Recently, there has been a significant campaign for Marijuana legalization across the United States. One of the concerns which arise from such a radical change in law that is not often discussed is what kind of impact Marijuana legalization would impact DUI laws.
If Marijuana legalization does actually become a reality in my opinion There are two questions that need to be resolved with regard to Marijuana DUI cases. The first is whether there is a legal limit of Marijuana. The second issue is whether both the inactive and active levels of Marijuana be deemed illegal.
The first question that has to be determined to determine what the limit legal will be. In the United States there are several states that have enacted specific laws for Marijuana DUI cases meaning they have set the legal limit. For example in Nevada as well as Ohio there are two nanogram limits. That is their equivalent of a.08 alcohol limit for DUI involving alcohol charges. Based on the studies I've done, it's interesting that Nevada's strict per se laws caused an increase of Marijuana DUI arrests by 76 percent, while Ohio's implementation of these laws resulted in an increase of 4.8 percent.
Another issue that has to be resolved is whether both active THC and the inactive metabolite of THC are criminalized. States that have in their own DUI laws also have an increased amount of inactive THC metabolite considering that the longer it remains in the system, the less impact it has on impairing an individual. For example both Nevada and Ohio have a 10-nanogram limit for this inactive substance.
If the issues aren't resolved then this legal area will continue to be very murky when it comes to DUIs. In fact whenever I represent those accused of a Marijuana DUI, it really seems that different Prosecutors seem to have differing opinions on when Marijuana affects the person. A toxicologist is usually used by the Prosecution to provide https://baghoomianlaw.com/ evidence on the effects of Marijuana on the human body, and at what level is considered impairing based on different studies. Because of the uncertainties and the various scientific theories out there regarding this, usually the Defense employs an expert to counter what the Prosecutors expert says.
If the legalization of marijuana does occur and the two issues that I discussed are considered than it would make the law much more concrete and would assist people to understand the impairment than Marijuana can cause on the ability of an individual to operate a vehicle.