Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Gagan Singh rolled a "fat blunt" before he hit the slopes at Lake Tahoe on a sunny Wednesday morning. By the end of the day, he needed a refill, so he drove to Reno and stopped at one of the local medical marijuana dispensaries. With his Patagonia jacket and bleached-blond man-bun, Singh was eager to head to his hotel and smoke.
The only reason he wouldn't be smoking while driving to the hotel was because he believes Nevada cops are stricter than the ones in the Bay Area.
"Yeah, I roll my blunts while I'm driving. I smoke while I'm driving," said Singh, 26, who owns a logistics business and a "party bus" in Oakland, Calif. "I don't get high after two blunts. I just get tired and lazy."
With the passage of recreational marijuana in November, Nevada is grappling with questions of how to handle the issue of driving while stoned. And while driving high is still illegal, determining what exactly constitutes "high" is not as easy as it sounds.
Among states with legal recreational marijuana, Nevada has the strictest limit on how much of the chemical THC can be in the bloodstream -- the weed equivalent of blood-alcohol content -- before the driver is considered impaired. Nevada's limit is even lower than the federal standard for Department of Transportation employees.
But catching drugged drivers has become more complicated since recreational marijuana became legal in January across the state.
No real-time, accurate test exists. Officers have no accurate Breathalyzer test; blood, urine and saliva tests exist but are imperfect.
On top of that, no scientific evidence backs up that a specific amount of marijuana in a person's system means impairment. That means that limits for marijuana similar to those for alcohol use can be problematic.
"You have people that are just baked, they have that Spicoli persona and yet they ace the driving test. You have others who are totally sober and they flunk that blood test," said Chris Halsor, a former Colorado prosecutor currently serving as Nevada's temporary traffic safety resource prosecutor.
Nevada law says that anyone with 2 nanograms of marijuana in their system while driving is impaired.
Critics of the limit point out that it's so low that people who have smoked marijuana in the distant past but are not impaired could be convicted of DUI under the current law.
However, advocates of the limit point out that driving under the influence cases involving marijuana are already difficult to prove and a limit is necessary.
Despite the inconsistencies, states must adapt, Halsor said. It's an issue every state that legalizes marijuana faces, finding varying solutions.
"You have to go into every case being able to prove impairment without toxicology," Halsor said.
The question of marijuana DUIs has been at the forefront of bipartisan discussions among lawmakers since Nevadans voted in November to legalize recreational marijuana. Anyone 21 and over can possess up to 1 ounce of recreational marijuana, even though it remains a federal offense.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2000, and recreational marijuana officially became legal as of Jan. 1, though it is still a misdemeanor to drive under the influence of marijuana and can be a felony depending on circumstances.
Just as Nevada has a .08 blood alcohol limit, the state also has a 2 nanograms per milliliter of blood limit for marijuana. Colorado and Washington's limit is 5 nanograms.
Most states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized recreational marijuana – California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, and Alaska – have no set limit. States without set limits also establish that impaired driving is illegal and can be proven by a defendant's behavior and statements at the time of arrest.
"States are trying to figure out what is a fair nanogram limit — what should they use for guidance, and should we have a nanogram limit? Neither is good, right? I don't think it's appropriate to institute a rule that doesn't work. I don't understand the point of having a limit if that doesn't tell you what you need to know," said Dr. Ryan Vandrey, associate professor of behavioral pharmacology research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore. "If you are going to punish people for not being under the influence of a drug that you just legalized, that's not fair. You can't take corrective action."
While it would seem logical to model drugged driving laws after existing drunken driving laws, marijuana is a tricky substance.
"Alcohol is the exception. Alcohol is the only drug that we can immediately determine whether someone is acutely impaired on the roadside," said Vandrey. "There are lots of drugs that we don't have reliable tests for — cannabis is the normative."
Vandrey shakes his head at the states, including Nevada, that still have a set "limit" written into their laws because, if those limits cannot prove impairment, he said, what's the point?
Based on his research, people might have 50 to 100 nanograms of marijuana in their system immediately after smoking marijuana. Ten minutes later, though, only 2 to 10 nanograms might be present, and it really depends on the person, he said.
Top of the line tests — usually via blood – can detect as low as a half-nanogram, but most equipment can only detect 1 to 2 nanograms, which is even still a pretty low threshold, he said.
Of all the states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Nevada has the lowest set limit, lower than some federal guidelines for U.S. Department of Transportation employees.
While people who work in industries regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, such as truck drivers, train engineers and subway operators, are prohibited from using medical or recreational marijuana during employment, they are simultaneously told that they cannot have any more than 50 nanograms of marijuana metabolites in their blood upon hire and 15 nanograms when on the job, according to the department's rules and regulations.
Granted, metabolites, or the compounds that are broken down from marijuana, are usually higher in volume that marijuana itself when measured by a blood test, the measurement for marijuana is not usually far off.
Even the states that have not legalized marijuana have to deal with this issue of "the limit" since many, at least out West, border a state that has legalized pot.
Arizona, which has legalized medical marijuana, shares a zero-tolerance law with Utah, where marijuana is illegal in all forms. This means that any presence of a drug in the driver's body is grounds for a DUI charge, regardless of whether the driver is actually impaired.
Marijuana also is still illegal in any form in Idaho, too, but like California and Oregon the state has no set limit.
"We're an island in a sea of green," said Sgt. Dan Thom, a certified drug recognition expert with the Idaho Falls County Sheriff's Office, noting that the state is surrounded by others that have legalized weed in some way.
Just because pot still is prohibited in Idaho doesn't mean that law enforcement officers don't have to keep their eyes out for stoned drivers. Drivers can be coming over the border from Jackpot, Nev., or they are tapped into Idaho's own black market.
He recommended that Nevada get rid of its set limit because any limit makes cases harder to prosecute, he said.
If officers focus on identifying someone who is high using their own observations, their jobs will be much more efficient, Thom said. Little details will be case-closers, not the blood tests, he said. Those details include whether someone has a "butterfly flutter" to their eyelids, meaning they are almost twitching, or their eyes are bloodshot.
"Attorneys will come up with all of these excuses, and they make a lot of money on DUIs," he said. "Prosecutors hate it when I say this, but it's a game, you just gotta learn the rules."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The problem with America's marijuana DUI laws: science
Author: Jenny Kane
Contact: Reno Gazette-Journal Contact Form | Reno Gazette-Journal
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Reno Gazette-Journal | Reno news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds
The only reason he wouldn't be smoking while driving to the hotel was because he believes Nevada cops are stricter than the ones in the Bay Area.
"Yeah, I roll my blunts while I'm driving. I smoke while I'm driving," said Singh, 26, who owns a logistics business and a "party bus" in Oakland, Calif. "I don't get high after two blunts. I just get tired and lazy."
With the passage of recreational marijuana in November, Nevada is grappling with questions of how to handle the issue of driving while stoned. And while driving high is still illegal, determining what exactly constitutes "high" is not as easy as it sounds.
Among states with legal recreational marijuana, Nevada has the strictest limit on how much of the chemical THC can be in the bloodstream -- the weed equivalent of blood-alcohol content -- before the driver is considered impaired. Nevada's limit is even lower than the federal standard for Department of Transportation employees.
But catching drugged drivers has become more complicated since recreational marijuana became legal in January across the state.
No real-time, accurate test exists. Officers have no accurate Breathalyzer test; blood, urine and saliva tests exist but are imperfect.
On top of that, no scientific evidence backs up that a specific amount of marijuana in a person's system means impairment. That means that limits for marijuana similar to those for alcohol use can be problematic.
"You have people that are just baked, they have that Spicoli persona and yet they ace the driving test. You have others who are totally sober and they flunk that blood test," said Chris Halsor, a former Colorado prosecutor currently serving as Nevada's temporary traffic safety resource prosecutor.
Nevada law says that anyone with 2 nanograms of marijuana in their system while driving is impaired.
Critics of the limit point out that it's so low that people who have smoked marijuana in the distant past but are not impaired could be convicted of DUI under the current law.
However, advocates of the limit point out that driving under the influence cases involving marijuana are already difficult to prove and a limit is necessary.
Despite the inconsistencies, states must adapt, Halsor said. It's an issue every state that legalizes marijuana faces, finding varying solutions.
"You have to go into every case being able to prove impairment without toxicology," Halsor said.
