Dr. Marilyn Huestis Part 2: State Regulations to Ensure Road Safety

Jul 21, 2019

Marilyn A. Huestis, PhD, recently retired as chief of chemistry and drug metabolism at the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, but remains highly active in the field. She is known for her research on how marijuana use affects driving and how exposure to parents’ marijuana use affects the developing fetus, breast-feeding newborns, and young children, as well as the new psychoactive substances.

Key Points

• US is not prepared for driving with marijuana on board. Huge issue and huge problem.
• In occasional users, 74% of THC comes out of the body in 30 minutes, 90% in 1.4 hours. Average time to get drivers’ blood drawn is 1.4 to 4 hours.
• Many states have zero tolerance levels such as 1 or 2 nanograms per milliliter.
• Establish impairment first, then take the biological sample.
• A-Ride Program (NHTSA) trains every police officer to do the field sobriety test.
• Also can establish impairment via witnesses.

Next Up: Dr. Huestis on How Other Nations Ensure Road Safety