Marijuana DUI Lawyers in Michigan

Marijuana DUI laws in Michigan have significantly changed in favor of marijuana users. If you’re facing charges, it’s imperative to speak with a marijuana DUI attorney.

Facing a marijuana DUI or another DUI-related offense? Unhappy with your current marijuana DUI attorney? Request a free consultation now.

Before recreational marijuana became legal, driving while having any detectable amount of marijuana in a person’s body was a DUI, a drug misdemeanor.

It didn’t matter whether the marijuana affected the driving or made someone impaired.

Active THC can stay in a person’s body for as long as seven (7) days.

Therefore, most chronic marijuana users were guilty of an OWI (Michigan’s term for DUI) misdemeanor every time they drove.

If pulled over and a police officer had a reasonable suspicion the driver recently consumed marijuana, they would’ve been arrested and had their blood drawn and tested.

In 2013, this law changed but only with respect to medical marijuana patients.

Because the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) protected patients from internal possession of marijuana, it permitted them to use the MMMA as a defense, thereby eliminating the “any amount” rule for a marijuana DUI.

But now that Michigan has legalized recreational adult-use marijuana, the “any amount” rule applies to all adults, not just medical marijuana patients.

As such, the police and prosecutors must prove a driver was “under the influence of marijuana” to be guilty of a marijuana DUI.

Facing a marijuana DUI or another DUI-related offense? Unhappy with your current marijuana DUI attorney? Request a free consultation now.

What Does “Under the Influence” Mean?

A marijuana DUI means due to the consumption of marijuana, the driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle was significantly and materially affected to the degree that they could no longer operate a motor vehicle safely.

There are a couple of very important parts to this definition that must be considered.

First, the driving must have been materially and substantially affected.

This is a high level of evidence.

Crossing over a lane marker a couple times, which isn’t unreasonable (and could also be another reason like distracted driving, which can be a defense), isn’t material and substantial.

If, because of the marijuana, a person was driving in a manner that was dangerous, perhaps almost striking other vehicles, all over the road, running red lights and clearly intoxicated, it can be said that their driving was materially and substantially affected.

The other consideration is that the driver could no longer drive in a safe and normal manner.

This means that a person can be under the influence of marijuana, but as long as they were able to drive safely, then their driving isn’t unlawful.

There are persons who have built up a tolerance to marijuana to the degree that they could drive safely even immediately after consumption.

This is definitely not recommended for anyone, no matter their tolerance.

Nevertheless, the law requires that to be unlawful, their ability to drive has been altered to the degree that they could no longer drive in a safe and normal manner.

However, the video may show that the light was yellow, a turn signal was used, or “swerving” was minor and within your own lane.

Knowing how to properly review a dash-cam video is the key to for your case to be dismissed early on.

What Evidence is Necessary to Prove or Disprove “Under the Influence”?

Often times, the best evidence is the observation of the actual driving.

This is frequently captured on the police car dash recording device.

It will also be described by the officer, if witnessed, in the police report.

Police and prosecutors will also seek to use the results of standardized field sobriety tests.

These tests are the walk-and-turn, one-leg stand, and horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), all of which were designed and validated for detection of alcohol impairment, not marijuana.

Despite the fact that they were created for alcohol, the inability to walk a straight line without losing your balance, which is tested during the walk-and-turn test, may still be helpful in determining a person’s ability to balance, not necessarily drive.

The question becomes this: to what degree does that ability translate to the ability to drive while under the influence of marijuana?

There are non-standardized tests that may be more applicable to marijuana.

For instance, there have been studies that conclude that the Lack of Convergence test and the Modified Romberg test are better at identifying a person who is under the influence of marijuana.

Again, just because someone may be “high” on marijuana doesn’t automatically mean their ability to drive has been “significantly and materially” affected by the marijuana to the degree they’re no longer able to drive in a normal and safe manner.

Best Strategy and Defense Tactics

There are many strategies to be employed for a marijuana DUI, but it’s very important that the defense lawyer knows:

• the scientific principles of THC specific absorption and elimination (as well as tolerance),
• cannabis specific field sobriety testing, and
• a solid understanding of Michigan law.

It can get very complicated.

There are several different statutory laws that must also be interpreted with Michigan case law in order to develop the proper strategy.

It’s also important to be able to understand the chemical test and the relationship between active THC and THC-COOH metabolites.

If a drug recognition expert was used to perform the investigation, a lawyer is familiar with that protocol.

The attorney must also have taken the course to create a successful defense.

In general, it’s necessary to evaluate the driving evidence.

It’s also necessary to determine whether the field sobriety tests were administered and evaluated properly, and to determine the officer’s training for investigating drug cases.

Then, a proper evaluation of the blood test, applying the correct measurement calculations and performing an analysis of the data that supports the chemical test to determine if it’s valid and reliable.

Only an expert in forensic science, particularly an ACS Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, would be ideal.

Is the Blood Test for THC in Blood Reliable Evidence?

