Possession of marijuana charges were dismissed against two former Fitzgerald Public Schools administrators, but the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the ruling to decide whether it will appeal.
Charges of possession of marijuana on school property were dismissed against former Superintendent Hollie Stange and former Food Services Director Amanda Carroll, both 39, on Sept. 4 by Chief Judge John Chmura in 37th District Court in Warren.
They were arrested Dec. 20 after they were accused of smoking marijuana in Carroll’s vehicle within 1,000 feet of Fitzgerald High School grounds in Warren, according to a Sept. 8 news release from the prosecutor’s office.
Warren police said in a December release that officers saw Stange exit the high school, enter her vehicle, leave school property and drive to a shopping plaza across the street. She entered the passenger seat of an SUV occupied by Carroll, police said, and officers watched as they smoked and shared a marijuana joint.
Stange got back into her vehicle and left the plaza. Police conducted traffic stops on each woman, and officers found a .22-caliber rifle wrapped in a blanket in the rear seat of Stange’s vehicle, according to the police department release.
The prosecutor’s office said that Chmura’s decision came on a motion, with the issue being whether the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, which prohibits possession of marijuana in a school zone, preempted the Public Health Code, which prohibits possession of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school zone.
It said the judge found the plain language of the act states that it takes precedence over any other statute in conflict with it. Therefore, he would not read the 1,000-foot rule into the marijuana act statute. As a result, the possession of marijuana charges were dismissed, according to the prosecutor’s office release.
Stange and Carroll also were both charged with operating while intoxicated, but those charges were dismissed in June without prejudice, according to court records and the prosecutor’s office. The marijuana possession charge was the only remaining charge Carroll faced.
William Barnwell, Stange’s attorney, said in an email Sept. 9: “I appreciate the court’s careful deliberation and proper application of the law, as well as opposing counsel’s professionalism amidst our disagreements during this lengthy process. I do not believe any reviewing appellate court would conclude any differently than the District Court concluded. My client and I look forward to litigating the remaining misdemeanor count in this case.”
Stange still is charged with possessing a weapon in a weapons-free school zone, a 93-day misdemeanor. A pretrial hearing is set for Oct. 16, according to online court records.
In its release, the prosecutor’s office said also at issue was Stange’s weapons possession charge and the search of her vehicle if she did not violate the law by smoking marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school zone.
Prosecutors argued the charge should stand and Chmura agreed, according to the release.
The Free Press emailed Carroll’s attorney for comment Sept. 9, but did not immediately receive a response.
In his release, Prosecutor Peter Lucido said: “It is deeply concerning that, in legalizing marijuana, the legislature also eliminated the safeguard that prohibited its use near school zones. Perhaps that was not their intent, but it is the effect. We should not encourage the use of drugs — even legal ones — near our schools or around children. The legislature should revisit both (the marijuana act) and the Health Code and amend (the marijuana act) to restore the 1,000-foot rule, ensuring that this important protection is once again part of the law.”
The Fitzgerald school district covers the southwest corner of Warren.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Marijuana charges tossed against 2 ex-Fitzgerald school leaders, but appeal still possible
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
