DPS chief: Arizona high court ruling doesn’t change DUI laws

Posted on June 17, 2019 in Drunk Driving

The state Supreme Court recently ruled that people with medical marijuana cards cannot be arrested for possessing weed extracts. But the director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Col. Frank Milstead, told a Phoenix TV reporter that the ruling does not change the state’s DUI laws.

“Just because the Supreme Court said you can now possess those (extracts) with your medical marijuana card, it does not mean that you can drive impaired or drive under the influence of those,” Milstead said.

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision reversed a lower court’s ruling that had found medical marijuana cardholders could be arrested for hashish possession because the substance wasn’t named in Arizona’s medical marijuana law.

Regardless, Milstead said that any amount of THC in a person’s system while driving is illegal. He added that “you can actually have a drink for social benefit or enjoy the taste and not be impaired or drunk, butmarijuana’s going to make you high.”

He said that use of “marijuana in any form” means “you shouldn’t be driving your car.”

It should be noted that you can be convicted of DUI if you drive while impaired by a legal substance (alcohol, prescription drugs, etc.) or an illegal substance such as a street drug. It is also clear that any combination of legal and illegal substances that results in impairment while driving can also result in arrest and conviction for driving under theinfluence.

The penalties for DUI convictions involving drugs are just as severe as DUI convictions involving alcohol. Do not hesitate in defending your freedom and your ability to drive. Contact qualified legal representation immediately so that you are protected at every step of the legal process.