By Marguerite Arnold

Cannabis and driving is still a loaded topic pretty much everywhere. What’s worse is that most countries do not have evidence-based THC limits established for drivers. As a result, the amount of THC in your system that qualifies as “drugged driving” varies depending on where you are.

While this list is by no means definitive, below is a short overview of how cannabis driving laws vary from country to country. By all means, check with an attorney if unsure. In general, it is better to be safe. That means, especially if you are a foreigner, don’t consume cannabis and drive. If caught and tested, you might be in for a ride you wish you skipped altogether.

WHY ARE TESTS USED?

There is considerable evidence that the consumption of cannabis affects motor and cognitive response in many people. At what level and how long after consumption, however, is the pressing question.

For this reason, the issue of testing for impairment from cannabis has long been controversial. Different bodily fluids can also produce different results. Further, all tests do not actually test for THC, but rather a metabolised form of the drug. This means that the psychoactive impact of THC may well have worn off.

Medical cannabis patients are the most vulnerable to such tests, both in employment and driving situations.

Drug Detection Control Cannabis

WHAT DO THE POLICE TEST FOR?

What gets tested also depends on where you are. Breathalyzers are beginning to be used by the police in the United States. Urine tests are also more common because of their widespread use in the employment sector. In other jurisdictions, blood tests are the only evidence that is court admissible.

However, even here, there is a great deal of controversy. Pot tests do not test for the presence of THC. Instead, they measure the level of THC-COOH. This is a metabolite of THC that is produced after the liver breaks down THC.

As with many drug tests, this means that you could fail, even if you haven’t smoked for days, or even weeks. It does not necessarily mean you are currently “high”. For these reasons, such tests are highly unreliable when used to determine current sobriety.

Daily users and patients are therefore at a huge risk of failing any sort of test that measures metabolites.

THE UNITED STATES

There is no federal mandate for THC and driving. Why? Cannabis is still not legal on a federal level. That said, legalizing states are trying to define their own laws. Bottom line? Check each state’s rules. Seven states now enforce legal marijuana metabolite limits for drivers. These include Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington state.

All these states, with the exception of Iowa, list legal THC thresholds for blood in existing drugged driving laws. Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have also set legal THC and THC-COOH limits in urine.

Beware and be careful.

Drugged driving and alcohol-related driving are major crimes in the United States. If an accident involves property damage or injury to others, the penalties can include jail time. Refusing to take a test of any kind (blood or urine) is considered a positive response.

Finally, it is also likely that California’s recreational market (and cannabis driving laws) will have a huge impact nationally. The state has just outlawed the consumption of cannabis in a moving vehicle. For both drivers and passengers. It is already illegal to have an open bag of cannabis in the car.

Other states are very likely to follow California’s lead.

CANADA

There are no national standards set yet. However, it is very likely that a precise limit will be introduced by next July at the outset of the recreational market.

EUROPE

In Europe, there are so many discrepancies that there is no “norm”. Most EU states only test for active THC in the blood if stopped. However, some EU countries also measure THC-COOH. That is a non-psychoactive metabolite. Sixteen countries in Europe have set non-zero THC concentrations above which drivers can be prosecuted for driving under the influence. Of these countries, eleven enforce whole blood testing. This is the case across the Nordic states, Greece, Ireland, Eastern European countries, and the UK. Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Slovenia all require blood serum tests.

The Netherlands has established limits on both THC in blood and blood serum.

However, no European countries have set THC limits for urine.

Some countries also require different tests, such as saliva. Others require urine. In some EU countries, tests are mandatory. In others, they are voluntary.

Finally, some countries skip tests altogether and rely on the officer’s visual interpretation of the scene. If he or she determines a test is required, drivers are then expected to submit to the same.

Across Europe, only blood tests can be used in court.

Penalties also vary across EU countries. They can range from fines to driving bans, which in some cases, can last for life.

EUROPEAN DRUGGED DRIVING PENALTIES BY COUNTRY

The right to drive in Europe is regulated not only by country, but by the EU itself. Member states issue driving licences according to the Third Driving Licence Directive issued in 2006. This states that “driving licences shall not be issued or renewed for applicants or drivers who are dependent on psychotropic substances”.

What does this mean on a country-by-country basis? Here is a sampling of legislation across Europe.

Austria

Anyone can be stopped on suspicion. A blood test must be taken at the hospital. There are no limits that qualify as “impaired”. Licences can be suspended for at least four weeks. Fines range from €800-3,700.

Belgium

Oral fluid testing can be conducted at the stop. However, evidence must come from a hospital drug test. Levels are set not only for cannabis, but other drugs. Licences can be suspended between one month to five years. Fines can range from €1,000-10,000.

Croatia

Police can test saliva or urine at the stop, however, evidentiary blood tests must be taken at a hospital. Cannabis is treated like other illegal drugs. There are no limits or guidelines in national driving legislation. Penalties include fines, licence suspension, and even prison.

Czech Republic

Oral roadside testing can occur at the stop. However, blood must be taken at a hospital to prove “impairment”. Specific levels are also set. Licence suspension can occur from six months to a year for first time or minor violations. They can also be taken for up to ten years for more serious offences. Prison is also a possibility if there has been a serious accident.

Denmark

Roadside testing is allowed, but again, drivers must take a blood test at the hospital if the conviction is to stand up in court. Unlike many other countries, those who have a medical prescription have a special dispensation. That said, impaired driving is impaired driving. If there is an accident, expect sanctions. These can range from licence suspension, fines, and light prison terms of no more than 1.5 years.

Germany

The police’s right to stop and test depends on what state you are in. However, evidentiary tests are taken at the hospital. Worse, there are no limits specifying “impairment”. That said, there are basic guidelines which apply to cannabis, as well as other illicit drugs. Licence suspension can range from 1-3 months to permanent withdrawal. Prison, unless there is a serious accident, is not a regular punishment.

France

Roadside fluid testing is being introduced across the country. However, blood, saliva, and urine tests at hospitals are the only evidence admissible in court. There are no specific limits. Penalties include licence suspension for up to three years, fines, and prison time. The latter is especially true if the driver is also drunk.

Italy

Blood tests are required, but roadside tests are allowed. There are no limits specified in Italian driving legislation. Licence suspension periods range from fifteen days to four years. Fines range from €1,500-6,000. Prison terms can also be imposed from six months to two years.

Police Test Drugs Control

Luxembourg

Police can test at the roadside stop, but a blood test is required at a hospital for a conviction. There are limits for all illicit substances written into the law. Licence suspensions range from one month to life. Fines can range from €250-5,000. Prison terms range from eight days to three years.

Netherlands

Police are not allowed to ask for a roadside test. You have to take a blood test at a hospital. The test, however, is for “impairment” rather than to measure a specific level of metabolites in the blood. Licence suspensions can last for up to five years. Fines start at €6,000 and rapidly increase from here, especially if there has been bodily harm. Prison terms are also a possibility, particularly if the driver is reckless or if there is a fatality or injury.

Norway

Blood tests at the hospital are required, and the metabolite levels are set. Roadside tests are also allowed. Licence suspensions start at one year. Fines can be imposed and prison time can also last up to one year.

Poland

Police can test at the roadside, but the evidentiary test must be taken at a hospital or police station. There are no limits specified. Licences can be suspended from 1-10 years. There are a wide variety of fines. Prison terms can last up to two years.

Portugal

Police may ask you to take a roadside test, but a hospital blood test is required for evidence that can be used in court. There are no limits specified. Upon conviction, licences can be suspended from two months to two years. Fines depends on the severity of the offence. Prison terms are also possible, again, depending on severity. If there has been an accident due to negligence, this can be as long as three years.

Sweden

An evidentiary test is required. However, there is no liability if the drug is being taken with medical supervision. There are no limits specified. Licence suspension periods range from one month to three years. Forfeiture of the vehicle is also possible. Prison sentences are for a maximum of two years.

UK

Police can stop based on suspicion and administer an oral test. Evidentiary blood tests must be done at a police station. There are drug test limits that are predetermined by law. Penalties include a minimum one year prison sentence. Fines are unlimited. Prison terms can range up to fourteen years if there is a fatality.

Prohibido El Manejo De Drogas Con Cannabis

HOW TO AVOID GETTING BUSTED

Obviously, preventive measures are better than actually having to prove your innocence. Here are a few tips to avoid such unpleasant encounters before they occur.

  1. Don’t drive while high.
  2. Do not smoke in the car.
  3. Do not have any open cannabis containers in the car with you.
  4. Don’t drive for at least four hours after ingesting cannabis with THC.
  5. Avoid driving on weekend nights, when more impaired people are on the road. 
  6. Drive a few miles under the speed limit and keep your speed consistent.
  7. Clean your car on a regular basis; the smell of cannabis gives police the right to suspect you.
  8. If police ask you to admit to smoking cannabis, never answer - ever.
  9. If asked to take a voluntary test, refuse politely. In some European countries, this is a possible option. You can request to take a blood test if you are required to be tested.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: