In Oklahoma, medical marijuana is legal. However, voters have not yet decided to make recreational marijuana legal, as has happened in many other states. For instance, Colorado has had legal recreational marijuana for a decade and many other states have also implemented these laws.
In any case, this means that those who partake in marijuana could still see significant legal ramifications. Even those who are using medical marijuana could be arrested for something like driving under the influence. Performing tests to determine if drugs have actually been used can be valuable, but how long is marijuana going to show up on these tests?
It lasts longer than you think
Many people often think of marijuana the same way that they think about alcohol. It will show up immediately after use, but it will generally have left a person’s system by the next day. This is why breath tests are used when police are arresting someone on suspicion of drunk driving. They can determine if there is alcohol present in that person’s system at the time and if it’s affecting their ability to drive.
But with marijuana, evidence can show up in a drug test for much longer. Daily users may have positive tests for a month after stopping use. Even someone who only uses marijuana once could still test positive for the next three days. The type of test used also makes a difference. Hair tests work for 90 days, for example, but blood tests only work for up to four hours.
What this means is that someone could be accused of driving under the influence for failing a test, even though they were no longer actually under the influence of marijuana. Those who are facing legal charges need to know about all the options at their disposal.
