A Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill meant to protect medical marijuana patients from facing DUI charges when there is no proof they are actually impaired behind the wheel.
Rep. Chris Rabb (D) filed the legislation and circulated a cosponsorship memo this week, urging his colleagues to join him in this latest effort to enact the reform.
The memo says that, since the state legalized medical marijuana, many patients have “shared their horror stories about being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis without any proof of impairment.”
“That is why this legislation…is being introduced yet again, as the current law must be amended to allow responsible drivers who are also medical cannabis patients to operate a motor vehicle legally,” Raab wrote, emphasizing that the legislation “does not extend to any illegal cannabis use–nor does it protect impaired drivers.”
The bill would amend the current state statute to make it so the presence of cannabis metabolites in a drug test alone could not be used as evidence of impaired driving if the person is a registered medical marijuana patient.
However, that protection would not extend to those who hold a commercial driver’s license.
Hellbound and Down 