Legal Review: Confused About Cannabis and DUI Laws? A New Interactive Map Clarifies

Marijuana is the most cultivated, trafficked, and consumed drug globally. While it remains illegal under federal law, the push for its legalization is becoming more intensive by the day at home and abroad.

Several states have softened their stance on marijuana, making it legal to some extent. The American legal marijuana industry is estimated at $13.6 billion, creating over 340,000 jobs.

However, most states consider driving when high on cannabis an offense, with different states creating different rules and penalties for the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol and cannabis.

A New Interactive Map

Since its inauguration in July 2021, the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID) has been trying to deploy different technologies to fight all aspects of impaired driving. The most recent was released in late March 2022, which is a user-friendly online tool enabling criminal justice professionals to navigate the complex cannabis and DUI laws for free.

This tool is created with all parties fighting multiple drugs and impaired driving in mind, including lawyers, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals. Before this map became available online, criminal justice professionals had to go through databases and federal and state laws to understand DUI, cannabis, and underage drinking.

According to Darrin Grondel, the head of government relations at Responsibility.org, the organization that runs NASID, criminal justice professionals can access all the information they need by clicking a button.

It Provides the Most Updated Laws

“The days of burning the midnight oil gathering resources for a case are over,” says drug attorney Oleg Fastovsky of the Maryland Criminal Defense Group. The tool was created to allow for regular updates, given the rate at which marijuana laws are changing. This gives users the most up-to-date information helping them stay on top of the evolving laws.

According to Jonathan Adkins, the executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, road safety advocates and other people invested in eliminating DUI related to alcohol, marijuana, or multiple drug impairment should be able to keep up with evolving laws if they are going to win the battle.

This tool came at a critical time when the NHTSA released its comprehensive 2020 report that indicated a significant increase in fatalities recorded since 2007. Sadly, 11,654 deaths were a direct result of alcohol and intoxication, a 14% increase from the figures recorded in 2019. An even worse statistic is the 2021 preliminary NHTSA results released in mid-May. According to the report, DUI-related accidents increased by 5 percent, making it a 19% increase since 2019.

Marijuana Intoxication Tests

If the police suspect a DUI case, they will pull the car over. They will then request the driver to take a sobriety test to establish intoxication, including taking an alcohol breath test. Field sobriety tests are not enough to establish marijuana intoxication, so if the police have reason to believe that you have another substance besides alcohol, they may demand further tests.

One of the most commonly used tests for marijuana is the oral fluid or saliva test. If a person doesn’t have any alcohol in their system, a blood drug content between 2 ng/ml to 5 ng/ml will get them in trouble, but not as much as a five ng/concentration. If alcohol is also present, a blood drug concentration of 2.5ng/ml and 50mg per 100ml of blood will get you in serious trouble.