Caught With Marijuana but Allowed to Leave With the Drugs

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Michigan.

As I was driving home from a camping trip in Newago county, I was pulled over by a state police officer who stated the reason for pulling me over was the tint on my front windows (I bought the car that way and was honestly unaware that it was an illegal shade). The officer smelled marijuana in the car and asked me if I had my medical marijuana card. I stated that I didn't and he proceeded to ask me if I had any in the car. After being dishonest at first (I was nervous), he told me that he smelled it and that he had probable cause to search and gave me another opportunity to be honest with him. I then admitted that I had "a little pot on me" and that he could search the vehicle. I told him where it was, so he didn't take too long to find the marijuana and the glass pipe that I also had on me. He called me back to his car and had me sit in the front seat with him while he got a little more information from me and "wrote" the ticket. He "suggested" that I take the bag and the pipe (that he had left in the car) and drive to the nearest gas station, about two miles up the road, and dispose of them both, that way if I got pulled over for the tint again on my way home, I wouldn't get searched and charged again. I agreed, left his vehicle and did exactly as he had suggested and that was the end of that situation.

I was in process of getting my card, starting shortly before the incident (I had my medical records faxed and had a caretaker that was in process of making my appointment), but fell a few days short and hadn't seen the doctor yet when I was pulled over.

I am thirty two years old and work in the healthcare industry. However, I am not making a lot of money and with things are the way they are right now, I don't have a lot of extra money to spend. I graduated from Ferris State University last year with a BS in Healthcare Systems Administration. I am terribly afraid that I might be facing jail time, probation, and a suspension of my license, which will destroy my career and any plans I have made.

If the officer didn't cite you and let you drive away with the evidence, you don't need a lawyer -- if you were going to be charged, the officer should have seized the contraband and had it sent to a crime lab to be tested.

The healthcare industry is booming these days. If you're not being paid well in your current job, look for a new one. Get an additional certification if necessary.

I'm going to disagree with Mr. K here, I think he may have misread the original post.

If you were given a "ticket," you WERE charged. What does it say on this "ticket?" There are some jurisdictions (especially around the major colleges) that have civil ordinances on marijuana possession. These will have small dollar fines (less than $100). The state charge is $100 or 90 days (and yes that one includes the onerous six month suspension).

The drugs are not needed for evidence for a conviction. The officer's observations and the defendants own incriminating statements are enough.

But let me give you a reality check. If you're planning a career that involves patient care, even if you had a medical card, you'd be in trouble if you show up for work under the influence (and frankly many employers will consider a positive THC test even if you were not recently using it to be actionable). Just because a drug is (quasi-) legal doesn't mean it's safe to take when you are in positions of responsibility. Furhter a conviction for illegal drugs will be barring in many healthcare employment situations. They won't risk druggies in positions with ready access to pharaceuticals.

You should take that citation to a lawyer to see what he things about the evidence against you and the mood fo the court. Alas, Michigan courts are all over the places in the disposition of minor and first time offenses. It's not going to be possible for someone on the internet to guess what the outcome might be. You need an attorney with local knowledge.

Clarification on the ticket and the use of scare quotes around the word "wrote" would be helpful, as I was working from the impression that no possession charge was initiated, but....

Michigan law prohibits localities from preempting state marijuana laws by defining marijuana possession as an infraction as opposed to a misdemeanor. See MCL 117.4l(3)(a). If we are to assume that this is a local ticket that flouts that prohibition, and yet has never been challenged in court, then the defendant can challenge the ticket as unlawful under state law. If we reasonably assume that the citation is for drug possession under state law or a valid ordinance, then it's a misdemeanor.

If we assume that the defendant is charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and that the officer intends to testify that he chose to let the defendant drive away with all of the evidence rather than impounding the evidence, maintaining chain of custody, and providing the defense the opportunity to demand testing in order to refute the officer's claim that he could identify the substance as marijuana based upon his training and experience alone, I would not expect the prosecutor (or the officer's superiors) to be happy with those choices.

All else being equal, assuming the defendant's record is sufficiently clean and that he is in fact charged with drug possession, among his other options he can discuss with his lawyer the possibility of getting a deferred sentence under MCL 333.7411.