Michigan Lawmakers Mull THC Bill After Girl’s Death
Michigan lawmakers are considering setting a legal limit for THC users who choose to drive after the death of a 3-year-old girl. Liliana Elizabeth Leas was killed by a driver who was allegedly high at the time.
Nicole Leas of Warren is accused of killing her step-granddaughter, 3 1/2 year-old Lily Leas, in May of 2020 while under he influence of THC. But since there s currently no laws on the books regulating how much THC can be in your system while driving, prosecutors can only charge her with a misdemeanor.
That prompted State Representative Pamela Hornberger to introduce HB 4727 to the legislature. The bill would cap the amount of allowable THC in a driver s system to no more than 5 nanograms per milliliter.
Based on the total body of knowledge presently available, the commission finds there is no scientifically supported threshold of (THC) bodily content that would be indicative of impaired driving due to the fact that there is a poor correlation between driving impairment and the blood (plasma) levels of (THC) at the time of blood collection, the Impaired Driving Safety Commission wrote in its final report, issued in 2019.
Recreational marijuana is legal in Michigan, and it s already illegal to drive while intoxicated in the state. But marijuana intoxication is not defined in the same way as alcohol intoxication; if someone has a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, that person is legally considered too drunk to drive.