Las Vegas lawmaker wants blood test to check for marijuana DUI

CARSON CITY — A bill introduced in the Nevada Assembly on Friday would mandate a blood test to check for driving under the influence of marijuana.

Assembly Judiciary Chairman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, said Assembly Bill 135 is necessary because urine tests that check for marijuana metabolites are unreliable.

The levels of metabolite to determine impairment — two nanograms per milliliter of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and five grams of 11-OH-tetrahydrocannabinol — would not change under the legislation.

But the bill does specify the specific metabolites that must be tested to determine impairment. The named metabolites are considered to be those that contribute to impairment, Yeager said.

The bill is one of many expected this session now that voters have legalized recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 or older.

Yeager said other changes to the regulation and use of marijuana are expected to come out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this legislative session.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.