The question of marijuana DUIs has been at the forefront of bipartisan discussions among lawmakers since Nevadans voted in November to legalize recreational marijuana. Anyone 21 and over can possess up to 1 ounce of recreational marijuana, even though it remains a federal offense.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2000, and recreational marijuana officially became legal as of Jan. 1, though it is still a misdemeanor to drive under the influence of marijuana and can be a felony depending on circumstances.
Just as Nevada has a .08 blood alcohol limit, the state also has a 2 nanograms per milliliter of blood limit for marijuana. Colorado and Washington's limit is 5 nanograms.
Most states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized recreational marijuana – California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, and Alaska – have no set limit. States without set limits also establish that impaired driving is illegal and can be proven by a defendant's behavior and statements at the time of arrest.
"States are trying to figure out what is a fair nanogram limit — what should they use for guidance, and should we have a nanogram limit? Neither is good, right? I don't think it's appropriate to institute a rule that doesn't work. I don't understand the point of having a limit if that doesn't tell you what you need to know," said Dr. Ryan Vandrey, associate professor of behavioral pharmacology research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore. "If you are going to punish people for not being under the influence of a drug that you just legalized, that's not fair. You can't take corrective action."
While it would seem logical to model drugged driving laws after existing drunken driving laws, marijuana is a tricky substance.
"Alcohol is the exception. Alcohol is the only drug that we can immediately determine whether someone is acutely impaired on the roadside," said Vandrey. "There are lots of drugs that we don't have reliable tests for — cannabis is the normative."
Vandrey shakes his head at the states, including Nevada, that still have a set "limit" written into their laws because, if those limits cannot prove impairment, he said, what's the point?
Based on his research, people might have 50 to 100 nanograms of marijuana in their system immediately after smoking marijuana. Ten minutes later, though, only 2 to 10 nanograms might be present, and it really depends on the person, he said.
Top of the line tests — usually via blood – can detect as low as a half-nanogram, but most equipment can only detect 1 to 2 nanograms, which is even still a pretty low threshold, he said.
Of all the states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Nevada has the lowest set limit, lower than some federal guidelines for U.S. Department of Transportation employees.
While people who work in industries regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, such as truck drivers, train engineers and subway operators, are prohibited from using medical or recreational marijuana during employment, they are simultaneously told that they cannot have any more than 50 nanograms of marijuana metabolites in their blood upon hire and 15 nanograms when on the job, according to the department's rules and regulations.
Granted, metabolites, or the compounds that are broken down from marijuana, are usually higher in volume that marijuana itself when measured by a blood test, the measurement for marijuana is not usually far off.
Even the states that have not legalized marijuana have to deal with this issue of "the limit" since many, at least out West, border a state that has legalized pot.
Arizona, which has legalized medical marijuana, shares a zero-tolerance law with Utah, where marijuana is illegal in all forms. This means that any presence of a drug in the driver's body is grounds for a DUI charge, regardless of whether the driver is actually impaired.
Marijuana also is still illegal in any form in Idaho, too, but like California and Oregon the state has no set limit.
"We're an island in a sea of green," said Sgt. Dan Thom, a certified drug recognition expert with the Idaho Falls County Sheriff's Office, noting that the state is surrounded by others that have legalized weed in some way.
Just because pot still is prohibited in Idaho doesn't mean that law enforcement officers don't have to keep their eyes out for stoned drivers. Drivers can be coming over the border from Jackpot, Nev., or they are tapped into Idaho's own black market.
He recommended that Nevada get rid of its set limit because any limit makes cases harder to prosecute, he said.
If officers focus on identifying someone who is high using their own observations, their jobs will be much more efficient, Thom said. Little details will be case-closers, not the blood tests, he said. Those details include whether someone has a "butterfly flutter" to their eyelids, meaning they are almost twitching, or their eyes are bloodshot.
"Attorneys will come up with all of these excuses, and they make a lot of money on DUIs," he said. "Prosecutors hate it when I say this, but it's a game, you just gotta learn the rules."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The problem with America's marijuana DUI laws: science
Author: Jenny Kane
Contact: Reno Gazette-Journal Contact Form | Reno Gazette-Journal
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Reno Gazette-Journal | Reno news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds
