How High is Too High for Colorado Drivers?

In light of widespread marijuana use and driving under the influence cases involving marijuana, Colorado took a controversial step towards answering that question today. The Colorado Senate approved a plan that would allow juries to presume that a driver was guilty of DUI if the active THC in his system was over 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

This is very interesting for a few reasons, but primarily because there is an imperfect correlation between THC levels and impairment. An experienced user of marijuana may have THC levels over 5 ng and be unimpaired, and there may be inexperienced users who are completely unfit to drive but register a lower THC level. To further complicate things, the amount of THC in your blood changes rapidly, making it hard to know what a person’s THC levels were at the time of driving, as opposed to at the time of test.

This is just the tip of the iceberg– the science of THC impairment is complicated, more than that for alcohol DUI cases. For a review of the imperfect science of measuring marijuana/THC impairment, see Paul Armentano’s analysis.

The 5 ng limit will lead to more aggressive prosecutions against drivers with higher THC levels, whether or not they were really impaired. Interestingly, it may also put a thumb on the scale in favor of drivers with low THC levels, whether or not they were really impaired.

More than ever, an experienced Colorado DUI lawyer is critical to defending you. A DUI lawyer can help you attack the prosecution’s forensic evidence if the test came back high. If the test came back low, the lawyer can help you use this new law to fight for dismissal or favorable resolutions that keep you out of jail, and hopefully allow you to keep your license.

Call (303) 900-8480 for a free consultation with Matthew Hand regarding your marijuana DUI.