Articles Posted in Medical Marijuana and DUI

The quest to arrest and penalize drivers who are under the influence of marijuana is gaining traction in California and nationwide. Despite the purported ease of arresting, testing, and charging marijuana users the same as alcohol drinkers, the nuances are much more complicated. For one, there is no scientific evidence demonstrating what level drivers who use marijuana become impaired. Even if impairment could be proven, it is impossible to know when a driver is ‘over the limit’ and testing can be inaccurate and indecipherable. Fortunately, a California bill that would have imposed DUI penalties on marijuana users has failed in the legislature.

According to the Huffington Post, the bill would have meant a DUI conviction even if you had trace amounts of THC in your blood. This means that any driver who smoked, regardless of how much and whether they were in fact impaired, would have been charged with DUI. With the increasing severity of DUI charges and penalties, the narrow dodge of the bill protects the rights of marijuana users and citizens in general. Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals and business owners in the cannabis community. In addition to advocating for clients, we are abreast of legal issues and trends that impact marijuana users and industry leaders.
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Now that a lot of states are relaxing marijuana laws, there is growing concern over individuals driving under the influence of marijuana.

Our marijuana defense lawyers in Los Angeles have seen the new legalization create more uncertainty, for citizens as well as law enforcement.

One of the biggest concerns in states like California and Colorado is that the lines of what constitutes impairment are blurred and still being developed.
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As marijuana becomes more acceptable throughout the United States one major source of frustration for advocates continues to be the laws surrounding Marijuana DUIs.

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers realize the issue is not that marijuana advocate encourage driving while high because they do not.

However, the problem is really with the specific enforcement measures some states are taking. Standardized methods of DUI enforcement for alcohol have been created, and while they suffer from their own problems, marijuana DUI enforcement may be even more complicated.
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Marijuana advocates do not support driving under the influence of marijuana as authorities continue to look into the true danger of marijuana impaired driving. As more and more states legalize marijuana use it is important to have a complete understanding of the substance’s effects on driving behavior.

OurLos Angeles marijuana lawyers hope individuals do not drive under the influence of any substance, including marijuana. We also believe it is important to stay current with scientific research on the subject.

Recently in Washington State and Colorado a study revealed that test subjects had to smoke almost an entire gram of marijuana before they were too impaired to drive.
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According to a recent study the prevalence of illicit drugs found in fatal vehicle crashes is low when compared with alcohol. As new marijuana laws take affect it is clear that police officers will begin to focus on marijuana DUI enforcement

Our Los Angeles DUI lawyers do not believe anyone should drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol but would like to educate the public about recent scientific findings. The report shows that there is a much greater likelihood of detecting alcohol in the blood of a driver who was fatally injured than either illicit substances or prescription drugs.

Researchers evaluated the amount of drugs and alcohol in the blood of drivers who were killed between 2008 and 2011.
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A recent study reveals that a marijuana breath test could offer a viable alternative to the extremely controversial blood tests some states are discussing.

Our marijuana defense lawyers have seen many states enact presumptive thresholds for cannabinoids and their metabolites to combat driving while under the influence of marijuana.

Unfortunately, these tests can turn up positive for marijuana use that occurred previously and is no longer having an effect on the individual tested. If tests of this nature are relied on by the court system to catch individuals driving under the influence of marijuana then there is a significant possibility that innocent individuals will be convicted.
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Talks of marijuana legalization in California have spurred lawmakers and law enforcement officers to mull the possible introduction of breathalyzers with the ability to test drivers for the drug, in an effort to curb marijuana DUIs.

This is certainly not the first time the issue of driving under the influence of marijuana has arisen in the Golden State. In fact, there has for some time been talk and even a few failed attempts to establish a formal legal threshold for how much marijuana is too much when behind the wheel. Several other states, including Colorado and Washington, have passed legislation that establishes marijuana intoxication as a measurement 5 or more nanograms of THC per each mililiter of blood.

Of course, these laws have been highly controversial in light of the fact that marijuana is processed in the body much differently than alcohol and even many other drugs. While you are likely to find little to no trace of alcohol in a person’s body 24 to 48 hours after consumption, evidence of marijuana consumption is going to remain in the body for days if not weeks after it has been consumed. For those who ingest it on a regular basis (think medical marijuana patients) the levels of the drug in their system are inevitably going to be higher. That doesn’t necessarily mean the individual is intoxicated.
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