Yes. Under the current Pennsylvania DUI law you can be arrested and convicted for driving with any amount of marijuana or marijuana metabolite in your bloodstream. This is true even if you show no signs of impairment such as loss of balance. The only requirement for conviction is that you drove a car on a Pennsylvania road with active or inactive marijuana compounds in your body.
At Ward Law, we believe Pennsylvania’s DUI law conflicts with the Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”). Under the MMA, qualified medical cannabis users are exempt from penalty because of their lawful use of medical marijuana. We believe the MMA supersedes the “zero tolerance” DUI law and should exempt lawful cannabis users if they are safe to drive.
Having a medical marijuana card is not a license to drive while impaired. All medical marijuana users have a duty to use medical cannabis in a safe and legal way. However, no lawful cannabis user should be convicted of DUI simply because they use medical marijuana to treat their serious medical condition.
DUI arrest and conviction is a serious matter. It can involve the loss of license, fines, and jail. If you have been arrested for DUI for your lawful use of cannabis, we will be happy to speak with you. Please contact our office to schedule a consultation.
Please note: The Pennsylvania appellate courts have recently ruled against the position advocated by Ward Law. We still strongly believe that the DUI law must be changed to accommodate lawful medical cannabis use. We are happy to represent anyone who believes they have been wrongly convicted under the present DUI law.