GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – An evidentiary hearing in a disputed charge originally set for Nov. 5 has been dropped in the case where a medical marijuana patient is charged with a felony for synthetic THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The Ottawa County assistant prosecutor filed motions to quash, or suppress, the defense’s subpoenas, and adjourned the Nov. 5 hearing until a later date. Essentially this move buys the prosecution more time before explaining this issue of possible politicking in Michigan State Police Forensic Science crime lab's marijuana reporting.
Since February, FOX 17 has covered this case involving Max Lorincz, a Spring Lake father charged with a felony for having medical marijuana. His attorneys with Komorn Law PLLC argue Lorincz’s “smear” amount of butane hash oil is covered under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act as “usable marijuana,” or specifically the “mixture of preparation” of the marijuana plant.
Last week FOX 17 first reported a major development in the case: the defense’s claim that state police crime labs are misreporting marijuana test results. This results in ambiguous crime lab reports the lead to felonies charged despite no proof beyond a reasonable doubt of what the substance actually is.
The prosecution filed a motion to quash the defense subpoenas in rebuttal to the defense’s motion to quash Lorincz’s bindover and a defense motion to show cause to produce evidence and testify against incriminating emails that spell out a debate among law enforcement, scientists, and prosecutors associated with the state attorney general’s office in reporting marijuana forensically.
Earlier, the defense’s motion to show cause subpoenaed 13 people to appear in court this Thursday, including 11 MSP crime lab employees, one West Michigan Enforcement Team member, and a prosecutor with the AG’s office. The defense had ordered the named people to show lab reports, communications, and marijuana related forfeitures, all of which would produce important testimony.
However, Assistant Prosecutor Karen Miedema in her motion to quash subpoenas argued whether these people should even testify and wrote that this would take too much time, citing Lorincz’s preliminary exam last spring, which took three hours to hear two witnesses.
Although Miedema filed this motion Oct. 30, the defense told FOX 17 they received a phone call Tuesday adjourning Thursday’s evidentiary hearing. The defense plans to file further motions and call for a hearing, likely in December.
FOX 17 reached out to the Ottawa County Prosecutor’s office and has not heard back.
Tune into FOX 17 News at 10 p.m. Thursday for an in-depth story into the developing allegations in this case.
