How can cops prove your high

Harvard Law School Educated. Many of legal restrictions regarding marijuana use and possession have been relaxed in California and as a result there has been an increase in the number of DUI cases involving marijuana use.

Under California Vehicle Code Section f VC , driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs, both legal and illegal, is a criminal offense. This means that the police and prosecutor must actually prove that the driver was under the influence of marijuana and not merely rely on the results of chemical testing.

Most DUI arrests begin when a driver is pulled over by the police after he or she is observed committed a traffic violation. The driving conduct itself can be used as evidence of impairment, such as where a driver is weaving extensively or running stop signs or red lights. Some police departments are adopting a new test for driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs.

Driving under the influence includes any substance — including marijuana — that impairs your ability to drive. The easiest way to avoid getting a DUI for driving high?

Compare Car Insurance Quotes. Enter your info. Compare companies. Lock-in your price. Police have a new device to tell if you're driving high. Show Caption. Hide Caption. But there is no such detection device for marijuana, nor is there legislation to specify illegal levels of impairment. A plethora of detection devices are currently in development. Some police forces — including RCMP in the province — are testing saliva swabs that can detect whether a person has recently consumed marijuana. Some jurisdictions are setting legal limits on marijuana use and driving.

In Washington state, drivers can have no more than 0. But lawyers and drug policy experts have challenged the legitimacy of such testing as a means of determining impairment. And the results of a roadside saliva swab taken in this province are not admissible in court.

Instead, determining whether a driver is high is the job of trained drug recognition evaluators like Didham. Didham said an impaired-driving investigation begins when police have reasonable suspicion that a driver is either drunk or high.