Harrisburg, Pa. — For a fourth time, State Rep. Chris Rabb has introduced a bill that would revamp Pennsylvania’s policies regarding cannabis DUIs.

The bill’s rationale is that traces of cannabis linger in a person’s system for weeks after consumption, leading legal marijuana users to be wrongfully convicted on DUI charges without proof of actual impairment.

Half a million Pennsylvanians are medical cannabis patients. Rabb’s bill received bipartisan support during the last legislative session in the House Transportation Committee, but never received a final vote.

“Nine years after legalizing medical cannabis for patients, we still have not addressed this fundamental flaw in our law, which could jail someone for driving weeks after taking their medication,” Rep. Rabb said. “Yet, we as a government are more than happy to cash in on the tax revenue generated by medical cannabis. It’s perverse but easily corrected. This legislation will set things right.”

According to Rep. Rabb, the legislation would protect medical cannabis users only and does not apply to illegal marijuana use or provably impaired drivers, bringing cannabis to the same level of enforcement as any other prescription medication.

“I believe that people with a medical need for cannabis, who have acted courageously to seek help for their medical condition and have been granted use of medical cannabis, should be protected from DUI penalties for their legal medical cannabis use,” Rep. Rabb added. “I know I’m not the only lawmaker in the General Assembly who has been contacted by constituents concerned that their responsible use of medical cannabis may expose them to targeting by law enforcement when they drive.”

Rep. Rabb has invited Pennsylvanians who have negatively been impacted by the current law to publicly share their stories and contact their representatives to urge them to co-sponsor House Bill 878.

“A medical cannabis user can take a minuscule amount of medicine for their ailment and weeks later, with traces of cannabis still in their system, be subject to arrest on a DUI charge if pulled over — not because they’ve driven impaired, but because our state laws haven’t caught up with the science,” Rabb continued. “It’s time for Pennsylvania to modernize its laws and protect patients who are doing nothing wrong.”