The Michigan State Police Crime lab on Thursday, Aug. 25, notified prosecutors across the state that there’s a problem with marijuana testing in blood.
“The MSP Forensic Science Division is examining a discrepancy discovered earlier this week in THC blood testing results in which the presence of CBD in a blood sample may have led to a positive result for THC,” MSP spokesperson Shanon Banner said in an email sent to MLive Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution (MSP) today notified the Prosecuting Attorney’s Association of Michigan that we are immediately halting the processing of all THC blood samples as we work to learn more and/or until we can institute another validated method of testing to ensure accuracy.”
The toxicology test confuses CBD, which does not induce a high, with THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, according to a verbal notice provided to the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM), President and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd said.
CBD is not a controlled substance.
Michael Komorn, a Farmington Hills-based attorney who also specializes in marijuana law and criminal defense, said the issue could call into questions thousands of convictions across the state, depending on how long the problem has continued.
He’s calling for a full independent investigation into the state police crime lab and the creation of a lab that operates independently from the police force.
Komorn said blood test findings for marijuana are frequently used as a basis to prosecute driving offenses, especially when alcohol isn’t detected, including crashes that result in serious injury or death.
“I think that it’s time to get a new lab,” Komorn said. “Because the procedures and protocols that are being used here, if they’re wrong and unscientific and they’ve been convicting people wrongly because their tests are wrong, I think a criminal investigation should be opened. I think people should be held accountable.”
Komorn Law has been the leading law firm bringing awareness to the public about alleged lab scandals they come across or uncover through client representation. If you need your case reviewed or you have a current charge regarding anything to do with marijuana there is no better versed or more knowledgeable than Attorney Michal Komorn.
Michigan State Police Toxicology Unit Supervisor, Geoffrey French, has confirmed that his department’s method for testing THC levels in blood samples is unreliable. French also disclosed that MSP’s Forensic Science Division has been using their faulty THC testing process for over 20 years. Below is an excerpt of an interview this author conducted with French on August 25, 2022:
Eric VanDussen: I was wondering if you could give me any information on […] the MSP Crime Lab not being able to distinguish between THC and CBD in their, in your lab tests?
Geoff French: Yes, sir. I, I’m aware of the situation.
Eric VanDussen: Okay. And is there a memo that I could get from you regarding, that […]?
Geoff French: No, sir. There has been only verbal communication to the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan that went out this morning. The Forensic Science Division is planning on having a formal written memorandum that will also be sent to the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, but that has not been approved through proper channels at Michigan State Police at this particular point in time. And it’s not something that I’m involved in the authoring of.
Eric VanDussen: Okay. So, the legal department, basically, is fly-specking that before it gets distributed?
Geoff French: Yeah, I would say so. Yes, sir. It probably might… I mean, my guess is that it probably will go all the way up to the colonel’s office for approval before that becomes disseminated.
Eric VanDussen: Okay. Do you know how long this problem has been going on?
Geoff French: I do- well, it’s, it’s, it’s quite some time. And we’ve been using the same procedures for many, many years.
Eric VanDussen: So this could have implications on prior convictions, as well as pending cases?
Komorn Law has been the leading law firm bringing awareness to the public about alleged lab scandals they come across or uncover through client representation. If you need your case reviewed or you have a current charge regarding anything to do with marijuana there is no better versed or more knowledgeable than Attorney Michal Komorn.
DISCLAIMER This post may contain re-posted content, opinions, comments, ads, third party posts, outdated information, posts from disgruntled persons, posts from those with agendas and general internet BS. Therefore…Before you believe anything on the internet regarding anything – do your research on Official Government and State Sites, Call the Michigan State Police, Check the State Attorney General Website and Consult an Attorney – Use Your Brain.
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999 to allow individuals 21 years of age and older to self-certify that they are utilizing marijuana for medical purposes.
D.C. Council Votes To Let Medical Marijuana Patients Self-Certify Without Doctors, In Workaround To Federal Block On Recreational Sales
The Washington, D.C. Council unanimously approved emergency legislation on Tuesday that will effectively create a recreational marijuana market by allowing people to self-certify themselves as medical cannabis patients and access dispensaries—without needing to get a recommendation from a doctor.
Safety risks for quality and quantity control exist in the gray market the legislation noted, because products aren’t subject to control standards as in the existing medical cannabis program.
Additional Information: marijuana and retail marijuana-infused products. It establishes what actions involving marijuana shall
January 8, 2019 : Introduced by Councilmembers Grosso, R. White, Nadeau, and Bonds
Need more Washington DC marijuana law information? Go here
If you or someone you know has been accused of a crime, DUI or Drugged Driving. Call Komorn Law PLLC and turn your defense into an offense. Call Now 248-357-2550
DISCLAIMER This post may contain re-posted content, opinions, comments, ads, third party posts, outdated information, posts from disgruntled persons, posts from those with agendas and general internet BS. Therefore…Before you believe anything on the internet regarding anything – do your research on Official Government and State Sites, Call the Michigan State Police, Check the State Attorney General Website and Consult an Attorney – Use Your Brain.
