Charged with MIP While Delirious from Marijuana

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Michigan

Apologize if this is in the wrong sub forum, first time user of this site.

I am a student at a university. Was attending a football game and decided to try marijuana for the first time, had a small dosage of an edible.

I didn't know it at the time but the anxiety medication that I am on has very bad side effects with marijuana and caused me to be delirious. I fully understand how stupid of me this was and have been completely scared straight of all substances, ever.

As I was delirious, I had no control over my person, I have no memory of the event besides what was written in a police report.

The police stated that I was found and refused to answer questions or look at anyone. Apparently, I refused to answer questions for medical personnel when they arrived. (I sincerely regret all of this, I would never have behaved like this if I was in control of my person)

The police report then goes on to state that after being asked numerous times how much I had to drink I replied "too much" and then after many times of asking me what I had to drink I responded with "beer". I had no alcohol on that day and was not in control of my responses. A breathalyzer was not performed nor a field sobriety test.

I was then transported to the hospital where I regained control of myself and admitted to the doctors that I had marijuana (it's on my discharge sheet).

I have a lawyer retained provided by school but am unsure of his capability, he doesn't give me straight answers.

My questions are thus: Do I confess to the MIP even though it would be a false confession? If I admit to the marijuana in court will I be charged with possession of a controlled substance?

The only reason I am fighting this is because I do not have the money to pay for the first offender program for the MIP.

You don't confess to anything unless your lawyer advises you of the implications for doing so. You keep your mouth shut and listen to your lawyer. NOTHING you have said here is exculpatory. You knowingly injested an ILLEGAL DRUG and the fact that you were unaware of what the effects of that was going to be is IMMATERIAL. I assume you are under 21 and looking at the MIP charge for also ILLEGALLY CONSUMING ALCOHOL. You're not going to get out of one charge by confessing to a more serious charge. Again, please SOBER up, keep your MOUTH SHUT, and listen to your attorney.

If I were you, I'd beg, borrow, or otherwise scrape together the money for the first offender program. A conviction may indeed have implications down the road. As it is you can probably write off a career in many fields.

You don't need to be an ASSHOLE.

If you READ the post, you would've saw that I clearly stated I DID NOT consume alcohol and that this was the first time I have ever tried any substance. If you can honestly say that you or any of your friends never tried drinking or any substance while in college then you're a liar. As far as ILLEGAL DRUG, marijuana is considered to be on the LOW END of that spectrum and is becoming LEGALIZED in many states.

Again, as I stated before, FIRST TIME, occurrence, no need to yell at me to sober up and that I was charged with an MIP even thought I DID NOT consume alcohol.

As far as "writing off a career in many fields", the charge will be completely off my record in 6 months and I have a bright future ahead of me from a renowned university.

You do not need to use profanity. You state you have no recollection of anything but you can state with certainty you didn't also drink? Even though you told the officer you did. The officer can testify about incriminating statements you made. What you say can be used against you (and they don't have to warn you about that unless you are already arrested and they are questioning you).

It matters not what substances I or anybody else have done. It matters with the fact that you are charged with breaking the law and that your excuse was you were really breaking another law in the process. That's not a very good strategy.

But since you've obviously solved all your own problems, you don't need our help. Take your foul mouth to the judge and see how it gets you. Hopefully, your attorney will be able to stick a sock in your mouth before you incriminate your self to a crime which is more than a piddly civil infraction.

Kid, just so you know. FlyingRon was not being a jerk in his initial response AT ALL. He was being very matter of fact with you and trying to actually help you NOT get yourself into more trouble then you need to be. Nobody here is going to hold your hand and coddle you and tell you that what you did was okay because it was on the low end of the spectrum. Also, it doesn't matter that in many states marijuana is being legalized. In your state, it is not currently legalized.

Quite frankly, you owe Ron an apology. Stop being a jerk.

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Quoting ConcernedStudent7

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My questions are thus: Do I confess to the MIP even though it would be a false confession? If I admit to the marijuana in court will I be charged with possession of a controlled substance?

