Police in Ohio and around the country rely on portable breath-testing equipment and field sobriety tests to determine whether or not motorists are operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol, but they do not yet have a reliable way to identify marijuana impairment among drivers. While blood alcohol levels can be scientifically linked with degrees of impairment, traces of THC can be detected in toxicology tests long after its intoxicating effects have dissipated.
More drivers testing positive for pot use
Ohio readers may be interested to learn that the number of drivers who tested positive for pot use jumped 50 percent over a seven-year period, according to a report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Meanwhile, the number of drivers who tested positive for alcohol consumption dropped sharply over a 40-year period. The information was presented at the annual meeting of the Research Society of Alcoholism in June.
Warrantless car searches
Search warrants are an important privacy protection provided by the Fourth Amendment. Ohio residents often expect this law to protect them from unlawful searches and privacy violations by police. There are situations, however, when police may search a vehicle without a warrant. Determining whether a vehicle search was legal or not is an important part of many criminal cases.
Alcohol education programs play role in DUI sentencing
Every day, Ohio law enforcement officers arrest people for driving while intoxicated. Criminal charges result from these arrests, and convictions could impose fines, license suspension and jail time. Programs meant to educate people about the hazards of drinking and driving and alcohol abuse sometimes replace or reduce these penalties. Typically, the completion of such a program is required before reinstating a license.
