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Last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed an amendment that would protect medical marijuana patients from DUI charges.
Before the amendment was passed, medical marijuana patients could be convicted of driving under the influence if THC is detected in their blood. However, traces of THC can still remain in the body even days after consumption. Representative Ed Gainey stated that if a patient consumed medical marijuana on Monday, they are not intoxicated on Wednesday. He goes on to say “if they got pulled over, they darned shouldn’t be charged for being intoxicated or under the influence of medical marijuana.”
Fortunately, the approved amendment exempts patients from DUI penalties because they are using cannabis lawfully in conformity to Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana laws.
In other states where medical marijuana programs have been implemented, there are often THC limits in the blood, similar to the blood alcohol content levels when driving. However, there is no clear evidence on the correlation between impairment and THC content in the bloodstream. In fact, a group of Canadian researchers published a study in 2019 that concluded there was no evidence of increased crash risk in individuals who consumed the legal limit of THC (between 2-5 nanograms of THC per mL of blood) and a non-significant increase of crash risk for drivers who consumed more than the legal THC limit.
If you are interested in obtaining your Pennsylvania medical marijuana card, please give us a call today at (855) 607-5458 to learn more or schedule an appointment.