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For decades considered an illicit drug, marijuana has gained legitimacy in Pennsylvania as a medicine that can be used to treat "serious medical conditions."
But that doesn't mean all rules are off, and law enforcement officers -- at both the state and local level -- have explained that reckless use of marijuana can still lead to criminal charges.
"We are concerned with it just like we are concerned with alcohol, just like we are concerned with prescription drugs," Hollidaysburg Borough Police Chief Rodney Estep said.
The state's Medical Marijuana Program was signed into law in April 2016, allowing patients suffering from one or more of 21 specified "serious medical conditions" to use the drug.
Available in a number of processed forms -- as well as its unaltered leafy flower, which is expected to be available by Aug. 8 at State College's Nature's Medicines dispensary -- medical marijuana still contains THC.
The abbreviation THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, the plant's psychoactive component -- the substance that makes a person high or intoxicated.
That intoxication can be problematic, much like alcohol, in cases when users are operating motor vehicles.
"Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program does not make it legal for a patient to drive under the influence," said Ryan Tarkowski, a state police spokesman. "A person can be arrested for DUI for being under the influence of legal drugs, illegal drugs or alcohol."
But marijuana poses a different problem, Estep said, explaining that unlike the smell of alcohol on a person's breath, different methods of marijuana consumption may eliminate odor entirely.
That means officers must rely solely on other physical indicators to determine intoxication.
"Unlike alcohol, there is no breathalyzer test for marijuana intoxication," Tarkowski said. "Troopers certified as drug recognition experts … receive special training to recognize the physiological signs of a wide range of controlled substances, including marijuana."
Local training
Locally, a number of officers, including Estep, are trained as drug recognition experts, he said.
"Those officers are highly trained in detecting impaired driving on drugs," he said.
In addition, a large number of Blair County law enforcement officers have undergone training in "advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement," Estep said.
That training is in place not only to address marijuana-impaired drivers but also motorists who are intoxicated by other illegal and legal drugs -- such as sleeping pills, Xanax and opioid painkillers.
Officers can now pick up on specific physical signs that indicate possible marijuana use, Estep said, though he would not reveal those signs during a recent conversation.
Several law enforcement sites list bloodshot eyes, drooping eyelids and slow or slurred speech as physical indicators.
If a stopped motorist is suspected to be high on marijuana, they are transported to a nearby medical facility where blood is drawn, Estep said.
Stays in system
If a person ingests marijuana, THC can stay visible within their body for a lengthy period of time -- up to a month. But it can be present in a number of ways, specifically metabolized or unmetabolized, Estep said.
If THC is unmetabolized, that means marijuana was consumed recently -- likely within a few hours -- and a person is still considered intoxicated, he said, adding that it's those cases that would result in a DUI.
In mid-July, Estep said he was not aware of any local cases of charges stemming from the use of medical marijuana. Tarkowski referred questions about medical marijuana DUI arrests to the state Department of Health. And state Department of Health spokesman April Hutcheson could not immediately provide an answer.
Possession and transportation of marijuana is still illegal among those who have not been certified for medical use. But protections are in place to allow transportation and possession by certified patients.
"A patient can transport as long as it's within the guidelines of medical law," Tarkowski said.
Hutcheson said the Department of Health instructs patients who purchased marijuana from medical dispensaries to keep products unopened and in their original container before reaching their intended destination.
"Some folks have carried their receipts along with them," she said. "Obviously, you shouldn't take it while driving."
Black market sales
Among anti-marijuana advocates like Judy Rosser, executive director of Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnerships, there is some concern about what the legitimization of marijuana will do to black-market sales.
Rosser suggested that even people who are allowed to purchase the drug legally might turn to illegal dealers because they offer marijuana at a lower price than dispensaries.
"The black market just goes wild," she said. "It's still cheaper on the black market, and the potency can be very high also."
That opinion is in stark contrast to comments from Philip Goldberg, CEO of Green Leaf Medical LLC, which runs legal marijuana growing and processing facilities in Maryland and on Tuesday was approved to open a site in Saxton.
Goldberg said marijuana users turning to legal medical dispensaries are eliminating revenue to illegal drug dealers, effectively putting them out of business.
"By taking away the majority of the market, you are cutting the legs out of the black market," he said.
Law enforcement officers were reluctant to back either of those claims.
"There does not appear to be any information (data or anecdotal) to show. … It is still pretty early since the approval of
medical marijuana in Pennsylvania," Tarkowski said.
Estep said much the same, all but dismissing Goldberg and Rosser's remarks about black market activities.
"I think any opinion on that would be mere speculation to this point," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.