With the introduction of recreational cannabis sales in Ohio this month, prosecuting people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has presented challenges.
Local police departments say they have trained their officers on traffic stop rules because they expect an increase in drunk driving cases. Legal experts say that even before legalization, it was difficult to determine whether someone was intoxicated by cannabis while driving.
Under current Ohio law, someone is considered intoxicated by cannabis if their blood contains 10 nanograms of THC per milliliter (ng/ml) or their urine contains more than 2 ng/ml. Someone could also be charged with OVI if their blood contains 50 ng/ml of THC metabolites (which are created when the body processes cannabis) or if their urine contains more than 35 ng/ml of THC metabolites.
“It’s still illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol, no matter what people think about the law regarding marijuana,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck. “Whether you’re drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or taking harder drugs.”
Tests for impairment caused by marijuana
Streck said his agency expects an increase in drunk driving cases following the legalization of marijuana in Ohio – perhaps because more people feel more comfortable using cannabis.
“Whether people admit it or not, there are people who don’t do things because it’s illegal. People are more comfortable smoking now,” he said. “We believe there will be more people driving under the influence now. We believe people will smoke and drive.”
A driving under the influence investigation may begin with a person calling to report a driver driving erratically, an officer noticing someone driving erratically, or an accident occurring.
“It’s not that we’re doing anything differently,” Streck said. “But we’re making sure we’re really up to date and know what to look for.”
The smell of marijuana, visible cannabis products, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech can be signs of impairment to a deputy during a traffic stop. A deputy may also administer a series of sobriety tests while speaking to a motorist, taught as part of Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and the driver may also be asked to submit to a chemical test. Refusal to submit to a chemical test can result in a license suspension.
Similar to alcohol, people can consume cannabis shortly before driving and still be under the legal limit for marijuana intoxication.
Legal complications
Cincinnati-based OVI attorney Joe Suhre said some of the challenges surrounding Ohio’s adult-use law are not entirely new; legal experts have been working on cases involving medical marijuana since the state’s medical program began in 2017.
The law prohibits consuming marijuana in a vehicle or operating a vehicle while under the influence of cannabis. However, breathalyzers for weed are a newer technology, not commonplace, and typically detect recent cannabis use, not intoxication.
If marijuana poisoning is suspected, police may also often request a urine sample. However, Suhre said marijuana metabolites attach themselves to fatty tissue in the body and take several days or longer to completely leave the body.
“Any toxicologist who wants to testify – and I’ve cross-examined dozens of them over the years – will say, ‘I can’t tell you if someone is under the influence based on metabolite levels because urine doesn’t correlate with the level like blood does,'” Suhre said.
A person driving in Ohio could legally use marijuana on a Saturday, Suhre said, and be involved in a car accident while sober the following Monday. That person could be charged with driving under the influence if they consent to a urine sample and find a result above the legal limit of 35 ng/ml for marijuana metabolites.
More accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol
In Ohio, the number of drug-related accidents increased by 4% from 2022 to 2023. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Montgomery County was among the top five counties in Ohio for drug-related accidents during that period.
The counties with the highest number of fatal drug-related crashes in Ohio – Franklin (285 crashes), Cuyahoga (228), Montgomery (139), Hamilton (139, tied with Montgomery for third), and Summit (93) – accounted for 30% of all drug-related crashes in the state from 2022 to 2023.
State police also made a total of 3,319 drug-related arrests last year, including 739 arrests specifically for marijuana abuse and another 715 arrests for a combination of marijuana and other drugs, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Sergeant Tyler Ross of the State Police Public Information Division said officers are regularly trained to recognize signs of impairment caused by drugs, alcohol or a combination of both.
“The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s top priority is the same today as it has always been and will continue to be, saving lives,” Ross said. “The Ohio State Highway Patrol is focused on removing drunk drivers from the road to make our roadways safer not only for Ohioans, but for those traveling through our state.”
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