AUGUSTA, Maine — A working group created by the Legislature wants Maine to impose a blood-level limit to determine when a person is driving under the influence of marijuana. But the panel could not reach consensus on exactly what that limit should be.
Marijuana legalization advocates say that any designated levels must recognize the tolerance levels of medical marijuana users who may be able to operate a vehicle at higher concentrations than those of recreational users.
The task at hand is to establish a blood-level limit for tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana more commonly known as THC. But marijuana legalization advocate David Boyer, who is also a member of the legislative working group, says any law that sets a THC limit for drivers will have to make a distinction between recreational users and medical marijuana patients.
"If we pass a law before the science is clear, before there's consensus about what this limit should be, then we could be charging and prosecuting people that are not impaired," he says. "DUI laws are strong — as they should be — but we have to make sure that we are not bringing people in with that net that aren't impaired."
Boyer says the majority of the 20-member working group convened by Secretary of State Mat Dunlap found common ground on some issues, such as whether to allow a police officer to use a breath alcohol testing device to determine impairment.
But the group was divided on whether Maine should adopt a threshold of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood — which is used in Colorado, where the drug is legal — for a criminal charge of impaired driving. Boyer says some members prefer a 7 nanogram level, and in some cases, he says, that might not even be high enough.
"We've seen people with higher levels still be OK to drive, perfectly sober and functional, so we just have to look clearly for this," Boyer says. "And we all agreed at that group around the table that people shouldn't drive while impaired, and that's the law of the land right now — it's illegal to drive intoxicated."
While police currently do not have a Breathalyzer-type device they can use to determine levels of THC, Boyer, who heads up the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, says the technology is likely to emerge as more and more states legalize marijuana for personal use.