Bill would give Ohio drivers caught with marijuana in their system a break on OVIs

Ohioans who get caught driving with marijuana in their system could try to prove they weren’t impaired under a bill introduced in the state Senate this week.

Senate Bill 26, proposed by Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, would give people the chance to stave off an OVI by arguing they were sober, even if they tested positive for marijuana. The legislation aims to address the complicated science of marijuana consumption and how long it stays in the body after any effects have subsided.

The bill also underscores the tricky job of enforcing traffic laws in a state with medical cannabis and a potential adult-use program down the road. As more states have legalized marijuana, they’ve also adopted different policies to address concerns that people would drive while high.

“We really want to get a good law in place where people are being punished if they are impaired, but they’re not being unfairly punished just because they have a certain amount of the drug in their system,” Manning said.

Manning introduced the measure in the previous General Assembly, but lawmakers never took it up.

[Read more at The Columbus Dispatch]