Michigan State Police announced on Thursday that it's halting the processing of THC blood samples because CBD — the marijuana plant's medically beneficial, non-psychoactive cousin — may be producing false positives.
An email from the state prosecutors' association to prosecutors said the police agency “very recently learned that the test is unable to distinguish between THC and CBD, MLive reports:
"They are working to understand the issue and scope of the problem. They expect to have additional information in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have a case that relies on a THC toxicology screening, you should not rely on that result,” (said the email from the association's executive director, Cheri L. Bruinsma.)
It’s unknown how many pending cases may be impacted by the testing problem, how long the issue has persisted or if it could result in past convictions that relied on marijuana blood testing being overturned.
A leading marijuana defense attorney tells the outlet that the issue could call thousands of convictions into question.
(Michael Komorn is) calling for a full independent investigation into the state police crime lab and the creation of a lab that operates independently from the police force.
Michigan State Police uses its own lab; it's unclear whether cases involving other state law enforcement agencies may also be affected.
