Driving with marijuana?

Whoever gave your friend a DUI is just an asshole cop.

It doesn't matter whether you have a card or not, it is law that you can't drive under the influence of medical marijuana.

There is a big caveat though...

The technology does not exist (that I'm aware of, and a little research confirms) to tell if somebody is currently under the influence of marijuana. It stays in your system up to a month and there is no difference between the levels right after you smoke and say 1 or 2 days afterwards.

Field Sobriety tests mean nothing when it comes to MJ... they are only certified for alcohol and they don't even mean a lot when it comes to that... but that won't stop the cops from giving you one and then giving you a DUI if you fail.

That being said, any halfway decent attorney (probably even a public defender) would get it thrown out ridiculously fast. It's innocent until proven guilty, and there is literally no way for them to prove you were actually high. They'd have to see you with a joint in your mouth to prove you were smoking.

 

Huh?
The car smelled like weed, that's all the cops need. Dunno what world you're living in.
Field sobriety tests do mean something when it comes to weed, all they have to say is your eyes are bloodshot, you were slurring words, pupils were dilated, etc.
A public defender would get this thrown out ridiculously fast? You have never been to court.

 

So... if your car smells like weed simply because there is weed in the car that means they can give you a DUI? So... if you are a MMJ patient carrying medicine in your car you can at any time get a DUI?

Field sobriety tests were designed for alcohol, not marijuana. They have absolutely no relevance to MJ. Even with regards to alcohol they don't mean that much. Have you ever wondered why the state forces people who get DUI's to do a blood test or urine test? It's because the field sobriety tests are not accurate in the least and are basically only used by cops to decide if they should arrest or let someone go. They will bring it up in court, but without a blood test or urine test, it is worthless.

And for the record... I called NORML and talked to a lawyer about this, as well as my own lawyer who is the MJ attorney here in Colorado. There is no way to prove that you were actually high.

Your eyes being bloodshot is also not proof. My eyes are bloodshot ALL the time... because I have bad allergies. Pupils dilated, again, mean nothing.

I suggest you actually learn what you are talking about before you post telling someone they don't.

 

I was watching a show the other day and they actually arrested a girl for driving under the influence of Methamphetamines. It was still a DUI and she was handcuffed and put in the police car for it.

It blows my mind... is all I'm saying.

 

I don't know where in the US we are talking about, but here in california just smoking in your car gets you a DUI...patient or not.

OK well tell me how it goes with your "my eyes are always bloodshot defense"
Like I said you have never been to court...it's the cops word versus your's. Who do you think will win?

Field sobriety tests were designed to test your sobriety out in the field. Get it? It's for all drugs, if they want to find out if you've been drinking they can bust out the breathalizer. But those don't work for other drugs...oh no what will they do? Perform other tests to decide whether or not you're sober enough to be driving.

You're in for a rude awakening when you get pulled over if you think it's this easy to fight it. Lawyers cost money and usually it's cheaper to just take the charge. I know medical marijuana patients here that have gotten tickets and had to take the class because they know and the cops know that it's cheaper to do that than to fight it.

 

After seeing how much negative energy you bring to this board... and how many people here dislike you... and your attitude... I probably shouldn't even bother with responding to you.

A cop's word is not enough to get you convicted of a DUI... if it was, there would be a hell of a lot more DUI convictions... and there would be virtually no way to defend yourself. Hence why they ALWAYS do a blood or urine test. Doesn't matter what state you are in.

Cops can also not tell by the smell of your car whether or not you smoked in it the day before, or right before you got pulled over. Again, not enough to convict you.

Your eyes being bloodshot... Cops cannot tell the difference between allergies and being high. Not enough to convict.

But hey, don't believe lawyers who are experts in their field and have actually dealt with this stuff in a courtroom... go with what you think.

 

Why you gotta bring personal stuff in to this thread? Has nothing to do with it.

But whatever man, you keep living in your fantasy world. You seem to avoid my statement that you have never set foot in a court room, you are going by what your NORML bible says.
So, like I said, take your own advice.

 

Okay, Okay... you convinced me. I'm going to listen to your legal advice instead of my actual attorney, who as I said is the best MJ attorney in Colorado, and those of NORML's, and I'm going to strictly listen to you... even though you are not a lawyer and have no idea what you are talking about. You still know better than them.

 

I think it would be best if you guys continued this conversation via PM's, or just stop responding to each other.

 

I'm glad you've finally seen the light. Have a nice day.

BTW you're talking about colorado, I'm talking about california so really we are both idiots for arguing. Here you can get a DUI for smoking in your car even if it's parked, patient or not...THAT IS FACT. How do tey know if you've been smoking? They don't, cops win in this situation. DONE

 

Which State it's in doesn't matter. It's innocent until proven guilty, and they can't prove you are guilty unless they can prove you smoked... which they can't.

And yes, Sketchy, this is useless and I'm no longer replying, and probably shouldn't have posted that last one. It's just frustrating to see someone misinforming people.

-The Budmaster

 

It does matter what state. Let's say you got pulled over in upstate New York and they search your car and find some weed. You're going to get nailed with every offense they can think of and unless you have the money to hire a lawyer (the public one won't help you because he's friends with the judge) you're SOL.

Anyone here who's been pulled over in upstate New York knows exactly what I'm talking about.

 

We aren't talking about possession... we are talking about DUI.

It doesn't matter if it's a medical state or not... it's illegal to drive under the influence of drugs. Either way, in new york, california, or colorado, or anywhere else, they can't prove you were high and thus can't convict you of DUI. They CAN cite you for DUI... but not convict. (That's oversimplified, they can, but if you have a lawyer with half a brain it won't happen)

You also don't know much about public defenders if you think they won't help you. There are MANY public defenders out there that have great conviction to the law. Arguably best criminal defense attorney in Colorado was a public defender.

 

They may not convict you of a DUI, but they can cite you for whatever they want and that shit never goes off your record. Every time you go for a job interview and they do a background check you will have to explain why you have a citation for possession and possibly a DUI. And you obviously don't understand upstate NY and the corruption that runs deep throughout their local justice systems.

 

The only stuff that goes on your record is stuff that you are convicted of. Nothing else.

Seriously, can people stop posting if they don't know the law.

 

Citations never go away. You are the one who is ignorant on the legal system of the United States.

 

No. If you are charged with something, it doesn't go on your record unless you are convicted.

This goes for everything from Traffic Tickets to Murder Charges.

If what you are saying is true, then people falsely charged with murder or any other crime would be fucked even if they are innocent. That's not how it works. If you aren't convicted, they can't put it on your record because as far as the state/country is concerned you didn't commit any crime. Furthermore, you can very easily have the internal police and court records sealed which means that even police can't see that you were charged with it.

Honestly, can you guys please call some lawyers before posting in the future... this is getting old.

 

You know, I've actually been on a jury in a DUI case - it was alcohol related, not MJ. The overabundance of evidence that the cops produced - breathalyzer (he blew .11), field sobriety, the fact that the accused was driving erratically, and that he admitted to "having a couple drinks" led us to convict him.

Remember that a JURY has the last say, not the cops.

I don't know what you all are arguing over, because frankly I skipped those posts. I just wanted to point out though that a police officer with a good record's word WILL count more to a jury than the accused. Believe me, the defense attorney grilled the HELL out of the arresting officers too, we knew how long these guys had been on the force, what their specialties were, how they were trained, etc.