LANSING – One of the men charged with creating fictitious documents while contracted to service law enforcement alcohol testing instruments will spend the first part of his sentence behind bars, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today.
The instrument, DataMaster DMT (DataMaster Transportable), is more commonly referred to as a breathalyzer and measures the driver’s breath alcohol concentration after they have been arrested for suspicion of drunk driving.
In 2020, Nessel filed charges against Andrew Clark and David John for falsifying service records related to certain diagnostic tests and repairs on DataMaster DMTs. A four-month investigation led by the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit and the Michigan State Police led to the criminal cases. Specifically, the investigation found the defendants, who worked as technicians, created fictitious documents to show they completed certain diagnostic tests and repairs on two DataMaster instruments for which they had responsibility for calibration and performance.
two counts, forgery of a public record, a 14-year felony charge;
two counts, uttering and publishing, a 14-year felony charge; and
two counts, use of a computer to commit a crime, a 10-year felony charge.
Thursday afternoon, Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Clark to serve 36 months’ probation with the first nine months served in the Eaton County Jail.
“Our public integrity team continues to demonstrate the great importance of pursuing bad actors who subvert the criminal justice system and threaten the integrity of our judicial process,” Nessel said. “We must show that those who undermine the public trust risk jail time in doing so.”
If your life was affected by this travesty of trust – Contact our office.
If you or someone you know has been accused of a crime, DUI or Drugged Driving. Call Komorn Law PLLC and turn your defense into an offense. Call Now 248-357-2550
DISCLAIMER This post may contain re-posted content, opinions, comments, ads, third party posts, outdated information, posts from disgruntled persons, posts from those with agendas and general internet BS. Therefore…Before you believe anything on the internet regarding anything – do your research on Official Government and State Sites, Call the Michigan State Police, Check the State Attorney General Website and Consult an Attorney – Use Your Brain.
Troy Boquette, the general manager of Freddie’s Joint, a marijuana shop in Clio, arrived to work Friday, April 15, to learn the THC-infused blue-raspberry gummies his store bought the day prior were placed on hold by the state licensing agency.
By noon, other flavors were added to the list. The gummies came from a licensed marijuana processor named Sky Labs in Mount Morris, a company that specializes in making edibles. As he was speaking to an MLive reporter, Boquette noticed additional vaping products sold under a brand sometimes produced by Sky Labs, had also been placed on hold by the Cannabis Regulatory Agency, formerly the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, renamed by executive order this week.
“This is not something that we would even be able to comment on,” Cannabis Regulators Agency (CRA) spokesman David Harns said when contacted by phone Friday. “We can’t acknowledge or confirm an investigation” is underway. “I can’t discuss this topic with you.”
DISCLAIMER This post may contain re-posted content, opinions, comments, ads, third party posts, outdated information, posts from disgruntled persons, posts from those with agendas and general internet BS. Therefore…Before you believe anything on the internet regarding anything – do your research on Official Government and State Sites, Call the Michigan State Police, Check the State Attorney General Website and Consult an Attorney – Use Your Brain.
Michigan regulators on Friday, April 15, axed a plan to allow hemp to be synthetically converted to THC, the high-inducing compound in marijuana.
Allowing hemp plants to be converted into oils that produce almost the exact same effects could put those existing producers out of business.
“After receiving a significant amount of public comment regarding safety concerns and the lack of scientific and public health data related to the conversion process outlined in the proposed industrial hemp rules … the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has withdrawn this request for rulemaking,” the agency announced Friday.
The decision comes two days after the licensing body was renamed from the Marijuana Regulatory Agency and assumed authority over hemp-derived products. Currently, licensed businesses are permitted to extract THC oil from marijuana.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in February that called for renaming the MRA and assigning it authority over hemp processing for commercial sale. MDARD retains oversight of hemp farming.
Hemp and marijuana are the same plant: cannabis. Except the government defines hemp as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive compound produced in marijuana at much higher levels. Hemp had been regulated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), and marijuana by Marijuana Regulatory Agency.
DISCLAIMER This post may contain re-posted content, opinions, comments, ads, third party posts, outdated information, posts from disgruntled persons, posts from those with agendas and general internet BS. Therefore…Before you believe anything on the internet regarding anything – do your research on Official Government and State Sites, Call the Michigan State Police, Check the State Attorney General Website and Consult an Attorney – Use Your Brain.
