It's illegal to drive while high on marijuana in Michigan. It's legal to smoke medical marijuana in Michigan. These two laws were bound to come in conflict with each other. They have, and now the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled driving after smoking pot is ok, but only for medical marijuana users. Far out man.
The ruling comes on the heels of a 2010 ticket that was issued to Rodney Koon. Koon was pulled over for going 30 miles per hour over the limit. When asked, he admitted to smoking marijuana five hours before driving, and showed the officer his certificate which allows him to legally smoke marijuana in the state.
However, he was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of a drug when he tested positive for THC. Koon appealed the charge, and it made it all the way to the state supreme court. Michigan's medical marijuana law states that users cannot be "subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner ... for the medical use of marijuana." They also did not prove that THC had impaired Koon's driving.
The Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users must have some protection under the law. So they can't drive down the road "ripping on a bong" or "blazing on a fat spliff" or "smoking the marijuana like a cigarette." What they can do is medicate, which Koon says is one or two tokes, and then drive a later that day without fear of arrest. If they are pulled over after smoking, charges will only stick if it's proven that the marijuana influenced their driving.
So smoke on dudes, just do it responsibly.