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Committee hears testimony to refocus marijuana OVI law on impairment rather than metabolite levels
Summary
Proponents of Senate Bill 55 told the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee the state’s per se approach to marijuana-related OVIs relies on non-impairing metabolites and suggested the bill would allow metabolite evidence to support an inference of impairment while preserving law enforcement roadside tools.
Attorney Blaise Katter, appearing for the Ohio State Bar Association, urged the committee to change how Ohio handles marijuana-related OVI prosecutions by shifting the evidentiary focus from long-lasting metabolites to impairment.
Katter said Ohio currently criminalizes the presence of a marijuana metabolite — carboxy-THC — under a per se standard, and that metabolite can remain in the body "for days, weeks, and in some cases, even months after use." He argued that the metabolite does not reliably indicate impairment and that Ohio already tests for the inactive metabolite rather than the active…
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