DUID arrests involving marijuana doubled in Denver from 2013 to 2014, with El Paso County nearly matching, and possibly surpassing, that total.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver police arrested 66 motorists last year for driving under the influence of marijuana, twice as many as they had in 2013. Even with this increase, Denver did not top the list of DUID arrests by county for 2014, with the top three proving to be Jefferson, Adams and Mesa counties at 83, 80 and 69 citations, respectively.
In El Paso County, 61 motorists were arrested for stoned driving, which would put it just under Denver's figure. However, as the Gazette notes, because the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and El Paso County Sheriff's Office (ESPO) do not distinguish between driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs, instead placing them all under the umbrella DUID charge, these numbers could be skewed and the total amount of cited stoned drivers may actually be higher, even more so than Denver's numbers.
"The State Patrol issued 5,546 DUID tickets in 2014, and 18.5 percent of those involved marijuana, according to statistics released in January. In about 6.4 percent of the cases, marijuana was the only indicator in the drug and alcohol test," the Gazette writes. "If those percentages held true in El Paso County, about 40 of those 230 tickets issued by the CSPD and the [ESPO] in 2014 might have involved marijuana."
Regardless of which direction these numbers may be moving in, motorists charged with driving under the influence of marijuana can face steep fines, the loss of their license and even jail time. If you've been charged with a DUID and need expert legal counsel to defend your case, schedule a consultation with The Orr Law Firm today.