Court Opinion

ID: 9534036
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:36:26.398058+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:29:22.578458
License: Public Domain

T. M. Burns, J.
(concurring). While I can add little to Judge Riley’s very fine opinion, certain points bear emphasis.
I concur in the holding that the City of Ypsilanti cannot by ordinance prohibit the enforcement of state criminal statutes by city police officers. We leave intact, however, the remainder of the ordinance which in effect provides the Ypsilanti police with a choice in dealing with marijuana offenses.
It is unfortunate that it was necessary for the city to challenge the supremacy of the state. Encouragement should be given, however, to good faith attempts on the part of the city to reflect conditions existing in the local community as long as there is no direct conflict with statewide legislation.
As suggested by Judge Riley, the most forth*101right resolution to this conflict would be remedial action on the part of the Legislature. Quite simply, it is time to remove at least some, if not all, substance abuse problems from the criminal justice arena. The use and possession of marijuana, for example, is a medical, social, political and moral problem. It should not be a criminal problem. The costs of making it such are just too great. The waste of time, money and other resources of the criminal justice system on enforcement of marijuana laws can no longer be justified. Much more significant, however, are the inestimable costs to both individuals and society of making criminals of decent human beings and the encouragement of the citizenry, particularly the young, to disrespect and distrust our laws and those who make and enforce them.