Recently, there has been a significant campaign for Marijuana legalization across the nation. One of the problems that arise with this radical change in the law that is not often discussed is what kind of impact Marijuana legalization would impact DUI laws.
If Marijuana legalization is to get some serious attention, in my opinion it is a matter of two things to be resolved in relation in Marijuana DUI cases. The first issue is whether there should be any legal limits on Marijuana, and secondly would both the inactive and active levels of Marijuana be deemed illegal.
The first question that has to be determined will be what the legally-enforceable limit 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. In other words that is the equivalent of a.08 alcohol level for alcohol related DUI charges. Based on the studies I have done it is fascinating that Nevada's strict law enforcement has led to an increase of Marijuana DUI arrests by 76 percent, while Ohio's implementation of these laws led to the reduction of 4.8%
Another issue that has to be resolved is whether both the active THC and the inactive metabolite THC are criminalized. States that have in their own DUI laws also have an increased amount of inactive THC metabolite considering https://baghoomianlaw.com/ that the longer it remains in the system, the less impact it has in affecting an individual. For instance, both Nevada as well as Ohio have a 10 nanogram limit of this inactive substance.
I believe that if these issues remain unsolved the law remains unclear when it comes to DUIs. In reality, whenever I represent someone who is charged with the crime of a Marijuana DUI and it appears that the different Prosecutors appear to have different opinions about at what point the Marijuana can affect the individual. A toxicologist is typically employed by the prosecution to testify about the effects of marijuana on the human bodyand at what levels are generally considered to be impairing, based on different studies. Because of the uncertainties and all the different scientific theories out there about this issue, typically the Defense also uses an expert to argue 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 this legal area much more concrete and would assist people to understand the impairment that Marijuana may cause to the ability of an individual to operate a vehicle.