Michigan State Police halt marijuana THC tests after lab problems

DETROIT – The Michigan State Police crime lab has stopped screening blood samples for THC, the compound that offers marijuana customers a excessive, after issues with testing, a spokeswoman mentioned.

County prosecutors had been knowledgeable this week, Shanon Banner informed The Related Press.

The suspension can be in place “as we work to be taught extra and/or till we will institute one other validated methodology of testing to make sure accuracy,” Banner mentioned in an electronic mail.

Since 2018, marijuana has been authorized beneath state legislation for people who find themselves at the very least 21. Medicinal use was authorised 10 years earlier.

It is nonetheless unlawful to drive beneath the affect of marijuana however Michigan, in contrast to another states, has no established restrict. In 2019, a fee beneficial towards making a threshold due to a “poor correlation” between bodily content material and driving impairment.

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Nonetheless, prosecutors nonetheless can current proof of THC in courtroom, protection lawyer Mike Nichols mentioned.

“Any individual will get pulled over and there’s an accident the place somebody is damage or killed,” he mentioned. “It has been an even bigger deal since we went medical in 2008. I get an increasing number of instances.”

Banner mentioned a “discrepancy” within the lab was found this week through which the presence of CBD might have led to a constructive end result for THC.

CBD, additionally present in marijuana, doesn’t trigger a excessive and is commonly bought as a dietary complement or included in lotions and different private care merchandise. CBD merchandise are authorized, with some restrictions, in virtually all states.

“We’re actively working to establish the scope, however doubtless gained’t have extra data till subsequent week,” Banner mentioned.

Nichols believes the issue rests with insufficient expertise within the lab.

“There’s a extra delicate methodology, however these devices price much more,” he mentioned.

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Observe Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez