Law Enforcement Claims Medical Marijuana Not the Target
WASHTENAW – “No,” police say, they aren't randomly selecting drivers to try out their new roadside drug testing pilot program which started a few months ago. They aren't targeting medical marijuana users either. The police claim they are simply trying to make sure motorist in general aren't driving impaired.Those were two points law enforcement officials attempted to convey during the latest session of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office community series on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at the county Learning Resource Center. The educational session, led by Michigan State Police First Lt. Jim Flegel, discussed the state's one-year roadside drug testing pilot program.
Their reasoning for the program is simple - Michigan had a 32 percent rise in impaired driving fatalities from 2015 to 2016, Flegel said.
"We really have to hammer home the education portion of it - that it's not okay to drive impaired on any form," he said. "Whether its alcohol or controlled substances, you can't do it. You're endangering yourselves and your endangering other innocent people out there on the road. If a motorist is suspected of impaired driving by specific officers, an Alere
DDS2 will test the presence of drugs in a driver's saliva and
give results within about five minutes,” Flegel said, demonstrating with the $4,000 device. “A new swab packet is opened for each test, blue coloring will tell police that enough saliva is on the swab for use in the machine and a receipt is printed listing the results for six categories of substances.”
Though the device doesn't record amounts of a drug in saliva, Flegel said it can only record positive results if specific limits in nanograms per milliliter set by the manufacturer are met.
The limits are:
Amphetamine - 50
Benzodiazepines - 20
Marijuana/Cannabis (THC) - 25
Cocaine - 30
Methamphetamine - 50
Opiates - 40
The results aren't evidentiary and a follow-up blood test would be taken for use in prosecution. While drivers don't have an option to refuse the test - they face a civil infraction if they do - they have the option to give a secondary swab for independent testing, Flegel said. Though police won't release preliminary results for the pilot program, he said there are no indications that the Alere devices have given false-positive results.
The tests aren't the sole determiner of an impaired driver, said Deputy Brian Webb, a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) for the Sheriff's Office. Driving behavior and roadside sobriety tests will be the first indicators, and basis for probable cause.
The real issue motorists and police face will be whether a drug impacts the ability of someone to drive safely, Derrick Jackson, director of community engagement for the Sheriff's Office, told the crowd.
"Impairment is the key word," Jackson said. "Whether it's prescribed or not, street or not, if you're driving impaired is the issue and that's where the DREs recognize and look for how they are driving how they are functioning."
Washtenaw County is one of five participating counties, along with Berrien, Delta, Kent and St. Clair.
Drug Recognition Experts must attend a 72-hour, two-week program, complete field testing and pass a certification examination through The International Association of Chiefs of Police, with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A Growing Issue for Sheriff
CHARLEVOIX — The Sheriff’s Office in Charlevoix County is having trouble stockpiling the amount of marijuana it has seized.Sheriff Chuck Vondra said the office has continually seen an increase in the quantity of pot confiscated throughout the county. To assist with the problem of too much stored weed, Vondra made a request to the Charlevoix County commissioners this month to apply for funds under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 to construct or purchase an evidence storage unit.
“I don’t have the room for the amount of marijuana plants we have now,” Vondra told commissioners. “We are full.” The evidence facility would be used for storing medical marijuana and evidence obtained during medical marijuana violation complaints. “Our plan is for an external storage because we do not have enough internal storage for the amounts of marijuana we have confiscated,” he said. “We are looking initially at a trailer where we can lock and store the evidence where people cannot get in.”
The capital would come from the licensing money contributed by the amount of medical marijuana cardholders in the county, Vondra told commissioners. The storage facility would then hold the seized marijuana while the court cases move through the legal process. “We can’t burn it or destroy the seized marijuana until the case is finished in court,” Vondra said.
“The deputies do a good job getting rid of the marijuana once we can, but there are rules in place that prevent us from rushing this,” he said. “Operating costs and drug cases are up because of marijuana and our biggest need right now is the evidence storage.”
The Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office has received 66 marijuana complaints and seized 359 plants, 13,033.8 grams or nearly 29 pounds of marijuana, along with smaller amounts of marijuana butter, oil and candies in the last three years alone.
“The numbers keep going up,” Vondra said. “It appears the people with the medical marijuana cards see this as a revenue stream and that is how they get into trouble with it.”
$15M in Seizures Examined
LANSING — Law enforcement agencies have confiscated more than $15 million in forfeited cash and property from individuals associated to suspected crimes in 2016, but a new study shows charges were never filed in almost 10 percent of the cases.State and local agencies documented a total of 5,290 civil asset forfeitures last year under a new and enhanced reporting law that took effect Feb. 1. In 523 of those forfeitures, regardless of civil court authorization based on an alleged violation, no one was charged with a crime. Another 196 people were charged but not convicted.
“If I live in a world where 10 percent is acceptable for something that people didn’t do wrong, we’re living in the wrong world,” said Rep. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township. “Change the world now.”
Lucido facilitated reform of Michigan civil asset forfeiture laws, and last February introduced legislation that would require a criminal conviction to initiate forfeiture proceedings. Under the current law, civil court can authorize forfeiture if there is “clear and convincing evidence” it was related to a crime even if an individual is never charged.
Civil asset forfeiture was shoved into the national spotlight when Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed an Obama-era rule to discourage the practice. Sessions said state and local police can pursue forfeiture based on suspected violations of
federal law, giving agencies another avenue to pursue forfeiture even if state laws are more restrictive.
“From the moment the Legislature made its mistake here years ago and said we are allowed to take property without having due process of the law, the right and the opportunity to be heard, that gave everybody free rein at police agencies to go in and take things they’re not authorized to do,” said Lucido, who is also an attorney.
Michigan law enforcement agencies reported seizing $15,288,514 in cash last year that was eventually forfeited by owners, along with 2,037 vehicles, 806 weapons, 276 financial securities and 15,160 other personal property items of some value. More than $12 million in cash and assets “amassed by drug dealers was forfeited” in 2016, Michigan State Police Director Kriste Etue said in a letter delivered to state House and Senate officials along with the new report.
These forfeiture funds were used to “enhance law enforcement by providing resources for equipment, personnel, vehicles, training and supplies,” Etue said. The seizures also “allowed some agencies to contribute monies to nonprofits that assist in obtaining information from citizens and solving crimes.”
“All the money goes back to law enforcement, and that creates an incentive,” Lucido said.
Law enforcement agencies reported keeping cash or property worth $6.6 million, selling some items worth $1.3 million, pending sales of items worth another $282,471, donating property worth $26,150 and destroying items worth $12,475. Overall, they reported $12.3 million in net proceeds between Feb. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016. That’s lower than 2015, when net proceeds totaled approximately $20.5 million, according to state agencies. The 2016 report includes only 11 months of data because of the implementation date of the new reporting requirements. 30 percent of all asset forfeiture money used by state and local police agencies last year was spent on equipment, according to the report. Another 10 percent was spent on personnel, followed by seven percent each on supplies and materials, vehicles and training.
Forfeitures were more commonly associated with possession of less than 25 grams of cocaine, heroin or other narcotics, totaling 897 instances. Another 824 forfeitures were linked to individuals suspected of delivering or manufacturing marijuana.
