By Aniko Hoover
At BestDUILawyer.com
It’s a very interesting time for Law in California. In California, Police routinely ignore new laws and policy and continue to raid grows and issue DUI’s to patients who have less than 5ng/ml of THC in their blood. While technically or scientifically speaking the police and district attorneys may be wrong, patients who think they are following the law, and possibly are following the law, routinely plead guilty in plea bargains to crimes even though technically they may be completely innocent. Most patients caught up in the legal system simply cannot afford the legal fees for private attorneys and for a trial which would require them to provide expert witnesses to prove their innocence. So, while the law may say you are legal to grow the plants you need and are legal to take your medicine, the law can be thrown out the window when the police stumble upon your grow or you pass through a DUI checkpoint.
As you may or may not know, 5ng/ml of THC is sort of a standard in determining whether or not someone will be charged with a DUI in states like Colorado and Washington or Montana for determining if someone is impaired because it is equated with driving that is similar to drunk driving.
Just so you know, some studies, have shown that THC in the blood up to 2ng/ml is actually equated with “better than sober” driving. This may be because drivers with THC in their systems are being extra careful because they are fearful of actually being impaired and may be driving slower as a result. As a general rule, in California there is no actual limit of THC that will, or will not be tolerated. Instead police and prosecutors look to the “Totality of the Evidence” in determining if they will make an arrest or bring charges of a DUI — these include Field Sobriety Tests (which are 80% accurate at best) and blood tests. THC levels fall rapidly after marijuana is smoked– and so, for most people- (except chronic smokers – some of which always test over 5ng/ml ) THC levels will be below 5ng/ml after a couple hours. Three hours is considered a safe time to drive after smoking.
California DUI tests are starting to list blood serum levels for THC (DELTA-9-THC) & two metabolites of THC, COOH & 11-OH-THC (11-CARBOXY-DELTA-9-THC & 11-HYRDOXY-DELTA-9-THC) when found in the blood. Of these, only 11-HYDROXY-DELTA-9-THC is “psychoactive” – meaning an indication of being high. COOH (11-CARBOXY-DELTA-9-THC) is not psychoactive and arguably exculpatory because it has a long half-life of several days and is not made in the body until hours after consumption.) A good attorney will know that THC levels below 5ng/ml should indicate no, or very little, impairment despite very high COOH levels. High COOH levels are basically meaningless except to show that consumption was hours ago.
Nevertheless, a District Attorney in California will often only reduce a DUI to a Wet or Dry Reckless, even after negotiation by a private defense attorney, and even when the THC level is less than 5ng/ml. This leaves patients with little choice but to accept a misdemeanor conviction, which is a criminal record, or try to win at trial. Trials are expensive because they require a lot of an attorney’s time exclusively and will require an expert witness to speak on the Client’s behalf.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the organization who invented the Field Sobriety Test that the police use:
“Marijuana has been shown to impair performance on driving simulator tasks and on open and closed driving courses for up to approximately 3 hours. Decreased car handling performance, increased reaction times, impaired time and distance estimation, inability to maintain headway, lateral travel, subjective sleepiness, motor incoordination, and impaired sustained vigilance have all been reported. Some drivers may actually be able to improve performance for brief periods by overcompensating for self-perceived impairment.”
So, if you are a Patient and smoke, best to wait at least 3 hours before driving. Be aware that if police see red eyes or smell marijuana smoke on you or in your car that this could lead to a DUI arrest and a DUI arrest for marijuana most likely will lead to some type of conviction (like a Wet Reckless or Dry Reckless) even if your THC levels are < 5ng/ml. Got DUI? Call me! I’m Aniko “MRS. DUI” Hoover, Esq. 213-291-777 or 909-295-5555 http://BestDUILawyer.com.