneyTodd

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SweeneyTodd Member

SweeneyTodd

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I was busted for driving under the influence of narcotics while leaving the event and spent over 12 hours in the Lapeer County jail. I had absolutely nothing on me but I had my Genesee County Compassion Club shirt on and it seemed like as soon as he saw that he was determined to get me for something. I showed the officer my card but he didn't seem too interested. This experience makes me less enthusiastic about attending future events. LEO knows what's going on in their town... this almost feels to me like the Marijuana equivalent of a cop that sits outside of the bar at closing time...

 

Anyway... court date is in a few months and I have a solid lawyer. I'm not too worried about it but it's definitely a pain and will end up costing me a few bucks. I'll keep you posted.

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SweeneyTodd Member

SweeneyTodd

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Sorry to hear this awful news sweeney.Glad to hear you have a good lawyer and finances to fight this charge.. Was a blood sample taken?

 

Yeah they took blood. At first I refused but they showed up with a warrant. That's the main reason I was there so long. I was told that after taking blood I'm required to stay 12 hours.

 

And the finances are going to be tight but I'll get by. I'm not looking for donations or anything. Just wanted you all to know whats up and to send some good vibes my way.

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Marijuana Ranch Advanced Member

Marijuana Ranch

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I was busted for driving under the influence of narcotics while leaving the event and spent over 12 hours in the Lapeer County jail. I had absolutely nothing on me but I had my Genesee County Compassion Club shirt on and it seemed like as soon as he saw that he was determined to get me for something. I showed the officer my card but he didn't seem too interested. This experience makes me less enthusiastic about attending future events. LEO knows what's going on in their town... this almost feels to me like the Marijuana equivalent of a cop that sits outside of the bar at closing time...

 

Anyway... court date is in a few months and I have a solid lawyer. I'm not too worried about it but it's definitely a pain and will end up costing me a few bucks. I'll keep you posted.

 

 

420JusticeSoon SweeneyTodd,

To be in a community like the GC3 and the 3MA I feal you are safe and will get Justice!

We know the Michigan Supream Court gets it...

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stuckinlodi Advanced Member

stuckinlodi

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Yeah they took blood. At first I refused but they showed up with a warrant. That's the main reason I was there so long. I was told that after taking blood I'm required to stay 12 hours.

 

And the finances are going to be tight but I'll get by. I'm not looking for donations or anything. Just wanted you all to know whats up and to send some good vibes my way.

 

First...here are some good vibes ***** Secondly...can they prosecute based on a dirty blood test? Didn't they just pass something stating that its no longer illegal to drive with cannabis in your system? Assuming you had no actual mj (though if you have a mmj card, it shouldn't matter) on you, there should be no case against you. :notfair:

 

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/international-cannabis-news/121720-michigan-supreme-overturns-itself-driving-pot-metabolites-not-crime.html

 

Check this link...it explains the law about driving with pot in your system. You probably already researched the crap outta this, but every bit of info helps, right? Good luck with everything. I'm sure you'll win this one...those a-holes in Lapeer have just about reached the end of their rope on how much bullying they can get away with. I'll say don't sweat it, but that's easier said than done, so just try not to sweat it TOO much. You've got the law on your side. That has to count for something. Good luck with your case.

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KathywithaK Advanced Member

KathywithaK

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I was busted for driving under the influence of narcotics while leaving the event and spent over 12 hours in the Lapeer County jail. I had absolutely nothing on me but I had my Genesee County Compassion Club shirt on and it seemed like as soon as he saw that he was determined to get me for something. I showed the officer my card but he didn't seem too interested. This experience makes me less enthusiastic about attending future events. LEO knows what's going on in their town... this almost feels to me like the Marijuana equivalent of a cop that sits outside of the bar at closing time...

 

Anyway... court date is in a few months and I have a solid lawyer. I'm not too worried about it but it's definitely a pain and will end up costing me a few bucks. I'll keep you posted.

this is awful. another case of leo not knowing the law.sorry to hear of anyone that has to deal with such nonsense. good luck with this.peace

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MaryJ Advanced Member

MaryJ

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Yeah they took blood. At first I refused but they showed up with a warrant. That's the main reason I was there so long. I was told that after taking blood I'm required to stay 12 hours.

