Since 2018, residents and visitors in California who are at least 21 years old have had the right to purchase, possess, and use marijuana. However, it is illegal to smoke marijuana and drive in California.
If you are caught doing so, you can be subject to penalties including incarceration or loss of driving privileges. This is because smoking marijuana causes intoxication and can affect how you drive. Smoking tobacco while driving is legal, but you may get increased attention from the police now.
If you have been accused of smoking and driving and now face a marijuana DUI charge, the Los Angeles DUI lawyer can help you. Contact us for a case evaluation. Time is of the essence if you want the best possible outcome.
California Laws About Smoking Marijuana and Driving
When California passed the law legalizing marijuana, state lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 65, which amended Section 23220 of the California Vehicle Code. The amendment made it illegal to drive while smoking marijuana, placing this act in the same category as driving while consuming an alcoholic beverage.
This means you can get charged with a DUI for smoking and driving. A DUI conviction can have years of consequences for you, so we encourage you not to smoke marijuana and drive. Consider it as bad as drinking while driving!
How Does Law Enforcement Know That Someone May Be Smoking and Driving?
Generally, law enforcement officers make contact with individuals who they suspect are driving while smoking marijuana in the following circumstances:
- The officer pulled the driver over after observing them driving in a way that suggested impairment. This includes things like weaving in and out of the travel lane or driving well above or below the speed limit.
- The officer contacted the driver at a DUI checkpoint and detected the smell of marijuana in the vehicle or the presence of an open marijuana container or paraphernalia in the vehicle.
- The driver was involved in an accident and there is reason to believe the accident was a result of impaired driving.
The Potential Penalties of a Marijuana DUI
Except in cases involving an injury or fatality, or certain other circumstances, individuals who have been convicted of marijuana DUI can expect to be charged with a misdemeanor offense.
A misdemeanor marijuana DUI carries consequences of:
- Up to six months in county jail
- A suspension of one’s driver’s license for up to six months
- Unsupervised probation of up to five years.
These penalties increase with subsequent DUI convictions within a 10-year timeframe. A marijuana DUI can involve a felony charge in certain circumstances, including:
- The DUI was a result of an accident in which someone was injured or killed.
- The driver had at least three previous DUI offenses in the past 10 years.
- The driver was convicted of another felony within the past 10 years.
How a DUI Attorney Can Protect Your Rights When You Have Been Charged for a Marijuana DUI
If you have been charged with a marijuana DUI, a DUI attorney can provide a number of services designed to protect your rights. With their help, you can mitigate the impact of a potential conviction on your life or, in some cases, get your charges dropped.
Here is a look at a few of the services a DUI attorney performs for clients accused of smoking and driving:
Determining the Evidence Against You
Your attorney will have a number of questions about how the traffic stop resulting in your charge occurred, as well as the methods used to determine that you were smoking while driving. This can include:
- The results of chemical tests, such as blood, breath, or urine tests, used to determine the presence of marijuana metabolites.
- The officer’s accusations of smelling marijuana in the vehicle.
- The presence of an open marijuana container or paraphernalia.
The attorney will also want to know the protocols that were used in gathering this evidence, as well as the accuracy of the equipment that was used.
Gathering Evidence to Support Your Innocence
There are several strong legal defenses against marijuana DUI charges. For one, the chemical tests used to test for impairment can show the presence of marijuana metabolites in a driver’s blood or urine, but cannot show whether the driver is impaired.
Additionally, the state does not have a set limit of metabolites that mark a limit for impaired driving. Marijuana — even more than alcohol — presents unique effects depending on the user. These metabolites are known to last for weeks after you take marijuana.
In a criminal proceeding, you do not have to prove your innocence, but rather, the prosecution has to prove your guilt. We can keep them from doing that if we can gather evidence to counter the claims of the prosecution to the point they can’t prove their case.
Negotiating a Plea Bargain
In some cases, there is no opportunity to get the charge dismissed because the evidence is too strong. In these cases, your attorney’s defense strategy will involve mitigating the consequences of the charge as much as possible by negotiating a plea bargain.
A plea bargain means you agree to plead guilty in exchange for reduced sentencing. In DUI cases, including those involving marijuana, your attorney generally has leeway to negotiate a deal that involves you getting treatment instead of going to jail.
Marijuana DUI? We Can Help
It is illegal to smoke and drive, but an experienced DUI attorney can help you mount a legal defense against a marijuana DUI charge. Whether this is your first offense or you are facing a felony this time around, let us give you answers and legal assistance.
Contact our offices for a case evaluation as soon as possible. The sooner you reach out to our team, the sooner we can review your case.
