EVEN MORE DAZED AND CONFUSED

As if Michigan's medical marijuana law wasn't hazy enough, a recent
statement by Attorney General Bill Schuette and a decision by two
Traverse City judges make the situation even more confusing.

According to an article by the Associated Press, Schuette is urging
the state appeals court to reverse a decision that could help a
medical-marijuana user beat a driving offense.

The article states two judges have refused to instruct a jury that
way in the case of Rodney Koon, who was charged last year with
driving while under the influence of drugs. He has a
medical-marijuana card and admitted he smoked pot before being
stopped for speeding. A blood test confirmed it, but Koon claims he
smoked the marijuana six hours before driving and he was no longer
under its influence.

The case is on hold while the Grand Traverse County prosecutor
appeals a decision that requires him to prove that marijuana actually
impaired Koon.

Schuette says the Traverse City judges are misinterpreting the
medical-marijuana law, and that any marijuana in a driver's body is a crime.

Medical marijuana advocates argue Schuette's interpretation of the
law is unreasonable because THC, the a main psychoactive chemical in
marijuana, remains in the body for weeks, even though the user is no
longer impaired.

If the Traverse City prosecutor wins his appeal, the ruling could, in
effect, make it illegal for anyone who has smoked marijuana in the
last month to drive - even if that marijuana was smoked legally under
the medical marijuana law. Advocates are correct; that would be unfair.

On the other hand, Michigan drivers cannot be put at risk by a ruling
that would give high people the OK to drive. Since there's no test
for police to determine with accuracy whether a person actually is
impaired by marijuana or just has residual THC in his or her body,
the ruling could get guilty drivers off the hook.

There's no easy solution for this problem, but it's clear legislators
need to take another look at the law.

In January, Rep. Claire Levy, a Colorado lawmaker, sponsored a bill
that would set a DUI limit for marijuana, according to an article by
CBS in Denver, Colo. The bill would allow police to do a blood test
for THC, and it would equate 5 nanograms of the chemical with a blood
alcohol level of .08, which is the legal limit.

Whether Levy's bill is the correct solution is debatable, but
something needs to be done to clear up this law. Right now, patients
and police are at risk of making mistakes because they simply don't
know the correct course of action.