Opinion ID: 845981
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: 11-CARBOXY-THC IS A SCHEDULE 1 CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE UNDER MCL 333.7212(1)(d)

Text: MCL 257.625(8), which both Kurts and Derror were charged with violating, prohibits the operation of a vehicle while a controlled substance is present in the body. It provides, in relevant part: A person ... shall not operate a vehicle. . . within this state if the person has in his or her body any amount of a controlled substance listed in schedule 1 under section 7212 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7212, or a rule promulgated under that section . . . . MCL 333.7212(1)(c) specifically lists marijuana as a schedule 1 controlled substance, except for certain exceptions not applicable to these cases. The term marijuana is defined in MCL 333.7106(3) as follows: Marihuana means all parts of the plant Canabis [sic] sativa L., growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin. In addition to specifically listing marijuana, MCL 333.7212(1)(d) and (e) provide that the following substances also qualify as schedule 1 controlled substances: (d) Except as provided in subsection (2), synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the plant, or in the resinous extractives of cannabis and synthetic substances, derivatives, and their isomers with similar chemical structure or pharmacological activity, or both, such as the following, are included in schedule 1: ( i ) [δ]1 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers. ( ii ) [δ]6 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers. ( iii ) [δ]3,4 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers. (e) Compounds of structures of substances referred to in subdivision (d), regardless of numerical designation of atomic positions, are included. The Court of Appeals held that 11-carboxy-THC was not a schedule 1 controlled substance under MCL 333.7212(1)(c) because it is not expressly listed in the statute. The Court of Appeals, however, failed to consider other provisions of the Public Health Code in reaching its conclusion; specifically, the provision that defines marijuana. While MCL 333.7212(1)(c) does not specifically list 11-carboxy-THC as a schedule 1 controlled substance, it does list marijuana. As stated above, the Public Health Code includes within the definition of marijuana every compound and derivative of the plant or its seeds or resin. THC is the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. 11-carboxy-THC is a metabolite of THC in that it is produced when the body metabolizes THC. See Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary, which defines metabolite as [a]ny product or substrate (foodstuff, intermediate, waste product) of metabolism, especially of catabolism. [4] The question presented before us is whether 11-carboxy-THC is also a derivative of THC. We hold that the term derivative encompasses metabolites. We construe all words and phrases . . . according to the common and approved usage of the language, but give terms of art and technical words and phrases any peculiar and appropriate meaning ascribed by the Legislature or acquired in common usage in the absence of legislative definition. MCL 8.3a; Schaefer, supra at 435, 703 N.W.2d 774. In the context of this case, the term derivative is a scientific term, definable only by reference to scientific dictionaries. Medical dictionaries have defined the term derivative in a variety of ways. Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary defines a derivative as [s]omething produced by modification of something preexisting, or [s]pecifically, a chemical compound that may be produced from another compound of similar structure in one or more steps, as in replacement of H by an alkyl, acyl, or amino group. [5] Under the first part of this definition, 11-carboxy-THC qualifies as a derivative because it is produced when the body breaks down or naturally modifies THC. 11-carboxy-THC also qualifies as a derivative under the second part of this definition because it is a chemical compound produced when the body metabolizes THC, which is a compound of similar structure. It is undisputed that THC and 11-carboxy-THC are identical except that in 11-carboxy-THC, two oxygen atoms are added to and three hydrogen atoms are removed from the eleventh carbon to make it more water soluble and easier to excrete. Merriam-Webster's Online Medical Dictionary defines a derivative as something that is obtained from, grows out of, or results from an earlier or more fundamental state or condition, or a chemical substance related structurally to another substance and theoretically derivable from it, or a substance that can be made from another substance. [6] The first and third parts of this definition are as broad as the one from Stedman's and would include 11-carboxy-THC because it is produced from THC; it results from the metabolization of THC. The second of the three parts of this definition, however, is more limited in that it includes only a chemical substance related structurally to another substance .... 11-carboxy-THC also fits within this definition because, as stated above, it has an identical chemical structure to THC except for the eleventh carbon atom. Defendants agree that 11-carboxy-THC potentially qualifies as a derivative under the above definitions, but contend that defining the term derivative broadly under the Public Health Code would produce nonsensical results because it would include almost every chemical substance, including carbon dioxide, which is also a metabolite of THC. We agree that most of the above definitions of derivative would encompass metabolites such as carbon dioxide. Not all of the above definitions, however, do so. The second part of the Merriam-Webster's Online Medical Dictionary describes a derivative as a chemical substance related structurally to another substance and theoretically derivable from it. This definition seems to include 11-carboxy-THC as a derivative of THC because it is related structurally to THC, but the definition is not so broad as to include other metabolites such as carbon dioxide. Given these divergent definitions, we must choose one that most closely effectuates the Legislature's intent. Stanton v. Battle Creek, 466 Mich. 611, 618, 647 N.W.2d 508 (2002). [7] In doing so, we apply the definition of the term derivative as defined in the second part of the Merriam-Webster's Online Medical Dictionary. As stated above, this definition includes 11-carboxy-THC as a derivative of THC because it is related structurally to THC, but is not so broad as to include other metabolites such as carbon dioxide. Moreover, this definition is consistent with the purpose of the Public Health Code to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state. [8] The Court of Appeals further held, and the dissent agrees, that 11-carboxy-THC was not a schedule 1 controlled substance because it has no pharmacological effect on the human body. Contrary to the Court of Appeals holding and the dissent's contention, neither MCL 257.625(8) nor MCL 333.7212 requires that a substance have pharmacological properties to constitute a schedule 1 controlled substance. Nor does MCL 257.625(8) require that a defendant be impaired while driving. Rather, it punishes for the operation of a motor vehicle with any amount of schedule 1 controlled substance in the body. [9] The Legislature expressly listed marijuana as a schedule 1 controlled substance. The Legislature expressly included the term derivative within the definition of marijuana. It is not our place to second-guess the Legislature's intent when the language in the statute is plain and unambiguous. [10] Koonce, supra at 518, 648 N.W.2d 153. The Legislature undoubtedly has the power to, and often does, criminalize activity that is not itself necessarily dangerous or illegal because it is closely related to activity that is dangerous or illegal. [11] The Court of Appeals also held that 11-carboxy-THC was not a schedule 1 controlled substance under MCL 333.7212(1)(d) because it is a natural, rather than a synthetic, byproduct of THC. Regardless of whether MCL 333.7212(1)(d) applies to synthetic substances only, 11-carboxy-THC qualifies as a schedule 1 controlled substance under MCL 333.7212(1)(c) and, thus, we need not apply subsection 1(d). Because 11-carboxy-THC qualifies as a derivative, and since derivatives are included within the definition of marijuana, which MCL 333.7212(1)(c) specifically lists as a schedule 1 controlled substance, we hold that 11-carboxy-THC is a schedule 1 controlled substance under MCL 333.7212(1)(c) for the purpose of MCL 257.625(8). We, therefore, reverse the Court of Appeals judgment that held that 11-carboxy-THC is not a schedule 1 controlled substance, and remand both cases to the trial courts for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.