The only reason I am fighting this is because I do not have the money to pay for the first offender program for the MIP.

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You evidently told the cops you had been drinking. That statement can be used against you in court even though you have absolutely no memory of what happened. Indeed, your lack of memory works against you since it makes it much harder for you to rebut what the officers say occurred. You say you didn’t actually drink but you do admit to using marijuana. If you plead guilty to the MIP and take the first offender program it may keep that off your criminal record. A similar program exists for first time pot possession, too. Both are misdemeanor offenses if you are convicted and do not take a diversion program of some kind to keep it off your record. So, you are kind of stuck in the same situation either way. If you deny drinking and tell the court the reason you were so out of it was that you took pot combined with a prescription drug, if the court believes you the MIP charge would get dropped but you could instead be charged with the possession of pot. Then you’d be in much the same boat you are now.

One significant difference, though, is that, while both are misdemeanors, the public perception in many parts of the country (those places that have not legalized pot yet) is that using pot is a more serious problem than having possessed some booze. So that might make a difference down the road when looking for jobs, etc.

That being the case, if I were you, I’d find a way to come up with the cash to pay the MIP first offender program and do that. From what you have said your chances of getting acquitted if you go to trial aren’t very good and the first offender program is better for you than a straight up conviction on either MIP or possession of pot.

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Quoting ConcernedStudent7

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If you can honestly say that you or any of your friends never tried drinking or any substance while in college then you're a liar.

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You evidently didn’t proofread that after you wrote it. If one can honestly say he or she never tried drinking or drugs in college then he or she is certainly not a liar. After all, if the statement is made honestly it cannot be lie, correct? On the other hand, if they are lying then they cannot honestly be making the statement. Implicit in what you wrote is that you think every single one of the millions of people who have gone to college drank or did drugs while in college. While a good many kids in college have done that, not all of them have. I never did any drugs while in college, and have not tried any to this day. I simply never have had an interest in trying drugs to make me feel good. I feel good without drugs and don’t want the risks, both legal and medical, in doing illegal drugs. As for alcohol, I didn’t drink any at college until after I turned 21. And even then, I didn’t drink much and still don’t. Why? Because for me all alcohol does is make me sleepy. I don’t get the high, buzz, or whatever that some other people do from drinking. Drugs and alcohol affect each person differently. My point is that just because you ad the people you know at college have done drugs and drunk booze does not logically lead to a good conclusion that all college kids have done it. You have no idea what things were like at my college when I was there. You weren't even born when I was in college. So I suggest you avoid making the kind of statement you did above. Confine your statements to what you really know and don’t assume that everyone else has done the same thing or that if their experience is different that they must be lying. All it does is show that you aren’t thinking logically and, frankly, makes you come across as a bit of an ass.

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Quoting ConcernedStudent7

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As far as ILLEGAL DRUG, marijuana is considered to be on the LOW END of that spectrum and is becoming LEGALIZED in many states.

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Sure, in a few states and DC recreational use is legal at the state level. It is still technically illegal under federal law, however. President Obama and his attorneys general made the decision not to prosecute people for pot possession under federal law when the use/possession was legal under state and local law. But when Trump takes office there is the risk he may reverse Obama’s policy of not prosecuting people for the federal violation if it was legal under state law. In any event, the fact that it is legal in other states does not change the fact that it is still illegal in your state. So you still run the risk of getting busted for it if you continue to use pot. Hopefully after this experience you will never at least repeat the mistake of taking pot with the prescription drug.

You're all absolutely right.

First, Ron, I sincerely apologize for calling you an asshole. Absolutely uncalled for and out of line on my part, you were providing assistance and I should have appreciated that. However, from my end, I was asking for advice and received patronizing remarks telling me to "sober up", "keep my mouth shut", and "write off a career in many fields".