Low levels of THC in blood aren’t a very reliable indicator of intoxication or inability to drive, especially when there’s such a high margin of uncertainty (29%).

Higher levels of THC can be indicative of a direct relationship of intoxication, but they are still very dependent upon the individual user with respect to their tolerance, along with the recency of use and route of administration.

There are different absorption and peak intoxication levels depending upon whether the marijuana was smoked, vaped, or eaten.

In summary, the blood test may be helpful in some cases, but in many cases, it isn’t.

There are several different statutory laws that must also be interpreted with Michigan case law in order to develop the proper strategy.

It’s also important to be able to understand the chemical test and the relationship between active THC and THC-COOH metabolites.

If a drug recognition expert was used to perform the investigation, a lawyer who is familiar with that protocol and has also taken the course is necessary to create a successful defense.

In general, it’s necessary to evaluate the driving evidence.

It’s also necessary to determine whether the field sobriety tests were administered and evaluated properly, and to determine the officer’s training for investigating drug cases.

Then, a proper evaluation of the blood test, applying the correct measurement calculations and performing an analysis of the data that supports the chemical test to determine if it’s valid and reliable.

Only an expert in forensic science, in particular an ACS Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, would be ideal.

Penalties and Typical Sentences

The penalty for a first offense OWI by marijuana is probation of up to two (2) years.

Jail is usually not a consideration, unless there were aggravating circumstances such as an accident, injury, or reckless disregard for persons or property.

There are some judges who jail first offenders, but they are very rare.

OWI — first offense is punishable by up to 93 days in jail, so if there’s a probation violation, jail time is very possible.

An OWI conviction is six points, while Operating While Visibly Intoxicated (OWVI) is four points added to a driving record.

Pre-Trial Supervision and Drug and Alcohol Testing

Alcohol/drug abstinence and random testing is very common. Sometimes, a good argument can be made to eliminate the alcohol testing.

However, this is highly dependent upon the judge.

How Long Should A Person Wait After Consuming Marijuana Before Driving?

Studies have shown that the peak acute effects following cannabis inhalation are typically obtained within 10 to 30 minutes, with most effects dissipating after one hour.

Depending upon the person, impairment from cannabis will clear up three to four hours after use.

This time span could be recommended to users as a minimum wait period before driving. (Fischer et al., 2011 Lower risk cannabis use guidelines for Canada).

Is There a Concentration of THC in Blood That Equates to DUI Legal Limit in Michigan?

The Michigan Impaired Driving Safety Commission performed a very thorough study on whether a THC contraction, like 5 ng/ml of blood, would equate to intoxication similar to .08 g/210 of breath or 100 ml of blood alcohol.

Barton Morris was the only criminal defense attorney who presented to the commission, along with other experts such as Marilyn Huestis — who is widely considered to be the foremost expert.

In a report released in March of 2019, the commission found that a single concentration cannot reliably be used as per se evidence of intoxication.

This report will likely preclude the Michigan Legislature from adopting any nanogram concentration level like other states have done.

Do You Need A Marijuana DUI Attorney? Choose Us

Barton Morris is widely known as one of best marijuana DUI/OWI criminal defense lawyers in the State of Michigan.

He trains each member of his team, makes sure they get the same training he did, and he consults on every case.

Barton has written articles for the State Bar of Michigan Marijuana Law Section Journal on the subject.

He wrote the position paper for the State Bar of Michigan Marijuana Law section on the subject for the Michigan Legislature.

Barton has also testified before the House Judiciary Committee on cannabis-impaired driving.

He presented to the Impaired Driving Safety Commission on the subject, who later adopted his findings in its report (acknowledging Barton Morris as a contributor).

Barton has also presented for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), the State Bar of Michigan Marijuana Law Section Annual Conference in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and at the Annual Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys (MIAOWIA, an organization for which he is currently President) every year since 2016.

Barton Morris and team have also been so successful in defending these cases that almost every prosecutor knows who they are and respects their knowledge.

He’s also the only criminal defense attorney to have presented to the Michigan State Police Forensic Science and Toxicology Department (the unit that tests all of the blood for drugs and alcohol for DUI cases) at their annual seminar.

Additionally, Barton Morris is the only attorney in the State of Michigan that has been certified by the American Chemical Society as a Forensic Lawyer-Scientist.

And Then There’s Science

Perhaps most importantly is that Barton Morris is Michigan’s only forensic lawyer-scientist.

Why’s this important?

Every DUI and drug case almost always rests on a chemical test.

Science.

You need a lawyer with scientific expertise when it comes to DUI and drug cases.

Without such expertise, your marijuana DUI attorney is useless.

You may as well try your case yourself.

If you’re facing DUI charges, choosing a lawyer based on price is a sure way to an outcome that will be with you for the rest of your life.

You need a marijuana DUI attorney and team to handle your DUI case.

Facing a marijuana DUI or similar charges? Unhappy with your current marijuana DUI attorney? Request a free consultation now.

Schedule a free consultation now by calling us at (248) 290-9812.