 

And the finances are going to be tight but I'll get by. I'm not looking for donations or anything. Just wanted you all to know whats up and to send some good vibes my way.

Todd let me first of all say I am Truely sorry this has happened to you. :notfair:

The same thing happened to my husband about a month ago. He wasnt medicated however they arrested him with a charge of a DUIN. He sumitted to a blood test because he was threatined with a 6 month licence supension. He was held 12 hrs in a cell, they took his phone and 1,900.00 cash (saying it was drug money)

Now we are dealing with the gun board they want to take his CCW permit away from him. What happened to Innocent until proven guilty>>??? I am rambeling on now it just infurates me to no end! :angry:

You my dear FRIEND and my husband are another "test case" it sucks but we will be here for your support along with everybody else on this site. Let me know of any court times as I will try to be there.

Good luck Brother!!! We can win this one case at a time! I hope you plan on sueing the bunny muffins out of the city when you win this case!!! :sword:

Peace,

Mary J

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JuztBudz Advanced Member

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It's time to put out a reminder....NEVER admit to having smoked anything within 4 hrs. of driving. NEVER!! The blood test will show metabolites, but that doesn't mean jack today. The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the metabolite count is null and void. You are fortunate that you didn't have any meds on you at the time of the pull-over, that weakens their case immensly...sorry to hear that you ran into this great big hassle. I've been attending these events since the beginning of the law change and never ran into anything as heinous as this...best of luck...Peace...j.b.

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stuckinlodi Advanced Member

stuckinlodi

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yes didnt the supreme court just say that? this is insane!!!!!!!!! I'd sue them for pain and suffering.

Heck, I'd sue for intent to do bodily harm or something for jabbing you with a needle without just cause. The only thing they could have proven from the drug test is that you had metabolites in your system, which, as stated many times is perfectly LEGAL! I'm SO GLAD you've got a good lawyer and I am looking SO FORWARD to hearing how you wiped the floor with their butts in court. This is such a gross abuse of power it literally makes me nauseous.

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itssortalegal10 Advanced Member

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I was busted for driving under the influence of narcotics while leaving the event and spent over 12 hours in the Lapeer County jail. I had absolutely nothing on me but I had my Genesee County Compassion Club shirt on and it seemed like as soon as he saw that he was determined to get me for something. I showed the officer my card but he didn't seem too interested. This experience makes me less enthusiastic about attending future events. LEO knows what's going on in their town... this almost feels to me like the Marijuana equivalent of a cop that sits outside of the bar at closing time...

 

Anyway... court date is in a few months and I have a solid lawyer. I'm not too worried about it but it's definitely a pain and will end up costing me a few bucks. I'll keep you posted.

Had you consumed marijuana at the event? I is still against the law to drive high card or not...Same as it is illegal to drive on alcohol or prescription medication. If you have a good lawyer though you should be fine..Did they test you for marijuana?? Not that it matters just curios..As you know patients are allowed to have it in their system only thing I am not clear on is if they can tell how recently you had smoked...

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stuckinlodi Advanced Member

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Had you consumed marijuana at the event? I is still against the law to drive high card or not...Same as it is illegal to drive on alcohol or prescription medication. If you have a good lawyer though you should be fine..Did they test you for marijuana?? Not that it matters just curios..As you know patients are allowed to have it in their system only thing I am not clear on is if they can tell how recently you had smoked...

 

The Supreme Court just passes something stating that it is legal for a person to drive with marijuana metabolites in their system, regardless of their status as a mmj patient. This means that even if this guy didn't have a cad and had a dirty blood test, he was still legal to be driving. The reason is because the presence of these metabolites in the blood is not an indicator of impaired driving because the metabolites can remain in the blood for weeks after smoking/ingesting marijuana. As for proving somebody was driving around impaired on mj...that's next to impossible to do especially if LEO found no product on the person. Most people who smoke pot can still pass a field sobriety test and there are countless ways to explain away red eyes. This guy's lawyer is gonna have a field day with Lapeer Co. in this case.

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peanutbutter Advanced Member

peanutbutter

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We are in a weird limbo status right now.

 

Logic would tell us that it would only be fair to have some sort of number limit on the amount of THC in the blood. At least that would put us patients on a even footing with alcohol laws.

 

As it is right now, many courts would feel that Michigan's zero tolerance law would apply. But that would be only the first glance. If that standard were applied, then having ANY detectable THC in the blood would have this person guilty.

 

That would be unreasonable in the context of the medical use of marijuana.

 

OK .. the Supreme Court ruling. Until this new ruling, metabolites were also considered schedule 1 substances. So even if you had zero THC in your system, the courts would still find you guilty because of the metabolites. They have no effect on you, yet were a demonstration that you used to be under the influence. This interpretation of the law was just another part of this war. It was intended to punish as many potheads as possible.

 

The metabolite aspect of this application was what the high court tossed out.

 

Blood doesn't retain the metabolites as well as urine does. The only thing that shows in urine is metabolites. No THC is directly found in Urine. Only metabolites are found there. These are waste products that the body is flushing.

 

Both THC and metabolites are found in the blood.

 

As the body breaks down the THC there will be less of the THC and more of the metabolites. This is a process that takes the body time. So at first there will be little of the metabolite and a detectable amount of THC. The ratio of THC to metabolite could be used to determine, roughly, how much time has passed between the consumption of the THC and the blood test. Again .. roughly.

 

So how does all of this apply to the medical use of marijuana?

 

In the Medical Marijuana act if we drive under the influence of marijuana the law doesn't protect us.

 

The question is exactly what is under the influence? That has yet to be clearly defined.

 

We are allowed to internally posses marijuana. The law defines that as "medical use."

 

"Under the influence" would imply that there is an effect on the person. In turn, that would seem to require some sort of demonstration of effected actions by the user. Such as "the defendant ran off the road three times before we pulled him over." Some sort of display that the driver was less than able to drive safely.

 

For alcohol, that has been translated into blood levels. Much simpler to show in court.

 

There are two items that could help such a case.

 

First would be the warning label on pharmaceutical THC. That label only warns against driving until you are used to the effects.

 

The other would be what the federal government department of transportation discovered with the testing they have done. What they have determined is that marijuana is responsible for nearly zero traffic deaths. That is what the federal government reports.

 

Here is a NORML page that talks about the federal DOT studies: (yes studies .. several of them)

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5450

 

Marijuana and Driving: A Review of the Scientific Evidence

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It is well established that alcohol increases accident risk. Evidence of marijuana’s culpability in on-road driving accidents is much less convincing.

 

Although cannabis intoxication has been shown to mildly impair psychomotor skills, this impairment does not appear to be severe or long lasting. In driving simulator tests, this impairment is typically manifested by subjects decreasing their driving speed and requiring greater time to respond to emergency situations.

 

Nevertheless, this impairment does not appear to play a significant role in on-road traffic accidents. A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, “Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.” This result is likely because subject under the influence of marijuana are aware of their impairment and compensate for it accordingly, such as by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required. This reaction is just the opposite of that exhibited by drivers under the influence of alcohol, who tend to drive in a more risky manner proportional to their intoxication.

 

Today, a large body of research exists exploring the impact of marijuana on psychomotor skills and actual driving performance. This research consists of driving simulator studies, on-road performance studies, crash culpability studies, and summary reviews of the existing evidence. To date, the result of this research is fairly consistent: Marijuana has a measurable yet relatively mild effect on psychomotor skills, yet it does not appear to play a significant role in vehicle crashes, particularly when compared to alcohol. Below is a summary of some of the existing data.

 

(For more information on NORML’s position regarding marijuana, driving and the law, please click here or visit NORML’s Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use.)

-- snip --

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