Maryland bill would crackdown on people driving under the influence of marijuana

Maryland lawmakers will take up a proposed bill looking to crack down on people driving while under the influence of marijuana as part of Senate Republicans’ public safety agenda.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Maryland lawmakers will take up a proposed bill looking to crack down on people driving while under the influence of marijuana as part of Senate Republicans’ public safety agenda.

In July 2023, personal cannabis use and possession for those 21 and older became legal in Maryland, FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick said.

Since then, according to state data, about 20% of young adults aged 18-25 reported driving within three hours of consuming cannabis.

Increased weaving, delayed reaction time, and distorted perception are some of the impacts, said Alnwick.

Collisions involving impaired driving have increased in Maryland since 2020, but the law that legalized marijuana use also prohibited police from pulling over drivers just for the odor of cannabis. Maryland Republicans want to restore that power.

Montgomery County police have been among those asking for the change, saying officers have also lost an important tool to get illegal guns off the street.

Lawmakers cited data from 2022, that 80% of the guns seized in Montgomery County came from searching vehicles due to the odor of marijuana.

One of the problems is that no legal limit for marijuana consumption has been established.

Montgomery County has been training officers to detect signs of impairment while high.