Pot DUI – Tacoma WA
The legalization of Marijuana in WA State has put police on high alert for finding drivers who are presumed to be under the influence of Marijuana. Unfortunately, your level of actual impairment or how long it’s been since you smoked or ingested pot is not a valid defense.
Although Marijuana is no longer a controlled substance in Washington State, driving under the influence of Marijuana is a gross misdemeanor and is punishable by up to 364 days in jail. If you are pulled over by Tacoma PD or another law enforcement agency and are suspected of being under the influence of any drug, you are required to submit to a blood draw at the police station.
Blood Test & License Suspension
If you agree to a blood draw and your THC levels are above 5 nanograms per mL of THC, you will be arrested for a Marijuana DUI. If you are under the age of 21, any amount of THC in your blood will result in an arrest.
Your driver’s license will be suspended for 90 days if you are a first time offender. If you have a prior conviction for DUI, your driver’s license will be suspended for at least 2 years.
If you refuse the blood draw, you can still be arrested for a Marijuana DUI. However, your driver’s license suspension will be 2 years if you are a first time offender and at least 3 years if you have a past conviction for an alcohol or drug offense.
Fighting your Driver’s License Suspension
Fighting your license suspension with the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is the same process as an alcohol DUI. Click here for a detailed explanation of the process.
Defending your Criminal Charges
It is important to question the accuracy of the police report as well as the accuracy of the blood test. Police officers make mistakes and no drug test is 100% accurate. In fact, the current margin of error on THC blood test results is believed to be +/- 20%. This unacceptably high rate of error can be a key part of your defense.
We will also investigate to determine if the police had probable cause to pull you over in the first place, or if you were illegally profiled. If there was video footage from the police car, we will look for discrepancies between video evidence and what was written in the police report.
At Beckwith DUI Law, we fight Marijuana DUI charges in the courts of King, Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston County, including the courts of Tacoma, Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup, and Olympia, WA. Call us today for a free consultation.