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Marijuana DUI Defense in Colorado
Adams- Jefferson- Denver - Arapahoe County Marijuana DUI Lawyer
Colorado marijuana DUI laws are very strict. Even the best DUI lawyers in Denver, Golden, Centennial, and Aurora have to work hard to achieve dismissal of a cannabis DUI arrest. Many Colorado police officers assume a driver is impaired if they think the person has consumed any marijuana product before driving.
Marijuana DUI defense lawyers in Colorado are handed a unique challenge when accepting a DUI case that alleges a cannabis product as the cause of impairment. In a desperate attempt to help insure that no marijuana DUI arrest they make is dismissed, Colorado police officers always resort to junk science procedures and unscientific "sobriety" tests made up by uneducated officers over 40 years ago to try to convince the courts a driver is impaired by marijuana.
Police Marijuana DUI "Experts"
Many Colorado DUI officers go to seminar class for one week of instruction to become what police officers call a "drug recognition expert." These DUI officers finish this class believing that they can detect the impairing effects of marijuana and many other drugs. The frightening truth is that many Colorado judges allow these officers to come to court, introduce themselves as "experts," and testify as if they are doctors about the pharmacologic effects of cannabis and how they can detect signs of impairment. As of 2021, there were 179 officers in Colorado boasting this made-up credential and actively making marijuana DUI arrests. Agencies employing these "expert" DUI officers include: Denver, Brighton, Lakewood, Aurora, Golden, Littleton, and the Colorado State Patrol.
Colorado Marijuana DUI Defense Lawyer Jim Medley
Jim Medley has achieved dismissal in over 600 impaired driving arrests. To help achieve these results, Jim is one of the only DUI lawyers in the country holding a Master of Science degree in Forensic Toxicology in addition to his legal accolades. Jim has also attended the training discussed above that officers receive to detect what they believe to be the effects of marijuana. Jim has successfully suppressed the testimony of police "experts" about cannabis impairment in multiple cases.
Graduate Certificate from The University of Colorado School of Medicine in Cannabis Science and Medicine
Jim Medley is perhaps the only Colorado DUI lawyer who has completed a medical school pharmacology graduate program in Cannabis Science. Jim has added this specialized expertise in the pharmacology of marijuana to his almost 20 years experience as a general drug toxicology expert. Police officers with fake expert credentials in recognizing drug effects have a tall task ahead of them when going against Jim Medley in a Colorado marijuana DUI case.
Although Colorado police sometimes charge people with marijuana DUI in cases where there is insufficient evidence of cannabis based impairment, marijuana can certainly cause impairment. Whether smoked or consumed as edibles, any cannabis product that contains THC (delta 8, delta 9, delta 10, or delta 11) has the potential to impair a driver's ability to drive safely. Attorney Jim Medley encourages anyone who has consumed a cannabis product containing THC to avoid driving a vehicle. Especially with edible cannabis products, the effects of THC can vary from one experience to another, and unexpected timing and degree of impairment could lead to a marijuana DUI arrest.
Cannabis products containing only CBD are not generally capable of causing driving impairment. CBD products can have some medical benefits without the high that can follow the use of a product that contains THC or a combination of THC/ CBD. The high sensation caused by THC is usually accompanied by some degree of impairment. If you can perceive the high sensation after consuming THC and you drive, you may be at risk of needing a MARIJUANA DUI ATTORNEY.
The use of cannabis products for medical purposes is NOT a legal defense to a marijuana DUI in Colorado. Even if you have a Colorado medical marijuana card from a licensed physician, you can be criminally liable for DUI if you operate a motor vehicle while impaired on medical marijuana.
Police DUI Drug Recognition Training
In 2010, Toxicologist Jim Medley attended the curriculum that DUI officers attend in order to claim they are "experts" in drug recognition. Jim considered the content of the training, comparing it to scientific facts, and began teaching other DUI defense lawyers about the flaws in the police scheme of evaluating people who have used drugs. Much of the police system is not supported in clinical literature. Jim was trained by a Ph.D. who was the former head of Texas DRE police training program.
In 2013, Toxicologist Medley again attended the course taught to police officers to qualify them to be DRE certified. Jim assisted Dr. Lance Platt in teaching the course. Repeating this course material and taking part in teaching it was an incredible opportunity to really learn the material and to know exactly what false information has been indoctrinated into these officers who believe they have drug recognition superpowers.
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