PHOENIX — An Arizona court ruling says medical marijuana cardholders accused of driving under the influence have options for showing in court that there wasn’t enough marijuana compound in their bodies to cause impairment.
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The Court of Appeals ruling Thursday vacates a man’s conviction for driving while marijuana or a marijuana compound was in his body and says he was entitled to present evidence that he wasn’t impaired.
The ruling says defendants can do that through cross-examination of prosecution witnesses or by providing their own testimony and evidence on whether they were impaired.
The ruling deals with implementation issues following a 2015 Arizona Supreme Court decision. It said cardholders don’t have immunity in DUI cases but can try to show they didn’t have enough marijuana compound in their systems to be impaired.
