Driving While Using Marijuana Is Illegal
Under Michigan Law, operating a vehicle under the influence of Marijuana is illegal. Today I want to go over Michigan law and what driver’s need to know in order to prevent themselves from being charged with Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana.
The use of Marijuana became legal on December 6th, 2018 in Michigan. This is when the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act legalized recreational possession and the use of marijuana for any person who was 21 and older. In 2008, the state of Michigan made medical marihuana legal.
Under current Michigan law, there is still a lot that is not understood. This blog is based on my vast experience only practicing criminal defense work in Michigan. Criminal defense is all I do and you should not hire a jack of all trade attorney to represent you if you are charged with any crime, especially a Driving While Under The Influence of Marijuana.
While Marijuana is legal now, there are still laws in Michigan that all driver’s must obey. This laws include the following:
- A person may not consume marijuana while driving.
- People cannot operate a vehicle under the influence of marijuana
- A person may not smoke Marijuana inside the a car on the passenger seat.
What are the marijuana and driving laws in Michigan?
Under MCL 333.27954(1)(a) and MCL 333.26427(b)(4) a person who is driving a vehicle cannot be under the influence of Marijuana. It does not matter if you have a medical marijuana card. If you are under the influence while driving, it is against the law.
How do the police know if you have violated the marijuana and driving laws in Michigan?
People will use circumstantial evidence to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana. There is no marijuana breathalyzer test that can be used in these cases. The circumstantial evidence the officers will be looking for includes:
Because no marijuana-detecting breathalyzer is currently being used by law enforcement to identify marijuana-impaired drivers, the police rely on other circumstantial evidence to determine if a driver has violated the marijuana and driving laws in Michigan.
- Statements or admissions by witnesses
- A driver’s performance on standardized or non-standardized field sobriety tests
- Observations and/or reports about how a driver was actually driving
- Statements or admissions by occupants of the driver’s vehicle
- Observations of a driver’s physical condition
- Whether the driver and/or the passenger possess an odor of smoked marijuana
- Statements or admissions by the driver
If a driver gets a blood draw done or a chemical test taking to see if they are under the influence of Marijuana, there is no statutorily prescribed THC limit that would prove the guilt or innocence of a driver.
Is it illegal to smoke weed and drive in Michigan?
Under Michigan law, the Michigan regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act makes it a crime to consume and smoke weed while driving. The act clearly states:
- A driver is prohibited from “consuming [recreational] marihuana while operating, navigating, or being in physical control of any motor vehicle . . .” (MCL 333.27954(1)(g))
- A driver is prohibited from “smoking [recreational] marihuana within the passenger area of a vehicle upon a public way.” (MCL 333.27954(1)(g))
The law does not address if a person who is a lawful medical marijuana user can smoke while driving.
Can you smoke weed in your car in Michigan?
The answer is no. You may not smoke weed while in your car. Regarding medical marijuana, it’s not clear because the law does not address medical marijuana being smoked within the passenger area upon a public way. (MCL 333.27954(1)
Can I use medical marijuana and drive in Michigan?
Yes. A person that is a lawful, registered medical marijuana user can use medical marijuana and drive in Michigan, but ONLY if they are not driving while under the influence of marijuana.
Any registered medical marijuana user can legally drive after they have used Marijuana. This appears to create a conflict with Michigan’s zero tolerance policy law that does not allow a person to drive with “any amount” of weed in their system. (MCL 257.625(8))
The Michigan Supreme Court decided to step in and clear the conflict up between the two laws. In People v. Koon the justices held unanimously that the “any amount” prohibition did not apply to lawful, registered medical marijuana users:
“The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) prohibits the prosecution of registered patients who internally possess marijuana, but the act does not protect registered patients who operate a vehicle while ‘under the influence’ of marijuana. The Michigan Vehicle Code prohibits a person from driving with any amount of a schedule 1 controlled substance, a list that includes marijuana, in his or her system. This case requires us to decide whether the MMMA’s protection supersedes the Michigan Vehicle Code’s prohibition and allows a registered patient to drive when he or she has indications of marijuana in his or her system but is not otherwise under the influence of marijuana. We conclude that it does.”
The courts will have to decide eventually if the zero tolerance law applies to people who are now using marijuana for none medical purposes.
The MRTMA has an immunity provision that is almost identical to the one in the MMMA that the Michigan Supreme Court relied on in Koon. Remember, Koon concluded that lawful, medical marijuana users were exempt from the zero tolerance rule.
The immunity provision in the MRTMA provides:
“[T]he following acts by a person 21 years of age or older are not unlawful, are not an offense, . . . are not grounds for arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, are not grounds for search or inspection . . . possessing, using or consuming, internally possessing . . . 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana . . . .” (MCL 333.27955(1)(a))
The immunity provision in the MMMA provides:
“A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner . . . for the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act, provided that the qualifying patient possesses an amount of marihuana that does not exceed a combined total of 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana . . .” (MCL 333.26424(a))
If you have any questions regarding Driving Under the Influenece of Marijuana, please call me now at 616-438-6719! Shawn can get you great results! The call is free. Will you be?