Court in Favor of MMJ Cardholder in DUI Case
Michigan, despite recreational marijuana’s passage, has a zero-tolerance policy for any marijuana in your system while driving. However, Oakland County has recently ruled in defense of a man arrested. Camera footage obtained by Action News shows former Uber driver Arthur Rimbold at the intersection of 14 Mile and Rochester Road in May 2017. At 2 a.m. he made a last-minute decision to turn left, which caught the attention of a nearby officer. “I had no idea what I was doing would fall outside of the norm,” says Arthur Rimbold. He happens to be a card-carrying medical marijuana user and stated he hadn’t smoked marijuana for 14 hours. However, the officer insisted he smelled marijuana. You could see him struggle with a field sobriety test due to a leg injury. Still appearing sober in other tests, Rimbold agreed to a blood test appearing confident. An officer could be heard on a microphone prior saying, “He was just chilling with a (expletive) bong between his legs and a box of weed his foot was on. I’m like, what do you got there? He’s like, 'more weed.'” Rimbold says “from that point forward I was your standard marijuana user and abuser.” Rimbold's attorney, John Dakmak, states that the officer was wrong in telling his client he had to transport pot in the trunk. After a one-week trial, an Oakland County jury found the level of THC in Rimbold’s system did not impair his driving and found him not guilty. “Our legislature needs to step up and provide us with some guidance so we’re all on the same page,” Dakmak said. Rimbold has not ruled out filing a lawsuit since he hasn’t been allowed to smoke medical marijuana until his case was over. The police have no comment.
