Posted on 10/20/2013 8:06:13 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
In May, anticipating an increase in marijuana consumption now that the plant is legal for general use in Colorado, the state legislature officially defined "too stoned to drive." The new law allows juries to convict someone of driving under the influence of a drug (DUID) based on nothing more than a test indicating a THC level of at least five nanograms per milliliter of blood.
Addy Norton is a walking (and driving) refutation of that standard. Norton, a 27-year-old who smokes medical marijuana every day, recently participated in an experiment conducted by KIRO, the CBS station in Seattle, where a five-nanogram rule also prevails as a result of I-502, Washington's marijuana legalization initiative. Norton arrived with a THC level of 16 nanograms, more than three times Colorado's new DUID cutoff, but nevertheless completed a driving course satisfactorily, according to the instructor who accompanied her with his foot hovering over a second brake and his hand ready to take the wheel.
After Norton smoked three-tenths of a gram, she tested at 36.7 nanograms, more than seven times the legal limit, but still drove OK. Even after she consumed nine-tenths of a gram, a drug recognition expert from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office said her driving was merely "borderline." Only after consuming a total of 1.4 grams of pot and achieving a THC level of 58.8 nanograms, almost 12 times the legal limit, was Norton clearly too stoned to drive.
The two other participants in KIRO's study, a weekend smoker and an occasional smoker, also drove competently at THC levels far above five nanograms. So did "Justin," a medical marijuana user who volunteered for a study sponsored by KDVR, the Fox affiliate in Denver. Justin's THC level was already 21 nanograms when he arrived, even though he had not consumed any marijuana that day, and it rose to 47 after he smoked some pot. He performed fine on a driving simulator at both levels. "Justin is doing pretty well," a drug recognition expert from the Thornton, Colorado, police department said as he watched the second test. "He's being a safe driver. It's doubtful that I would have pulled him over. He hasn't shown any degree of impairment."
While some people may be noticeably impaired at five nanograms, it is clear that some people are not. The way people react to marijuana is partly a function of pre-existing characteristics, but it also depends on experience. Regular users develop tolerance and learn to adapt to marijuana's effects, so they may be able to drive safely at THC levels that would incapacitate novices.
Because THC is absorbed by fatty tissue, it can linger in the blood of regular users long after the drug's effects have worn off, meaning that daily smokers may never fall below the five-nanogram threshold. "Patients like me," Teri Robnett of the Cannabis Patient Action Network told Colorado legislators in April, "will continually maintain a blood level far above five nanograms and without any impairment." A five-nanogram standard exposes people like Robnett to the risk of being treated as a public menace whenever they get behind the wheel.
Recognizing that a five-nanogram THC level is not a good indicator of impairment, the Colorado General Assembly rejected that standard five times before finally approving it in May, the same week it passed a law regulating pot stores. "It's an arbitrary limit by uninformed people," complains Kayvan Khalatbari, co-owner of a medical marijuana center in Denver. "They just don't know what they're talking about."
The inclusion of a five-nanogram standard in I-502, the Washington initiative, was so controversial that it turned some legalization advocates against the measure. Alison Holcomb, who oversaw the I-502 campaign, points out that police still need "reasonable suspicion" that a driver is impaired to pull him over and seek a blood test. Holcomb says pro-legalization critics of I-502 were never able to cite cases where drivers who tested above five nanograms were acquitted under the old legal standard, which as in Colorado required evidence of impairment, including but not limited to blood tests. She also argues that a five-nanogram standard could help defendants with lower levels who otherwise might have been convicted. She says jurors "might be skeptical that the person was actually impaired if the results were not at that threshold level."
In a concession to critics of the five-nanogram cutoff, Colorado's new law, unlike Washington's, does not make people automatically guilty of DUID if they test above that level. Instead it creates a presumption that defendants can try to rebut by presenting evidence that they were not in fact impaired. But Denver attorney Rob Corry, who frequently represents DUID defendants, thinks that opportunity will not make much difference in practice. With a "permissible inference" of DUID at five nanograms, he says, "A person coming into court is guilty until proven innocent. If you put a number on it, juries are going to latch onto that five-nanogram number, whether it's a permissible inference or a per se [standard], and the effect will be that innocent people are convicted."
“Beagle, do you have a source for your 99.9%?”
No, It’s just my personal observation. I’ve yet to see anyone that had a real medical condition with one of the stoner cards. Most are 18-35 and healthy as a horse.
Also curious as to what you do that brings you into contact with so many medical marijuana users that give you enough of those people to calculate so a high percentage.
I could easily respond with a comment about "making things stand up" however common decency and decorum requires silence of me.
Regards,
GtG
They have the medical dope stores all over. It’s pretty easy to see who is going in and out.
How could anyone be so unkind
To arrest a man for drivin’ while blind?
I appreciate that. I'd stay and entertain the possibilities, but I've just discovered a cracked oil cooler on the tractor that's probably going to screw up the rest of my afternoon.
Norton arrived with a THC level of 16 nanograms, more than three times Colorado’s new DUID cutoff, but nevertheless completed a driving course satisfactorily
So what is the point?
I know plenty of alcoholics that can drive a car satisfactorily when well over the State Legal limit. Does that mean we allow everyone to drive drunk?
Here are some stats that I could find. You will see that the vast majority of the cards are issued for pain which really has no way of being proven or disproved.
‘Hey Doc, I have pain and staying fried really helps.’ ‘Here’s your card son, that will be $100 at the counter.’
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHE-CHEIS/CBON/1251593017044
How do they test this?
Anyone know of VC opportunities for MJ testing?
Your page says you are from Michigan, so how do you see them going in & out of the “dope stores” in Colorado?
The point is that these legal limits for various intoxicants are arbitrary and depend on factors other than ability to safely operate a vehicle. They are determined by legislators who are lobbied and funded by special interest groups with various agendas.
Should drunk driving be encouraged? Of course not! But what is drunk? Are you drunk if you are one point over the legal limit but are fully in control of yourself and your vehicle? If the limit is lowered, one day you can be sober and the next declared drunk.
Follow the money. If reckless driving were fined as heavily as DUI there would be a lot less of it. Why do you think they want to lower the limit to .06 from .08?
The vast majority, 94%, is severe pain, not just pain. Also, average age is 41, not the 18-35 you stated.
My dad is there too. He hasn’t lost any response time with his opinions of others driving abilities though.
having no personal experience having smoked marijuana only twice, once for 11 years and once for 14, i can only agree on your merit
I have no personnel experience either. Mine was all group experience.
Kind of like being gay. When you go get your 'gay' card, how do you prove your gay?
Anyway ... are you saying it doesn't work for pain or are you saying the majority of those prescribed MMJ for pain is fake pain? And the Colorado statistics presented that %94 are for sever e pain, %14 for Muscle Spasms. So, that's %108 .... the overage is noted as "overlap". And I think there are valid self-diagnosed mental conditions that are suited for MMJ. Like Anxiety, OCD, many phobia's, and of course you're just tired of today's news and wish to entertain yourself with Ideas for that best selling novel, or Screenplay ... only to not be able to remember the truly most awesome and earth shattering plot lines and characters you've developed.
Easy fix that takes away any ambiguity or issues with tolerance. Want a medical marijuana card? Turn in your DL. No getting it back til you’ve got at least 6 months of weekly tests coming back squeaky clean.
Yes, I realize it stays in the body for up to three months. Yes, this is intentionally as punitive as possible. So, how bad do you REALLY want that joint, hmm?
Fine with me. I quit driving right after 9-11.
As soon as Pink Floyd lyrics start making sense to me, I know it’s time to pull over and let somebody else drive.
LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.