Legalized pot opens a can of prosecutorial worms – By Isabella Alves (Albuquerque Journal) / July 18 2021
Cannabis legalization comes with many legal nuances states will need to negotiate. For New Mexico, these include how the state is equipped to handle a likely increase of cannabis DUIs, cannabis DUI testing and officer training surrounding cannabis.
When Colorado and Arizona legalized recreational cannabis, the two states saw an increase in impaired drivers, Capt. Micah Doering, district 10 commander with the New Mexico State Police, said. He added that, when Colorado legalized pot, he saw an increase in cannabis DUIs and crashes in the northwest corner of the state.
Doering, based out of Farmington, is an instructor in the state police’s Drug Recognition Expert program for officers, he said. Currently, there isn’t a threshold for cannabis impairment like there is for alcohol, he said.
For alcohol, a person is legally considered impaired if their breathalyzer test comes back with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher, he said. Since cannabis impacts everyone differently depending on a person’s use and tolerance level, it’s more difficult to establish these types of thresholds.
