If you’re moving to Nevada, you may have heard about the new law that allows for the use of marijuana in the state for medical reasons. As of Feb. 1, 2016, Nevada will allow people with a qualifying medical condition to use recreational marijuana with a doctor’s prescription. This law is a big deal, because the federal government still considers marijuana illegal.
For medical marijuana patients in Nevada, the legal status of transporting cannabis seized from a patient’s personal car can be determined without an evidentiary hearing, in a document called a “Notice of Rights.” The Notice of Rights, issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, states that the defendant is presumed to be transporting cannabis in the personal vehicle, therefore, the defendant is not entitled to a hearing before a judge.
In 2014, the Nevada legislature passed a bill to redefine cannabis impairment for safety drivers within the state. Supporters of the bill argued that a chemical test to determine impairment from THC-infused edibles and other marijuana products had been ineffective in determining whether drivers had too much of this psychoactive ingredient in their system.
Nevada dispensaries sold about $700 million worth of cannabis and derivatives in 2020. Before AB400 took effect last week, many of those who consumed these products also drove within 48 hours of consumption, likely exceeding allowable blood levels of tetracanabidiol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. The legal standard for assessing a driver’s intoxication is consistent and accurate; it is unwavering legal wisdom used in every state in the United States. A higher BAC increases the degree of impairment – an almost linear relationship, but intoxication is not as predictable with marginal THC levels in the blood.
Problem
People react differently to cannabis use. Many studies show that occasional users can experience strong effects even with small amounts of THC. In contrast, a daily user of medicinal cannabis shows no impairment of psychomotor skills after use, but is likely to be convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol if a blood test is taken while driving. As of August 2020, Nevada had 13,269 medical cannabis users. Assemblymember Steve Yeager, the lead sponsor of AB400, introduced the legislation on March 29 of this year in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. In practice, this means you have little to no defense to charges of DUI if your blood test results show above those numbers, the only real defense is that you weren’t driving or that the blood drawn wasn’t really yours, Yeager said. You cannot argue that you did not have impaired driving due to a developed tolerance or history of heavy use, including for medical purposes. It’s simple: If you are above these levels, you are guilty of DUI. In Nevada, a driver can be charged with DUI for taking prescription drugs, but there is no limit to the level of these substances in the blood per se at which a person is considered drunk. To prove guilt, the plaintiff must prove damages without using the per se threshold. Now that AB400 is law, prosecutors should do the same for cannabis intoxication prosecutions. Law enforcement officers across the state are already trained to recognize signs of impairment from drugs, illegal or otherwise, Yeager said. They do this by interacting with drivers and testing them on their driving skills in the field. And of course there had to be something on the route itself that led to the traffic stop. Nothing in this bill (AB400) before you will change those things. In 2017, the Nevada legislature passed AB135, which legally recognizes that the presence of THC metabolites in the blood only indicates that someone has recently consumed cannabis, not that they are actually infected. THC metabolites can remain in the blood for up to 48 hours after consumption, depending on the amount of fat in the body. The bill also provided that only a blood test for THC or THC metabolites could be used in court, but after the passage of AB135, Nevada remained one of the few states that maintained the per se restriction on THC. Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and helped Rep. Yeager to introduce the bill. Armentano is a renowned expert in the field of cannabis poisoning. He cites numerous studies and reports from a wide range of organizations, from the American Automobile Association (no friend of cannabis legalization) to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that repeatedly and unequivocally show that there is no link between THC or THC metabolites in the blood and intoxication. It’s not that we need more research or that we haven’t done it, Armentano said. If you look at this original NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) report, it’s from 1993. These questions have been asked and answered for over four decades.
Workmen’s compensation
However, AB400 maintains the per se limitation on GBT for workers’ compensation benefits. Under the provisions of AB400, a workers’ compensation claim cannot be granted if the injured worker has 2 nanograms of THC per milliliter or more in his blood. The list of controlled or prohibited substances for workers’ compensation purposes mirrors the federal list of controlled substances, which includes drugs such as heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), cocaine, and others. But if the MORE Act, recently reintroduced in Congress, becomes law, cannabis will be removed from the list of controlled substances, which could ultimately impact cannabis’ prohibition status in Nevada’s workers’ compensation laws. Law enforcement did not oppose the bill and only Republicans voted against it. AB400 was passed by the Assembly by a vote of 26 to 16. The legislation received little bipartisan support in the Senate, where it passed by a 15-6 vote. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed the law into law on February 2. June 2021 signed.According to the new Nevada guidelines, driving under the influence of marijuana will be treated the same way as if you were drunk, with a maximum 0.08 blood alcohol content (BAC) level. In other words, it is no different than driving while intoxicated on alcohol, which can be punished with up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.. Read more about las vegas shooting december 2020 and let us know what you think.
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