We’ve all been told how important it is to avoid drinking and driving, but what about using marijuana and driving? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that you can also receive a driving under the influence (DUI) charge for marijuana. Being found guilty of a marijuana DUI may result in a misdemeanor.
Mistakes happen. If you have been arrested and charged with driving under the influence of marijuana, you have options for ways to get help.
It’s always wise to obtain legal counsel, who can provide defense on your behalf in court. If you’re unable to pay for your own attorney, you will be given the option of being appointed an attorney by the court. Depending on your specific context, your lawyer may invoke a number of possible legal defense strategies.
If you’re ultimately charged with a marijuana DUI, you still have the opportunity to seek post-conviction relief by obtaining an expungement, or clearing, of your charge from your record. This requires petitioning the court to clean your records and fulfilling particular eligibility criteria that vary by state. Example eligibility criteria include requirements like 1) not serving any time in prison in the past, 2) completing all terms and conditions of your probation, 3) not committing any subsequent felonies, and 4) not having any other pending criminal charges. By expunging your conviction, you can state under oath that you were not convicted of a DUI, and the conviction will not appear on any public record databases. Though there are many hoops to jump through for this option, it offers many people who have made an honest mistake a clean slate.
Again, mistakes are human nature, so seeking professional help to navigate the intricacies of the legal process is the best strategy to maximizes your chances of getting a second chance.
About Weedless.org
Weedless.org is a free, web-based resource and community created by a team of healthcare professionals and researchers. We distill the facts about marijuana use and its effects into practical guidance for interested persons or for those who are thinking about or struggling to quit weed. Finding reliable, easy to understand information about marijuana should never be a struggle—that is why our core mission is to provide the most up to date information about marijuana use, abuse, addiction, and withdrawal. While we seek to empower individuals to have control over their use, we are not “anti-weed” and we support efforts to legalize adult marijuana use and study.