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Witnesses urge Ohio to shift focus from THC metabolites to impairment in OVI cases
Summary
At a second hearing on Senate Bill 55, defense attorneys, advocates and policy groups urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to change how Ohio treats marijuana evidence in OVI prosecutions, arguing current per se rules rely on long-lasting metabolites that do not indicate impairment.
Attorney Blaise Katter, appearing on behalf of the Ohio State Bar Association, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 55 seeks to refocus OVI prosecutions on impairment rather than the mere presence of marijuana metabolites.
"It is criminalizing the mere inactive or non psychoactive ingredient, the marijuana metabolite, which is called carboxy THC," Katter said. He explained that carboxy THC can remain in the body for days, weeks or months after use, whereas the active ingredient delta-9 THC produces impairment for a far shorter period.
Katter described the scientific difficulty of establishing a per…
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