What’s Florida Law say about Marijuana DUI?

It has been a couple of years since voters amended Florida’s constitution to allow Florida citizens to use medical cannabis if they get a doctor’s approval. The world did not come to an end. The state workforce did not turn into an army of hungry, red-eyed zombies. All-in-all, nothing much has changed. But a question I get a lot is, “Can I get a marijuana DUI if I have a medical prescription.” The answer is yes.

Florida’s DUI statute has always made it illegal to drive while you are impaired by: (1) alcohol, (2) a controlled substance, or (3) a chemical substance. Everybody knows about drinking and driving – one beer too many, you are over a .08, off to jail. What surprises many people is that you go to jail for simply taking your prescriptions. If you suffer from anxiety and your doctor prescribes you Xanax, you are expected to take your pills on a regular basis, as the doctor instructs you to. Well, guess what? You are driving around town with a controlled substance in your bloodstream. If something happens and you get arrested for DUI, the officer may well request that you submit to a urine test. That urine test will be positive for Alprazolam, a controlled substance under Florida law. To be clear – driving after taking your medications is only illegal if your “normal faculties” are impaired by the medication. This is the same as it is with drinking and driving. So long as your normal faculties are not impaired (or over a .08), it is not illegal to drink and drive. The point is that if you are involved in a car accident, for example, and the officer has you pee into a cup, you may find yourself in a tough place. You may be looking for a DUI attorney to help fight a criminal case!

Medical cannabis, or marijuana, is much like the Xanax that your doctor prescribed. It is not illegal for you to take it, it is not illegal for you to drive with a certain level of it in your system, but it is illegal to drive if it is impairing your normal faculties. Some officers are trained to detect impairment by cannabis, but the normal field sobriety exercises do not offer any insight into cannabis impairment as they do alcohol impairment. Many of the “clues” for alcohol impairment are simply not “clues” that someone is under the influence of cannabis. Please don’t take my word for it. There are studies that support this. So how do you avoid becoming a DUI suspect for a cannabis/marijuana DUI? For starters, you shouldn’t drive while impaired by cannabis. It is dangerous and overall a bad idea. Assuming you are not impaired, still, be careful. Like the Xanax example above, if they ask for a urine sample, the odds are it will come back positive for THC. Now you have a charge and need a lawyer. Some useful tips? Do not smoke cannabis in your car. Even with a medical card, that is illegal. A surefire way to become the suspect in a cannabis DUI investigation is to have your car smell like weed. Do not keep your cannabis in the passenger compartment of your car – throw it in the trunk. Again, try not to have your car smell like weed.

A Prescription is not Permission to Drive

Just because you have a cannabis prescription does not mean that you have the right to smoke and drive no matter what. Just like alcohol, there is a point where your level of impairment turns your prescription and driving into a crime. If you find yourself accused of a DUI related to cannabis, you will need an experienced DUI drug attorney to set the record straight and help you navigate the court process.

Call us today for a free consultation at (850) 378-3001