Marijuana DUI Arizona – State must show impairment

Since Arizona legalized Medical Marijuana in 2010 there has been a question about DUI Drug charges for patients. Existing DUI law in Arizona is based on impairment to the slightest degree and for DUI Drug that means trace amounts. The problem is that THC can stay in the bloodstream for 30 days after usage, long after the effects of the drug have passed. Recently the AZ Supreme court ruled that additional tests would be required in order to prove impairment.

Marijuana DUI Arizona – State must show impairment

In this video Phoenix Criminal Defense Lawyer Burges McCowan explains the ruling and what it means.

Start Transcript
This is Burges McCowan. In this video, I’m going to talk about DUI involving marijuana.

In Arizona, they can charge you with DUI for having marijuana in your system. Historically, in Arizona law, it didn’t matter whether that marijuana actually impaired you or not, or marijuana can stay in your system for number of weeks. You may not actively be high at all from that marijuana.

But in Arizona, they could still charge you with DUI just for having trace amounts of that marijuana in your blood stream. Fortunately, there’s a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that has changed that. The court has found that you have to have impairment in order to be convicted of driving under the influence or driving while impaired.

That means that just having a trace amount of marijuana in your system is no longer good enough in the state. They have to show that it’s active and that you are actually impaired by the drug. So if you’ve been charged with DUI involving marijuana, you need to make sure you have a qualified attorney to look at this because you now have a new defense available to you. You want to make sure you’re taking full advantage of that.

I’m familiar with marijuana DUI laws. I can help you. I offer free consultations, give me a call.
End Transcript