Marijuana / Cannabis Charges Defense

Michigan legalized recreational marijuana in 2018 under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA), and many people assume that marijuana charges are a thing of the past. They are not. Significant criminal exposure remains for conduct outside the legal framework, possession over legal limits, delivery or sale without a license, marijuana in school zones, and operating a vehicle with marijuana in your system. Understanding exactly where the legal lines are, and where you stand relative to them, is the starting point of any defense.

Michigan Marijuana Charges We Handle

• Possession Over the Legal Limit: adults 21+ may possess up to 2.5 oz in public and 10 oz at home; excess amounts are a civil fine or misdemeanor depending on quantity
• Delivery / Distribution Without a License: MCL 333.27955; felony; selling or transferring marijuana without a state license remains illegal
• Possession with Intent to Deliver (Marijuana): MCL 333.7401; felony based on quantity
• Marijuana in a School Zone: possession, use, or delivery within 1,000 feet of a school; MCL 333.7410; enhanced penalties
• Marijuana and Minors: providing marijuana to anyone under 21; MCL 333.27959; felony
• Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of Marijuana (OUID): MCL 257.625; criminal charge regardless of legal recreational status
• OWPCS (Operating With Presence of THC): per se offense for having any THC metabolite in your system while driving
• Marijuana Cultivation Over the Home Limit: adults may grow up to 12 plants at home; exceeding this limit is a criminal offense
• Possession on Federal Property: federal parks, buildings, and University of Michigan facilities receiving federal funding; federal law still prohibits marijuana possession
• Prior Marijuana Convictions, Expungement: MCL 780.621e; eligible for automatic or petition-based expungement under the Clean Slate Act

Michigan’s Legal Marijuana Framework

Under the MRTMA, Michigan adults 21 and older may legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in public and up to 10 ounces at home, grow up to 12 plants for personal use, and transfer up to 2.5 ounces to another adult without compensation. The key word is “without compensation”, any exchange of money or value for marijuana without a state-issued license is still a criminal offense. Social sharing without payment is legal; informal sales, delivery services, or unlicensed dispensaries are not.

Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. On federally controlled property, including national parks, federal buildings, and universities with federal research funding, state legalization provides no protection. University of Michigan students and employees should be particularly aware that campus policies and federal compliance obligations mean that marijuana use and possession on campus remains prohibited.

Marijuana and Driving

One of the most significant areas of ongoing marijuana prosecution is operating under the influence. Unlike alcohol, Michigan has no legal per se THC limit for driving impairment. Any measurable presence of THC metabolites in your system while driving can support an OWPCS charge, even if you consumed marijuana lawfully days earlier and were not impaired at the time of the stop. OUID (actually impaired driving due to marijuana) requires the prosecution to prove impairment, but OWPCS does not, presence alone is enough. These charges are prosecuted the same as OWI and carry the same license consequences.

Defense Strategies

Legal compliance defense: Verifying that the quantity, location, and circumstances of possession were within the MRTMA’s legal parameters can defeat a charge outright.

Fourth Amendment: The legality of marijuana in Michigan limits officers’ ability to use the smell of marijuana alone as probable cause for a vehicle search. Post-legalization search-and-seizure law in the marijuana context continues to evolve, and many searches that would have been valid before 2018 are now constitutionally questionable.

Expungement of prior convictions: Many Michigan residents still carry marijuana convictions on their records from before legalization. Under MCL 780.621e, certain marijuana convictions are eligible for automatic expungement or petition-based relief. Chris handles these expungements and can evaluate whether your prior conviction qualifies.

OUID impairment challenges: The science of THC impairment is genuinely contested. Unlike alcohol, THC metabolizes and remains in the body long after any psychoactive effect has ended. Field sobriety tests were designed for alcohol impairment and do not reliably indicate marijuana intoxication. Expert testimony on the pharmacology of THC can be a powerful defense in OUID cases.

How Chris Approaches Marijuana Cases

Ann Arbor has a long, distinctive history with marijuana, the city passed one of the country’s earliest decriminalization ordinances in 1972, and Washtenaw County has generally reflected a more measured enforcement approach to minor marijuana matters than many Michigan jurisdictions. That context matters for how local prosecutors approach cases at the margins. Chris evaluates each marijuana charge against the current legal framework, identifies whether the search and seizure that produced the evidence was constitutionally sound, and pursues the most favorable resolution available given the specific facts.