MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES: STATE HAS US IN 'CATCH 22'

Oakland County medical marijuana advocates are unhappy about Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette's reaction to a case concerning a
medical marijuana card-holder who was arrested for driving under the
influence of drugs.

Schuette filed a brief in support of the Grand Traverse County
prosecutor's appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals in People v.
Koon, a case in which Koon, a medical marijuana user, was charged
with driving with marijuana in his system.

Michigan's motor vehicle code prohibits drivers from operating a
motor vehicle with any amount of a Schedule 1 substance in the body.

Schuette argued that while the Medical Marijuana Act "provides
limited protection to certain individuals who use marijuana in
accordance with the act, it does not offer protection to those who
then drive with marijuana in their system.

"Therefore, the zero-tolerance standard established by the Michigan
motor vehicle code should followed to protect public safety."

Rick Thompson, editor of Oak Park-based Michigan Medical Marijuana
Magazine, said he believed "it's obvious the Attorney General isn't
using common sense."

Thompson called trying to balance zero-tolerance with the Medical
Marihuana Act a "Catch 22."

"You're allowed to be a (medical marijuana) patient but you are not
allowed to drive," he said.

"Zero tolerance is a bad policy. It's going to cost honest patients
their liberty."

John W. Hart, a Lake Orion resident who has followed medical
marijuana cases and coverage in Michigan, applauds Schuette's position.

"It (medical marijuana) is all a farce. The law has so many gray
areas," said Hart.

"You can't operate a motor vehicle with medical marijuana in your
system. It's the law."

Jeffrey Perlman, a Southfield-based attorney who has advocated for
medical marijuana patients and caregivers in the recent Oakland
County cases, disagrees with the Attorney General's stance.

"Medical marijuana stays in a person's system for up to 30 days, but
it doesn't mean you are impaired," he said.

"To take a person's driving privileges away because they are on a
medicine you don't approve of - but a doctor does - is unacceptable."

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper noted that "driving under
the influence is not even allowed under the state medical marijuana act.

"It's not a defense."

Rodney Koon was charged on May 21, 2010 by the Grand Traverse County
Prosecutor's office for driving under the influence of a drug (OUID).

Koon, a medical marijuana user, had been stopped for speeding on Feb.
3, 2010 and admitted to smoking marijuana that day. A blood test
showed evidence of active THC - the psychoactive ingredient in
marijuana - in Koon's system.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Koon said he smoked marijuana
six hours before he was stopped.

Grand Traverse County district and circuit courts concluded that
language in the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act superseded the motor
vehicle code and required the prosecutor to demonstrate Koon was
actually impaired by the marijuana in his system.

"This law must not be interpreted in a way that puts the safety of
people on the roads at risk," said Schuette.

"Michigan law makes clear that driving with drugs in your system is
illegal. Allowing anyone to do so puts the lives of our families and
friends unnecessarily in jeopardy."