Secondly, this detail is trivial and no longer matters, but I can say I had not consumed alcohol because I did not lose memory until I entered the gate for the game. I had an acquaintance who was sober that was with me up until the gate where I was found and verified my memory of no alcohol consumption.

readytoleave, I appreciate you calling me out. I personally feel very degraded and incapable of any achievements when I am patronized and talked down to and called "kid", but I completely understand that I am still considered a kid (20), have clearly done nothing to deny that moniker, and should respect the knowledge that you all provide. It's personally frustrating for me, but I understand and will handle my personal issues.

I understand that my generation represents itself very poorly in regards to treatment of elders and the constant use of alcohol and drugs. I don't fancy myself to be one of those individuals and detest the idea of associating myself with them, I have never tried anything before (I'm typically a shut-in nerd), and am incredibly frustrated that my first time attempting to have "fun" resulted in the instances that occurred. Yes, I am completely scared straight, understand what I did, and will attempt no such thing in the future.

Taxing Matters, thank you very much for your post. You laid out my position and all the facts and logic that I am facing. I now understand the legal implications of my case and how to proceed when asked by my lawyer.

All of you, I am sorry for wasting your time. I will follow whatever actions my lawyer tells me to do and if he agrees that I should follow the first offender program (he will), I will apologize for wasting his time and thank him for his efforts.

Did the police find you to be in possession of alcohol? If not, the mere admission of having consumed alcohol would only give rise to a charge of public intoxication. Was that charged? There has to be a factual basis for any charge, and confession to having possessed something at some point in the past is not enough. When I was young I consumed cannabis. But even if I admitted to consuming it last week, I could not be convicted of possession unless I was found to be in possession.

Talk to a lawyer. Do NOT try to do this yourself. I don't know the relationship you have with the school lawyer, whether that person represents you or the school. If you don't trust them, get another lawyer. If you have no money you will likely qualify for a public defender.

Sorry JD, but that first part is incorrect. The Michigan MIP statute explicitly covers both external possession and consumption:

A minor shall not purchase or attempt to purchase alcoholic liquor, consume or attempt to consume alcoholic liquor, possess or attempt to possess alcoholic liquor, or have any bodily alcohol content, except as provided in this section. A minor who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by the following fines and sanctions and is not subject to the penalties prescribed in section 909:

What he should be doing is talking to the lawyer and nobody else.

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Quoting ConcernedStudent7

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You don't need to be an ASSHOLE.

If you READ the post, you would've saw that I clearly stated I DID NOT consume alcohol and that this was the first time I have ever tried any substance. If you can honestly say that you or any of your friends never tried drinking or any substance while in college then you're a liar. As far as ILLEGAL DRUG, marijuana is considered to be on the LOW END of that spectrum and is becoming LEGALIZED in many states.

Again, as I stated before, FIRST TIME, occurrence, no need to yell at me to sober up and that I was charged with an MIP even thought I DID NOT consume alcohol.

As far as "writing off a career in many fields", the charge will be completely off my record in 6 months and I have a bright future ahead of me from a renowned university.

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You came on here looking for advice. No one said it was going to be nice and anyone would hold your hand.

It doesn't matter what end of the "spectrum" marijuana is on. FEDERALLY it's still illegal. In most states it's still illegal. Pretty sure the state you're in - it's illegal.

How the hell do you know you didn't consume alcohol if you can't remember what happened after you mixed marijuana and anxiety meds? How do you not know how those things interact? I'm pretty sure all medications come with a pamphlet of information that tells you what not to interact it with and the side effects. Every medication my 2 year old daughter gets has multiple sheets of paper on each medication. Even Tylenol tells you what not to take with it.

Well if your future is so bright then you have no need for advice on this forum do you? Maybe you should start taking your anxiety meds and chill the hell out.

Yes most people do drink alcohol in college and some try drugs but YOU are the one who got caught.

qwaspolk69, relax buddy, already settled this and apologized, no need to pile on unless it makes you feel good.

If you read the above posts, I lost memory upon entering the gate, and before then did not consume alcohol. But, as was clearly stated by Taxing Matters, my version matters not when I clearly told an officer I had consumed, even if I was coerced into that response and delirious.

The only reason I responded that my "future was bright" was because I was told I "could write off a career in many fields".