Can you drive while under the influence of marijuana?

On Behalf of | Mar 27, 2020 | Car Accidents

With marijuana legal in Washington, there are still those who are not sure about the specifics behind DUI laws and how it involves marijuana. You cannot get behind the wheel if you are under the influence of marijuana. 

To avoid a DUI or a drug related accident, there are details about marijuana and driving that you need to know. 

How much marijuana is too much? 

Like alcohol, there is a limit to how much marijuana you can have in your blood when you drive. Most know the blood alcohol limit of .08, but what about the marijuana limit? Well, the THC limit is five ng/ml in your blood, according to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Now, if you are under the age of 21, any amount of marijuana is illegal. 

If an officer suspects that you are under the influence of marijuana, you will take a blood test at the police station or you will go to a medical facility to take said test. It is important to understand your limits when it comes to marijuana. Nowadays, marijuana’s potency is higher than before. In fact, it has doubled since 1998. 

How long should you wait to drive? 

It can take about three hours for a person’s blood to drop below five ng/ml. Of course, there are other variables involved. For instance, gender and body size contribute to how quickly or slowly the levels of THC in your blood drop. If you smoke, you should probably wait around five hours to be sure that you can drive. However, if you choose edibles, you may want to wait longer because those stay in your system a longer time. 

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