Marijuana legalization impact on DUI law in Washington State still unclear

I recently read an article from the Seattle Weekly that discusses the impact Marijuana legalization would have on DUI laws in Washington State if I-502 is passed.  As a Seattle DUI Attorney this is something I have been following and quite interested in.  The gist of the article discussed if Marijuana was legalization what would the legal limit be, and how it would be enforced as a DUI.

I-502 will be on the ballot this November in Washington State.  In addition to legalizing Marijuana it would also set a limit of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood for drivers over 21, and zero tolerance for minors is proposed. This 5 ng/ml figure is supposed to be similar to the .08 standard currently in place for alcohol related DUI offenses.

Currently in Washington State if someone is arrested for DUI and Marijuana is believed to be the substance that has impaired the driver there is no specific amount of Marijuana in the system, like with alcohol and a .08.  However there are certain levels where the Prosecution can call in an expert and have them testify about how a person might be affected at that level.

Other states with “per se” Marijuana DUI laws are discussed in the article as well.  Its interesting that Nevada Marijuana DUI arrests rose, will Ohio Marijuana DUI arrests decreased when a per se limit was imposed.  From Seattle DUI Lawyer perspective these are interesting statistics and I guess that just goes to show how uncertain all of this information is when it comes to Marijuana.

If you’re interested in reading the article.  You can view it here.