Pennsylvania senators on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill to protect medical marijuana patients from being prosecuted under the state’s “zero tolerance” DUI laws. Health professionals, lawyers, and law enforcement officials spoke before the Senate Transportation Committee, highlighting the unique complications that cannabis patients and police face under the current statute and the constitutionality of the proposed reform. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R), would amend state law to require proof of active impairment before a registered patient could be prosecuted for driving under the influence. The current lack of specific protections for the state’s roughly 368,000 patients puts them in legal jeopardy when on the road, supporters say. “Unfortunately, Pennsylvania’s zero-tolerance DUI law does not contemplate the difference between medicinal and recreational use of marijuana,” Bartolotta told committee members at the hearing. “Because of this, unimpaired patients currently face the risk of being arrested, prosecuted and convicted for using medicinal marijuana that has no bearing on their ability to drive a vehicle.” My remarks from today’s Senate Transportation Committee regarding my legislation that would update Title 75 to ensure legal medicinal cannabis patients who are unimpaired do not receive a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 09/22/2021 08:40:00