Driving Under the Influence of Weed

This Chicago DUI Lawyer is leaving court, and stops to get gas; while I'm filling up, a young man comes out of the convenience store connected to the gas station. He goes over to the garbage can to cut open a small cigar type cigarette and remove the tobacco.

I think we probably all know what he's about to do...

He's about to start smoking weed in a motor vehicle. Now granted, he's the passenger. But what are the odds that the driver this bright morning is gonna also take a puff of the cigarette.

I come across this all the time. You cannot consume any amount of weed, or have have any amount weed in your system, while driving in Illinois.

625 ILCS 5/11‑501) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11‑501)

Sec. 11‑501. Driving while under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or any combination thereof.

(a) A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle within this State while:

(6) there is any amount of a drug, substance, or compound in the person's breath, blood, or urine resulting from the unlawful use or consumption of cannabis listed in the Cannabis Control Act, a controlled substance listed in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, an intoxicating compound listed in the Use of Intoxicating Compounds Act, or methamphetamine as listed in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.

Even if you smoked the drug a long time ago, consumption of weed while driving a motor vehicle in Illinois does subject you to being charged with a DUI, and being found guilty of the DUI. This is likely even if the police recover the drugs, or if you tell them that you smoked a few days ago, but it is no longer in your system.



In fact today I saw the negative impact on one of my clients (unfortunately, I did not represent him on the original DUI). A few years ago he pled guilty to DUI and one of his sentencing conditions was 10 RUD's (Random Urine Drops). He"dropped" positive for weed, lost his court supervision and his driving privileges are now permanently revoked. As I said earlier, I hope the weed was good; he will have a very difficult time, if he is ever successful at all, in getting the Secretary of State to give him back his driving privileges.