Medical marijuana use has been legal in Pennsylvania for more than a year now. Police and criminal defense lawyers say that it’s high time DUI laws in the state reflect the changes in authorized marijuana use. Some users are unaware of how severely the drug can impact their motor skills and need to be reminded not to operate a vehicle after having used pot.
Pennsylvania residents who use medical marijuana are required to carry cards and these people, some say, should be treated similarly by law enforcement officials to those who take other drugs that are legally prescribed. As it stands, the law considers any level of THC in a person’s bloodstream while operating a motor vehicle to be illegal. What needs to change, officials say, is setting a limit on what would constitute impairment.
A bill is in the works that would change the laws regarding medical marijuana so those who use it lawfully would be better protected. A new law would indeed set an impairment standard. Most district attorneys agree with the idea.
Those with the authority to use medical marijuana and who operate a motor vehicle after having allegedly used it and who are charged will need advice from a criminal defense lawyer. Drug use, even when sanctioned by the law as in the case of medical marijuana, still comes with consequences when those laws are broken. A Pennsylvania lawyer will be able to guide a client facing a DUI charge connected to medical marijuana use or any other substance that allegedly should not be used while driving .
