Do you have a cannabis DUI? The State Guide to Marijuana-Related DUI Rules and Regulations

DUID (driving under the influence) appears to be a contributing factor to incapacitating accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2013–2014 National Roadside Survey, driver alcohol consumption decreased from 1973 to 2013–2014. On the other hand, the proportion of weekend night drivers who tested positive for cannabis use increased from 8.6% in 2007 to 12.6% in 2014.

A study conducted in 2013-2014 focused on drugs that could potentially affect the ability to drive, such as blood alcohol levels above 0.005) and 1.5% had a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more, 22.5% had a positive Drug oral fluid and/or drug blood test. The study notes that impairment is not always present when medication is present. NHTSA reports that marijuana use among fatally injured drivers undergoing drug testing quadrupled from 25% in 2007 to 42% in 2016.

DIFFICULTY TESTING FOR DRUG USE

Conducting drug impairment testing is challenging due to the limitations of drug detection technologies and the lack of a consensus threshold to define impairment. 0.08 g/mL blood alcohol concentration is the impairment threshold for drunk driving in the United States. However, there is no comparable national standard for driving under the influence of drugs. People react differently to medication each time. Additionally, marijuana and other drugs can remain in the bloodstream for weeks, making them visible on roadside tests even when they are no longer causing impairment.

Because drivers who may be under the influence of cannabis and alcohol are often fined for high blood alcohol levels and rarely tested for other substances, it is therefore difficult to prosecute cannabis-impaired driving.

Every state has a law that in some way addresses the problem of driving while intoxicated with marijuana. In Alabama, Michigan, and other states, roadside oral fluid testing systems are in place or are currently being used to screen drivers for cannabis and other substances that may affect their ability to drive. States are also exploring ways to improve the collection of accident and citation data to strengthen DUID legislation and enforcement.

STATES AND THEIR DRUGS ATTITUDE

Recreational use of cannabis is legal in 18 states plus Washington, DC, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands; these states are Maine, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Alaska, California, Connecticut, New York, Nevada, Illinois, Oregon, New Mexico, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington and Virginia. Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Guam allow extensive public medical cannabis programs.

In 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin (psychedelic plant) products for people 21 and older.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical in cannabis that gives it its intoxicating effects and causes impairment, has inherent restrictions in these five states: Montana, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, and Washington. These limits range from 2 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood to 5 ng/mL. By law/legislation per se, a person is considered to be legally impaired when it is determined that they have reached or exceeded the legal limit.

The Colorado Rational Rule of Inference states that under circumstances where THC is detected in a driver’s blood at levels of 5 ng/mL or greater, the driver may be presumed to have been driving under the influence of alcohol. Laws based on reasonable inference differ from the laws themselves in that they allow those charged with driving to provide a positive defense to show they were unimpaired, even if their test results were at or above the legal limit.

Along with a few other substances, THC remains completely illegal in twelve states, namely Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin.

The percentage of Washington drivers who tested positive for cannabis after a major collision has doubled from about 9% to almost 18%, according to a recent study by the AAA (American Automobile Association) Foundation for Traffic Safety. This came after the state legalized it in 2012. The study did not establish a causal link between cannabis legalization and an increase in the number of test-positive drivers involved in serious accidents, the study also found.

The death toll from accidents with positive THC tests rose from 18 in 2013 to 77 in 2016 in Colorado, where recreational cannabis was also legal in 2012.

According to the American Automobile Association’s 2020 Traffic Safety Culture Index, a majority of respondents (69%) and (87%), respectively, believe it is very or extremely unsafe to drive after using cannabis and other potentially disruptive prescription drugs drive. The index also found that 77% of survey participants support banning driving while some level of marijuana is present in their system.

Currently, saliva, urine, or blood tests are the most popular ways to find marijuana. That being said, some states have started testing oral fluid pilots. Alabama, for example, used oral fluid testing equipment for both evidentiary and screening purposes in its initial pilot program before transitioning to a permanent oral fluid toxicology program.

The Michigan State Police were given the go-ahead to establish an oral fluids pilot program under Public Acts 242 and 243 of 2016. The oral fluids test was performed in five counties by drug detection professionals during the initial pilot. This initiative, unlike previous ones (like the three-year Colorado testing program that began in March 2015), was not voluntary because drivers did not have the option to refuse to provide a sample. It was a civil offense to refuse an oral fluid test. The program is now running nationwide and has been extended by one year to end on September 30, 2020.

FINAL EFFECT

Honestly, driving under the influence should be banned as a matter of principle. Even with the new trend of legalizing cannabis everywhere, there has to be room for that boundary. With the number of accidents recorded by these DUIs, this shouldn’t even be a discussion.

NHTA ABOUT CANNABIS AND DRIVING, READ MORE…

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