Over the past year or so marijuana has become increasingly decriminalized throughout Illinois. Last year, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced that her office would not prosecute small marijuana possession cases, and at the beginning of this year, a law went into effect that allowed for medical marijuana dispensaries to open in Illinois. On August 14, Governor Bruce Rauner exercised his amendatory veto power, vetoing House Bill 218, which would further decriminalize the possession of marijuana. The passage of this amended bill by the General Assembly would bring many changes to the way that Illinois deals with marijuana possession and cannabis DUI. The Illinois House has 15 days to accept or override the changes that Rauner made to the Bill, which will determine whether or not it becomes law.
Recently, the laws on marijuana possession have changed in both Chicago and Illinois. Officers can now exercise more discretion, ticketing those who possess small amounts of marijuana instead of arresting them. Under the amended House Bill 218, anyone found in possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis would be fined anywhere from $125 to $200, and a violation of the law would not result in jail time and would be immediately expungeable so that it does not show on that person’s criminal record. In its original form, the bill allowed for a larger amount of cannabis and a lesser fine. Lawmakers believe that the passage of Bill 218 would help with the backlog of cases that prosecutors are currently handling. Similarly, the passage of this bill would result in a lesser rate of incarceration for people convicted of minor cannabis offenses.
The second part of the Bill would create, for the first time in Illinois, a much needed standard for cannabis-related DUI. Currently in Illinois, if any trace amount of cannabis is found in a person’s system, they are considered to be driving under the influence of drugs. The amended House Bill 218 would make 5 nano/milliliter of blood or 25 nano/milliliter of saliva the per se standard for cannabis-related DUI. This would also mark the first time that saliva testing would be an acceptable form of testing for cannabis DUI in Illinois. House Bill 218 would also make the testing methods more accurate and effective. Traces of marijuana stay in a person’s blood and urine for nearly a month after use. The old testing method was inaccurate because a person could be charged with cannabis DUI for having any small trace of cannabis found in their system even if the effects of the drug had worn off.
As we mentioned above, the General Assembly has 15 days to override or accept the changes that Governor Rauner made to the Bill. Stay tuned to the LauraLaw blog for updates to its status. As always contact LauraLaw if you have any questions about the new law or if you have been charged with a crime.
