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MSP taking additional steps to rectify possible inaccuracies in THC results

The door seal of a Michigan State Police car.
Joe Ross, Flickr
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The Michigan State Police says it's taking steps to ensure transparency and accuracy after temporarily halting its THC testing due to potentially inaccurate results.

In a statement Wednesday, MSP Director Col. Joe Gasper says THC toxicology results may have misidentified the substance in samples containing CBD. According to Gasper, a technical issue resulted in CBD being converted into THC. MSP conducted an evaluation after the issue came to their attention on Aug. 19.

“The evaluation found the laboratory confirmatory method in use may cause 1) THC to be identified when the sample contains THC, 2) THC to be identified when the sample contains a combination of THC and CBD, or 3) THC to be identified when the sample contains CBD alone,” Gasper wrote in the statement.

The department said the issue may impact court cases as far back as March 28, 2019, which may have impacted 3,250 lab reports.

While THC and CBD are both legal in the state, it’s illegal to drive while using THC.

The department said it notified the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan on Aug. 25 and has requested an independent review from its accrediting body, the ANSI National Accreditation Board.

Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese said prosecutors were told by MSP that it will take about six weeks for the department to develop new testing procedures. Wiese serves on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Task Force on Forensic Science, which did not participate in the finding.

Wiese said current cases using results will be delayed until a new procedure is found and pending cases will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

“Because on quite a few of the cases you may have a combination of THC, alcohol, cocaine, or methamphetamine,” he said. “We don’t rely upon just the drug testing exclusively; we also have to show signs of impairment when we go to court.”

Wiese said he doesn’t expect delays to be as long as those seen during the coronavirus pandemic. He adds he doesn’t foresee a large number of cases being reopened from the past.

“In discussions with other prosecuting attorneys we were generally hard pressed to remember any single case where we just relied upon operating under the influence of THC, there’s almost always some other aggravating factor that goes along with it,” Wiese said.

But Wiese said stakeholders, defense attorneys and defense associations across the state, have been notified of potential inaccuracies in THC reports and are welcome to have their cases reviewed.

“My fellow prosecutors have been fully disclosed on this issue and want to make sure that we address it so people have confidence that our system is fair,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michigan State Police said it has started validating new methods to distinguish CBD from THC and has halted the disposal of blood samples for possible reanalysis.

The department has also begun the process of establishing a contract with a private lab to process samples.

Melorie Begay is WKAR-FM's weekend host and a general assignment reporter.
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