Cannabis
Related: About this forumBlood THC levels after smoking pot are useless in defining “too high to drive”
Measuring drunk is pretty easy; the more alcohol someone drinks, the more alcohol shows up in that persons blood and the more impaired that person becomes, falling somewhere on a scale of tipsy to wasted. Measuring high, on the other hand, is far haziermuch to the dismay of some states' law enforcement.
Blood tests that try to quantify marijuana use are in fact useless at assessing how impaired a driver is, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In other words, the study found that people with low blood amounts of THCor delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of potmay still act as if theyre really stoned. On the other hand, some people may have THC measurements off the charts yet still act normally.
The finding is critical because several states have already set legal limits for the amount of THC a person can have in their blood while driving. AAA concluded that such limits are arbitrary and unsupported by science, which could result in unsafe motorists going free and others being wrongfully convicted for impaired driving.
For the study, AAA researchers combed through arrest records for impaired driving as well as results from toxicology tests and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) exams. This exam includes roadside sobriety tests such as walking and turning, standing on one foot, and nose touching.
more
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/legal-limits-for-marijuana-dui-are-arbitrary-and-unsupported-by-science/
ghostsinthemachine
(3,569 posts)I drive high always. No tickets accidents etc.
Mnpaul
(3,655 posts)What in the world are we going to do?
puffy socks
(1,473 posts)why should a person be tested to discovered if they are high?
Wouldn't traffic accidents in Washington and Colorado involving marijuana have spiked dramatically by now if smoking and driving were so dangerous?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/9/14/1421209/-Since-Colorado-legalized-marijuana-highway-fatalities-are-way-down
The fact is it's not alcohol and no matter how much someone smokes they never act as irrational as someone who can't walk or talk and is obviously out of control because they knocked down a half a bottle of whiskey.
CentralMass
(15,539 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)And frankly there are people driving around impaired by a lot of things, not the least of which is their cell phones.
It goes without saying that no one should get behind the wheel if they've been imbibing anything mind-altering. I had a friend killed by a drunk driver.