Flock Cameras, AI, and Marijuana: What Happens If You Get Into a Car Accident?

You legally buy marijuana at a Michigan dispensary and drive away. An hour later, you are involved in a serious car accident. You never tell anyone where you were, but a Flock camera may have recorded your vehicle near the dispensary. Other cameras may have captured you entering and leaving. Police bodycams record the accident investigation, and a blood test later detects THC.

Now the other driver claims you were high and caused the crash. The insurance company starts putting the pieces together. A dispensary visit does not prove you used marijuana, and THC in your system does not automatically prove impairment. But Flock cameras, surveillance footage, toxicology results, and other evidence could make the hours before a marijuana related car accident much easier to reconstruct than many Michigan drivers realize.

Could Flock Cameras Know You Visited a Marijuana Dispensary?

Yes, a Flock camera could potentially record that your vehicle was at or near a marijuana dispensary. According to Flock Safety, its automated license plate readers use AI powered software to turn images into searchable vehicle data, including license plate, make, model, color, location, and time. The cameras identify vehicles, however, not whether someone bought or used marijuana.

This is not entirely hypothetical in Michigan. A Madison Heights settlement agreement required a marijuana retailer to install a Flock license plate scanning camera at the entrance to its customer parking lot and provide police access to the camera and its data. The situation sparked a major discussion among Michigan marijuana users on Reddit, with customers raising concerns about why vehicles visiting a legal marijuana business were being recorded. JARS later said the camera was removed after the dispensary worked with the city and received approval.

For someone involved in a car accident, the distinction is critical. A vehicle appearing near a marijuana dispensary does not prove the driver bought marijuana, consumed marijuana, or was impaired. But it could potentially establish one piece of the timeline investigators examine when marijuana use becomes an issue after a crash.

Police Have Already Used Flock Data in a Marijuana Investigation

This is not just a theoretical concern. In a recent Wisconsin case, police used Flock camera data while investigating a vehicle that traveled into Michigan, where recreational marijuana is legal, and then returned to Wisconsin.

According to reporting on the case, Flock records showed Edward Abrams Phillips’ vehicle traveling between Wisconsin and Michigan. His travel history was referenced as part of the justification for searching the vehicle for marijuana. There were other important facts involved, including an outstanding warrant, so this was not simply a case of police stopping someone because they visited Michigan.

The case did not involve a car accident, but it demonstrates something important for marijuana users who drive. Flock data can potentially turn where your vehicle has been into evidence in a marijuana investigation.

Now change the facts slightly. What happens if that trip to Michigan involves a marijuana dispensary, and the vehicle is involved in a serious car accident shortly afterward?  That is where the connection between Flock cameras, marijuana, and car accident evidence becomes much more interesting.

What If You Get Into a Car Accident After Leaving a Dispensary?

Imagine you stop at a Michigan marijuana dispensary on your way home. You make a legal purchase, get back into your car, and leave.

At 4:12 p.m., a Flock camera records your vehicle near the dispensary.

At 5:03 p.m., you are involved in a serious car accident.

At 5:15 p.m., police begin investigating the crash. During that investigation, officers learn from available license plate reader data that your vehicle was recorded near a marijuana dispensary less than an hour before the collision.

That does not prove you purchased marijuana, consumed it, or drove while impaired. But it could give investigators another reason to look more closely at whether marijuana played a role. Michigan State Police explains that officers investigating cannabis impairment consider driving behavior, observations of the driver, and field sobriety testing before potentially requesting a chemical test.

Suppose additional evidence raises concerns about impairment and a blood test is lawfully obtained. The test later detects THC. Suddenly, investigators have several pieces of a potential marijuana timeline.

None of these pieces automatically proves you were driving high. Michigan courts have recognized that THC blood levels do not correlate neatly with a driver’s degree of impairment.

But that distinction can become critical in a Michigan marijuana car accident claim. The concern is not that a Flock camera can prove marijuana impairment. It is that the camera could potentially put marijuana on investigators’ radar in the first place, after which other evidence may be used to determine whether marijuana affected the driver and contributed to the crash.

Michigan Marijuana Dispensaries Already Have Extensive Camera Systems

A Flock camera may not be the only camera that records your visit to a marijuana dispensary. Michigan already requires licensed marijuana businesses to maintain extensive video surveillance systems.

Under Michigan Administrative Rule R 420.209, cameras must record entrances and exits from both indoor and outdoor vantage points, point of sale areas, and other locations where marijuana is handled. Cameras around entrances and exits must also be positioned to clearly record activity within 20 feet and allow identification of people, including facial features. Recordings generally must be retained for at least 30 days.

Go back to our hypothetical. The Flock record might establish that your vehicle was near the dispensary at 4:12 p.m. The dispensary’s own cameras could potentially provide another piece of the timeline surrounding that visit.

That does not mean police or an insurance company automatically have access to the footage, nor does the footage automatically prove you purchased or consumed marijuana. But after a serious car accident where marijuana impairment is being investigated, there may be considerably more video evidence surrounding a dispensary visit than most drivers realize.

Can AI or a THC Test Actually Prove You Were High?

No. A Flock camera can potentially help establish where a vehicle was, but it cannot determine whether the person behind the wheel was high. A THC test can provide another piece of evidence, but that does not automatically answer the impairment question either.

Michigan does not use a single THC limit to determine marijuana impairment the way it uses a .08 blood alcohol concentration for alcohol. A Michigan Court of Appeals decision discussed evidence that THC concentration in the blood does not closely correlate with a person’s degree of impairment.

Instead, Michigan State Police says officers investigating cannabis impairment look at three stages: the driver’s behavior, the officer’s observations, and the driver’s performance on field sobriety tests. Based on those stages, an officer may request chemical testing.

That is why proving marijuana impairment after a car accident can require looking at the entire picture. Toxicology results may matter, but so can witness statements, video footage, police observations, admissions, driving behavior, and evidence from the crash itself.

Think of Flock as potentially answering one question: Where was this vehicle and when?

It cannot answer the much harder question: Was this driver actually impaired by marijuana when the accident happened?

AI may be getting better at reconstructing where vehicles have been. That does not mean AI can determine what marijuana was doing to the person behind the wheel.

What If You Used Marijuana but Did Not Cause the Accident?

Using marijuana does not automatically make you responsible for a car accident. Even if THC is detected in your system, there still has to be a connection between marijuana impairment, how you were driving, and how the collision actually happened.

Imagine you used marijuana earlier in the day. Hours later, you are stopped at a red light when another driver crashes into the back of your vehicle. Maybe a Flock record shows that you visited a dispensary. Maybe THC is still detectable in your blood. You may even admit that you used marijuana earlier.

None of those facts changes who drove into the back of whom.

That is why fault and liability in a marijuana related car accident should be based on what each driver actually did to cause the collision, not simply whether marijuana was involved.

There is an important Michigan specific warning, however. If an injured person’s ability to function was actually impaired by a controlled substance and that impairment made the person 50% or more the cause of the accident, Michigan law provides an absolute defense to the injury claim. If the impaired person was less than 50% responsible, damages can be reduced by that percentage.

The key word is cause. A positive THC result or evidence of marijuana use can matter, but Michigan courts have recognized that the evidence still has to be evaluated alongside the person’s conduct and the circumstances of the accident.

What If the Other Driver Was High?

Now flip the situation. Another driver runs a red light and crashes into your vehicle. At the scene, you smell marijuana coming from their car, and police begin investigating whether impairment may have contributed to the collision.

What if investigators also discover that the other driver’s vehicle was recorded near a marijuana dispensary shortly before the crash?

That Flock record would not prove the driver bought marijuana or was high. But it could add another piece to the investigation. Police observations, THC testing, witness statements, dispensary surveillance, video of the driver’s behavior, and evidence showing how the collision occurred could all become relevant.

The important part is how those pieces fit together. A vehicle near a dispensary may help establish a timeline. A THC result may establish that marijuana was in the driver’s system. Witnesses and police may provide evidence of impairment. Running the red light provides evidence of the driving error that caused the crash.

The technology does not change what ultimately has to be proven. It may simply give someone injured by a marijuana impaired driver more evidence to work with.

Could Cameras Eventually Identify the Marijuana User, Not Just the Car?

Today’s Flock cameras primarily identify vehicles, not the people driving them. But newer surveillance technology suggests that distinction may not always be so clear.

Leonardo, another license plate recognition company, is marketing a system called SignalTrace that detects signals from devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, Bluetooth devices, RFID tags, and vehicle systems. The company says its software can correlate devices that repeatedly travel together with a vehicle and create what it calls an “electronic fingerprint.” It can then associate that fingerprint with license plate and location data.

To be clear, we have not found evidence that this is a capability of the Flock cameras currently operating in Michigan. SignalTrace is a separate technology from a different company.

But think about where this could eventually lead for marijuana related car accidents. Today, a camera may establish that a particular vehicle was near a dispensary. Future technology could potentially make it easier to associate that vehicle with the same collection of electronic devices traveling inside it.

Vehicle surveillance is already moving beyond simply reading license plates. If that trend continues, reconstructing who was traveling where before a marijuana related crash could become considerably more precise.

The Real Issue After a Marijuana Car Accident Is Still Causation

Flock cameras, dispensary surveillance, THC testing, and AI may give investigators more information than ever before. But none of that changes the most important question after a marijuana related car accident: Did marijuana impairment actually contribute to causing the crash?

You could have a Flock record showing that a vehicle was near a dispensary, video showing the driver entering the business, and a later blood test detecting THC. Those facts may create a compelling timeline, but they still do not establish exactly how the accident happened.

The evidence ultimately has to connect the dots:

Marijuana use → Marijuana impairment → Unsafe driving → Car accident

Michigan law reflects that distinction. When an injured person’s controlled substance impairment is raised as a defense, the law specifically requires a connection between the impairment and that person’s contribution to causing the accident.

That is why the growing amount of digital evidence surrounding marijuana use is so interesting. Technology may make it easier to reconstruct what a driver did before a crash, but it does not eliminate the need to prove what actually caused the collision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer : This article discusses emerging technology and hypothetical scenarios involving marijuana and car accidents. Flock cameras do not determine whether a person purchased marijuana, used marijuana, or was impaired while driving. The availability and use of camera data, surveillance footage, toxicology results, and other evidence will depend on the facts and legal circumstances of each case. References to future technology are provided for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as describing the capabilities of Flock cameras currently operating in Michigan.