Driving laws explained: In the medical marijuana age, how high is too high to drive?

[BridgeTheGap]

Twelve years after Colorado legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, more than 85,000 people have been certified by the state health department to use it. Now, there is increasing concern about a rise in traffic accidents caused by people under the influence of marijuana. Between 2006 and 2010, more than 300 fatal accidents involved drivers who tested positive for cannabis, according to the Colorado Department of Highway Safety.

That’s why Republican state Senator Steve King wants Colorado to set a legal limit for marijuana intoxication, somewhat similar to the 0.08 percent blood alcohol limit states put on driving under the influence of alcohol. And in California, Democratic Assemblywoman Norma Torres wants to set a zero-tolerance ban on driving under the influence of any drug, including marijuana.

But bills put forward by both King and Torres have run into opposition from those who say the science around what marijuana does to the body and mind is not conclusive enough to set a legal limit. In Colorado, critics also note that King’s approach would cost the state public defender’s office about $600,000 per year to defend those accused of “drugged driving” charges.

Yet concerns over cannabis intoxication won’t go away. Voters in Colorado and Washington State will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use, while a dozen more states are considering legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. In this explainer, Stateline examines the research surrounding marijuana and road safety, and explores why it’s so difficult to say how high is too high to drive.

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=644610

[Ecumenist]

1. AT ALL! You shouldn't do anything you wouldn't do if you've had a few beers....

there, I fixed it, see? I use MMJ concentrates and there's NO WAY I WOULD EVEN RIDE A BICYCLE AFTER TAKING ONE OF MY GOLD CAPS!

[frylock]

6. i almost always burn before going for a ride..

usually fast, technical tracks on my mountain bike.

[Moonwalk]

2. If Senator King wasn't a republican....

...he's propose a scientific study to test drivers at different levels of drug intoxication and see at what point they become a problem.

Then again, what is the problem? Marijuana is not served at bars, so it's not like alcohol where someone has to know that after "x" amount of drinks you cut them off or take their keys. People do marijuana at home. Which means that, like someone who drank at home and then decided to drive, the police will stop them if they're driving badly. Why does one need a bill to make it illegal for anyone to drive under the influence of anything that would make them a bad enough driver that you'd need to stop them?

[Warpy]

3. 20 mph down back streets

usually indicates a stoner.

People high on grass know they're impaired and tend to overcompensate. Besides driving while high really harshes the mellow.

I think the problem has been overstated to the point of "Reefer Madness" hysteria. Look at 90% of the articles that cite pot use as contributing to accidents. The fine print usually says they were drunk, too.

Grass slows reaction time, everybody knows that, and driving while ultra stoned is a very bad idea. However, as with all drugs, it depends on what the user is used to and people who use it for medical reasons are well aware of what it does to them and compensate the way I do when I'm driving on narcotics (and before any of you goes into full shriek, I'd better point out that I can't drive without them, the pain is that limiting).

Drivers who are weaving all over the place or otherwise obviously impaired should be taken off the street and sobered up or rested or have the cell phone confiscated. Police need to focus on behavior instead of the cheap excuse of possible drug use.

[BridgeTheGap]

5. I recall a study from some years ago where they used a driving

simulator with people who had little or no experience with pot and those who had used it for years. Those who had little or no experience performed horribly. Those who had used it for years performed about average. I think the dosage was the same for all paticipants.

[Warpy]

7. Exactly. Someone who took my medication for the first time

would probably find it very difficult to do any task requiring a reasonable reaction time and muscle coordination.

Once you know what it's going to do to you and you have to take it all the time, you simply compensate for the effects.

That's why drugs are such a nonissue when it comes to driving or operating any dangerous machinery. Behavior has to be observed and people can be incompetent for a variety of reasons, being overtired is one of them and doesn't require any substances but can render a driver more dangerous than any stoner.

[FirstLight]

4. I know!

If it starts to look like this:



you're too high!

[fizzgig]

8. and testing positive doesn't necessarily mean you are under the influence at the time

that can't be used as the sole benchmark

[Cronkite]

9. I think once you can't keep up with traffic you shouldn't be driving.

Let's say you are stoned and driving 15mph in a 30mph zone. It is unsafe and you shouldn't be out there.

I really don't see this as a big an issue as drunken driving. As others have mentioned, people usually go to bars to drink whereas stoners sit around private homes to partake for the most part.

[RainDog]

10. the link doesn't work

can you repost a working link? thanks!