Arizona Court of Appeals Rules MMJ Patients Can Receive DUI Even if Unimpaired

The Arizona Court of Appeals has recently chosen a ruling that allows cannabis patients to be slapped with DUI charges even if there is no evidence of them being impaired by the substance. According to Biz Journals, this ruling stems from a case involving Travis Lance Darah. Darah is a registered cannabis patient who is now facing $1,500 in fines, a required substance abuse help, a one-year suspension of his driver’s license and go hang out in jail for a day. 

Darah got shoveled into this situation when he was pulled over in 2011 and charged with a DUI. While Darah was acquitted of the DUI charge, he was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of driving with an illegal substance in his system. Although Darah has sent an appeal against the ruling, he has been shot down by two Arizona trial courts, and now, the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Hopefully, the fearful notion of what this implies for card holders is enough to pressure the Arizona legal system into a more reasonable outlook on the issue. If not, rulings such as this set a precedent that any patient should be prepared to suffer the unreasonable and outdated laws of our judicial system on a state and federal level.