The Issue

 

Oklahoma’s current DUI law allows drivers to be criminally charged based solely on the presence of THC metabolites—chemical traces that can remain in the body for up to 30 days after cannabis use. These metabolites do not cause impairment and have no correlation with a person’s ability to safely operate a vehicle.

 

This means a person can legally medicate, be completely sober, drive responsibly, and still face a DUI charge simply because their body retains THC longer than other substances.

 

Why This Matters

 

This law disproportionately harms:

 

Medical marijuana patients using state-approved treatment

 

Individuals managing pain, anxiety, PTSD, or chronic conditions

 

People who use cannabis legally and responsibly

 

Sober drivers who medicated days or weeks earlier

 

Anyone who relies on their license for work, parenting, or stability

 

 

Meanwhile, people prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines, and other controlled medications are not automatically considered impaired simply because their medication appears in a blood test.

 

This is not consistent with science, medicine, or public safety.

 

 

What Needs to Change

 

We call on Oklahoma lawmakers to adopt a fair, evidence-based approach by:

 

1. Ending per se THC DUI charges based solely on inactive metabolites

 

2. Requiring proof of actual impairment, as practiced in many other states

 

3. Protecting medical marijuana patients from criminalization for legal treatment

 

4. Modernizing Oklahoma DUI statutes to align with scientific research and voter intent

 

 

These changes support safe roads without punishing lawful, sober citizens.

 

 

Why I Started This Petition:

 

This law has the power to destroy lives, especially for people like me.

 

In 2011, I was arrested on marijuana-related charges.

In 2015, I entered Mabel Bassett Correctional Center with a 10-year sentence. I completed my incarceration, followed every rule, rebuilt my life, and was recently released from parole. I have worked tirelessly to stay within the law and maintain stability for myself and my family.

 

Today, I am legally prescribed medical marijuana for pain and anxiety. Yet under the current statute, I could be sent back to prison, not for driving impaired, but simply for having trace THC metabolites in my system. This is something medically legal and scientifically irrelevant to impairment.

 

This law places me, and thousands of other Oklahoma patients, in constant danger of wrongful criminalization. It threatens everything I’ve fought to rebuild over the last decade.

 

I started this petition because Oklahoma voters approved medical marijuana under the promise of fairness, safety, and legal protections. This law breaks that promise. It punishes legal behavior, destabilizes families, and risks wrongful incarceration.

 

Oklahoma needs DUI standards based on actual impairment, not outdated metabolite tests.

 

Sign and share to demand a just, science-based law that protects both public safety and patient rights.