Defense: State law underlying felony charge is unconstitutional
TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan law's treatment of marijuana may not always make sense, but it doesn't violate the constitution, a 13th Circuit Court judge ruled.
Judge Thomas Power said he agreed in part with some of the arguments Jennifer Lynn Greenwood's defense attorneys made but ultimately ruled against them. He denied their motions claiming Michigan law unconstitutionally treats medical marijuana card holders differently than illegal users and that state law improperly classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 narcotic. He also denied that police violated her Fourth Amendment rights when drawing her blood after the Dec. 10 crash that killed her mother, Victoria Laviola.
Greenwood faces a charge of operating with any amount of a Schedule 1 controlled substance causing death and operating with any amount of a Schedule 1 controlled substance causing injury.
Test results showed she had one nanogram of THC — marijuana's psychoactive ingredient — in her blood that day.
She previously told the Record-Eagle she hit a patch of black ice and crossed the center line on U.S. 31 near Interlochen. An oncoming vehicle hit her pickup truck, and Greenwood broke her ankle and her 18-year-old daughter broke her leg in the crash, as previously reported.
Greenwood, 39, signed her consent to a blood draw that day after she told Grand Traverse County sheriff's Deputy Eric Meiers she had smoked marijuana the night before and had a small amount in her vehicle, the deputy testified.
"She was upset, very upset," he said. "I apologized for her loss, and remember her saying, 'I just killed my mom,' repeatedly."
Meiers recited her chemical testing rights from the waiver, which is intended for people under arrest, on the mistaken belief that department policy requires him to read someone these rights whether they're under arrest or not — Meiers told Greenwood he wasn't arresting her, but testified he might have done so had she not been in the hospital then.
Frederik Stig-Nielsen, Greenwood's co-counsel, argued that waiver is coercive because it warns anyone who refuses that they may lose their driver's license, have six points added to their driving record or both. Greenwood didn't know that part didn't apply to her unless under arrest.
Suppressing the evidence would have a heavier toll on society than allowing it would, as these laws and Greenwood's charges aim to deter future illicit use of the drug, Grand Traverse County Assistant Prosecutor Kit Tholen said.
Power said he doubted the blood draw was done voluntarily, but agreed that Meiers believed he was following the laws. Plus, Greenwood's admission would have been enough for Meiers to seek a warrant had she not signed the form, Power said.
"I think the officer, Deputy Meiers, was acting in good faith and did not abridge her rights against unreasonable search and seizure," he said.
Treating users of the same drug differently does nothing to protect other drivers on the road, Betsy Mas, Greenwood's co-counsel, argued. That disparate treatment violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, and Georgia Supreme Court justices found the same in 1999, she contended.
Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that a medical marijuana patient is only breaking the law if they're driving while impaired, Power said. Greenwood wasn't a medical marijuana patient.
Disparate treatment under law isn't unconstitutional if there's a rational basis for it, Power said.
Medical marijuana users have a right to benefit from the drug's therapeutic effects, and therefore have a right to the special consideration.
Michigan's Board of Pharmacy likely would not list marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug if they were to consider it through current standards and facts, Power agreed. Drugs in this category must have a high abuse potential plus no medical use or no accepted way to safely administer it.
But the state's legislative standards for reclassifying a substance are so "squishy" Power can't determine whether state lawmakers erred in keeping the drug as Schedule 1 after a recent review, he said.
The Board of Pharmacy has abdicated its responsibility to reconsider the drug, Stig-Nielsen argued.
Jesse Williams, Greenwood's attorney, said he will ask Power to reconsider his Tuesday ruling allowing evidence that her blood contained the main metabolite of THC. He previously argued the evidence is prejudicial for a jury and irrelevant to the crash. He may also file for an interlocutory appeal to ask for a ruling on the case before all matters have been considered.
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