New Jersey Sen. Turner Presents Bill To Add Blood Testing For Driving While Cannabis-Intoxicated

On the heels of a public hearing held by New Jersey Senate president Nick Scutari (D) and Sen. Brian Stack (D) on the implementation of the state’s adult-use market, Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) presented bill SB2616, which aims to broaden “implied consent law” to include blood tests for driving under the influence of cannabis. 

Currently under the state implied consent law, anyone driving on a public road is effectively agreeing to a breathalyzer to determine blood alcohol content. The new measure would extend it to include a blood test. In addition, the measure “establishes a per se standard for driving under the influence of marijuana and certain controlled dangerous substances.”

An individual who objects to the blood test would receive the same penalties as a person who refuses to take a breathalyzer to determine drunk driving. 

Under New Jersey’s current law, a person is not allowed to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug. Under the new bill, a person would be considered under the influence of one of these substances if their blood contains three nanograms or more of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per milliliter of blood.  

The measure also proposed that any amount or one of metabolites or analogs of a Schedule I controlled substance or Schedule II or II substance found in blood deems a person to be under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug.

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