Driver suspected of pot use arrested after hitting state police SUV Sunday
Evan James CarterSpringfield Township, Mich. — State police have a message for anyone enjoying recreational marijuana and thinking of driving: You can't do both.
The warning came the day Michigan pot shops opened up for recreational sales and a new crop of customers 13 months after voters approved a ballot measure legalizing adult use.
An incident described by state police in a series of tweets Sunday involved bad road conditions because of rain and alleged pot use by a driver who crashed into a state police SUV.
"(The accident) is a reminder that on the day legal marijuana can be purchased, do not smoke and drive. Just like alcohol, use a ride service, designated driver or stay home," state police said in another tweet.
The driver was arrested for operating while impaired Sunday after his truck hit the cruiser and after he allegedly was found to be "under the influence of marijuana," police said.
"He admitted to smoking marijuana (before) the incident," State Police Lt. Sarah Krebs said.
At about 9 a.m. Sunday, state police said the vehicle was struck when the man driving a pickup truck northbound in the left lane of Interstate 75 in Springfield Township appeared to have lost control, Michigan State Police said on its Twitter page.
The truck spun almost 180 degrees before striking the driver's side of the patrol SUV, police said. The driver had been "driving too fast for road conditions," state police said in a tweet.
The trooper from the Metro North post was policing another traffic crash when the state police vehicle was hit, police said.
The driver was arrested and consented to blood draw, whose results have not been returned yet, police said. The driver was not injured in the crash.
State police said the trooper was transported to a hospital and was treated for minor injuries and released.
About 50 miles away, about 300 people lined up outside Exclusive in Ann Arbor before 10 a.m., when retailers could begin transferring some of their medical inventory for recreational sale in the state's marijuana tracking system. Some consumers waited for hours in the rain and the chilly morning temperatures.
Twitter: @EvanJamesCarter