A prosecuting attorney recently argued that smoking marijuana a week prior to driving is sufficient grounds for a DUI. What?!? That's right. According to this lawyer, you should receive a conviction for drunk driving even though you are no longer impaired by a drug or alcohol.
While traces of marijuana may remain in your system for a month after use, it is common knowledge that it doesn't continue to impair you, much less affect your ability to drive.
However, Maricopa County prosecuted such a case. In fact, their own expert even testified that own expert witness testified that the presence of THC does not mean a person is impaired. The prosecutor doesn't even dispute this fact.
One of the Supreme Court Justices hearing the case stated that that while it may not be fair to charge someone in such a case, "That's up to the legislature to decide." While the judge does have a valid point about letting the legislature make the laws, the Supreme Court has the power to declare laws Unconstitutional in order to protect it's citizens. That should have been done in this case.
This may simply be a ploy by the prosecutor's office to effect social change. Alas, Arizona currently has 40,000 legal medical marijuana users. They would in essence be banned from driving altogether, even weeks after marijuana use. This action makes anyone who drives and has used marijuana in the last 30 days, a criminal. This is so even if you were legally using marijuana.
As a Kansas criminal defense attorney, I would hope that the Kansas Supreme Court wouldn't allow such an action.