Levels of Marijuana Metabolites in Blood and DUI

Interviewer: So if a daily marijuana user, who has stopped using the drug for a week, is pulled over and administered a blood test, there will be metabolites in their system? Can they be charged with a DUI or OVI?

Dale: Yes, because there’s actually per se levels for marijuana. I received a call on a case where someone that ingested marijuana every night was driving in the daytime and the sun was in their eyes. It was very bright. They were in Amish country, they didn’t see a stop sign, and they went through it.

Their car hit a buggy that had four schoolchildren inside, killing two of them and seriously injured the other two. So this young man was charged. They did a urine test, and found the marijuana metabolites in his system. He was charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault. He was looking at a minimum of 20 years in jail.

Interviewer: That’s incredibly serious.

Dale: The person had not recently smoked marijuana when he drove through that stop sign.