“In a last ditch effort to push the bad “zero-tolerance” DUI bill through the Kentucky Legislature, proponents of SB 5 have now attached this misguided legislation to yet another House bill – HB 315 – in the form of a floor amendment.  HB 315 SFA1 now joins HB 369 SFA1 as the vehicle for a horrible proposal that would punish the prior use of controlled substances like marijuana with an automatic DUI conviction, regardless of whether the driver was actually impaired.”
Once again we urge you to call your Kentucky legislators and let them know what a bad idea “zero tolerance” is and that this bill will guarantee that innocent people will be prosecuted.
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm | By: Radical Russ
Kentucky legislators continue to try and misuse the state’s traffic safety laws to target adults who use marijuana responsibly in the privacy of their own home. Please help us stop them.
Several weeks ago we wrote you about Senate Bill 5, an act to criminalize anyone who operates a motor vehicle with any detectable level of marijuana in their blood.
On Tuesday, March 10, proponents attached SB 5 as an amendment to House Bill 369. Because HB 369 overwhelmingly passed the House, the amended version may enjoy enough support to pass the Senate; however, it must be called to the Senate floor for a vote before Friday or it dies.
If passed, this amendment would mandate criminal penalties for any person who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable level of THC in their blood. This proposal would improperly impact cannabis consumers because THC can remain detectable at low levels in the blood of daily marijuana users for up to 1 or 2 days after past use. In the case of chronic smokers, THC may be detectable in the blood for even longer periods of time.
Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver — at most — for a few hours, not days. To treat marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug’s effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair.
After you have sent your legislators an e-mail, please follow up with a phone call to your state senator and ask him or her to vote “no” on HB 369, Senate Floor Amendment 1. Â Time is of the essence, so please write and call today.
Thank you for supporting NORML’s marijuana law reform efforts in Kentucky.
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Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 10:12 am | By: Radical Russ
Nathan Miller from MPP informs us of some bad news from a member of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers:
SB 5, the drugged driver bill, has been filed as Senate Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 369. It is believed that HB 369 will be brought to a vote during the next three days, and that SFA1 will be called. The essence of the floor amendment is that it would allow for a conviction for DUI when a blood test taken within 2 hours of operation shows the presence of a controlled substance other than those few listed in KRS 218A.090(5). No impairment would have to be shown. This WOULD INCLUDE MARIJUANA and many many other substances such as adderol, ritalin, ambien, and numerous anti-depressants. By not requiring impairment, the bill would ensnare many innocent drivers. While the amendment would create a defense allowing for the showing of a prescription and compliance with restrictions, it would cause persons to be arrested, to have to post bond, to have to hire a lawyer, and go to trial in order to prove the defense.
Several other amendments to HB 369 have worsened the bill, such as increasing penalties for boating while intoxicating, and creating a gang theft section of the criminal syndicate statute which would reduce from 5 to 2 the number of persons constituting a “criminal syndicate” for theft of retail merchandise. The end result is that if 2 people conspire to shoplift, they commit a Class C felony even if the theft would otherwise be a misdemeanor.
The House passed HB 369 (before amendment) 98-0 and the Senate passed SB 5 34-1, so I am guessing that the chances of this bill making it through as amended are pretty good.
Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 1:50 pm | By: Radical Russ
Oppose Zero Tolerance ‘Drugged’ Driving Bill In Kentucky — House Judiciary Committee May Vote TOMORROW!
Kentucky legislators are trying to misuse the state’s traffic safety laws to target adults who use marijuana responsibly in the privacy of their own home. It’s up to you to stop them.
Senate Bill 5, an act to criminalize anyone who operates a motor vehicle with any detectable level of marijuana in their blood, was recently approved by the state Senate and is now before the House of Representatives. It is possible that members of this Committee are planning on voting on this measure TOMORROW!
It is imperative that you contact your elected officials today and urge them to stop this misguided campaign against responsible cannabis consumers.
If passed, Senate Bill 5 would mandate criminal penalties for any person who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable level of THC in their blood. This proposal would improperly impact cannabis consumers because THC can remain detectable at low levels in the blood of daily marijuana users for up to 1 or 2 days after past use. In the case of chronic smokers, THC may be detectable in the blood for even longer periods of time.
Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver — at most — for a few hours, not days. To treat marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug’s effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair.
In addition, Kentucky already has laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle “under the influence” of illicit drugs. Senate Bill 5 creates a separate crime of “drugged driving” that is, potentially, divorced from impairment and that could jail motorists for simply having consumed an illicit substance at some prior, unspecified date.
Senate Bill 5 would mandate criminal penalties for any person who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable level of THC in their blood. This proposal would improperly impact cannabis consumers because THC can remain detectable at low levels in the blood of daily marijuana users for up to 1 or 2 days after past use. In the case of chronic smokers, THC may be detectable in the blood for even longer periods of time.
Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver — at most — for a few hours, not days. To treat marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug’s effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair.
In addition, Kentucky already has effect-based laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle “under the influence” of illicit drugs. This is a multidisciplinary standard that focuses on the totality of circumstances — most importantly, that the driver is visibly impaired — and rightly punishes motorists who drive while impaired from having recently used illicit drugs. There is no need for additional legislation.”
Thank you for supporting NORML’s marijuana law reform efforts in Kentucky.
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 1:45 pm | By: Radical Russ
Once again, a bill that seeks to punish prior use of a controlled substance with an automatic DUI conviction is before the Kentucky legislature.
Like its predecessors, Senate Bill5 cleverly attempts to bootstrap an ill-advised rule regarding all drugs onto a rule created for the purpose of measuring alcohol impairment. Under SB5, a driver who tests positive for traces of marijuana can be convicted of “driving under the influence” even if that driver is unimpaired at the time of arrest.
While such laws do little to actually make roadways safer, they do send many innocent people to jail and saddle them with criminal records for the rest of their lives. Current Kentucky DUI law requires prosecutors to prove that a suspect was impaired while driving. SB5 seeks to circumvent current evidentiary standards by removing this requirement. If lawmakers want to clog court dockets, cost taxpayers more money and make it tougher for Kentuckians to find and retain employment, then this is the bill to support.
SB5 attempts to create the appearance of scientific reliability by requiring blood tests to be administered within two hours of operating a vehicle. However, the two-hour standard was developed decades ago for measuring impairment caused by alcohol, not drugs like marijuana.
Moreover, the test referred to in SB5 is not a test for marijuana impairment, but merely a test for marijuana’s presence, which is not what DUI laws are supposed to punish.
The effect and perhaps even the aim of legislation like SB5 is to punish prior drug use — predominantly marijuana use — by convicting drivers of DUI without scientifically reliable evidence that they were operating a vehicle while under the influence of anything.
“Zero-tolerance” laws are more than unjust; they are scientifically unsound, which is exactly why not one single state applies such a rule to alcohol. Furthermore, these laws are even less suited for marijuana, the traces of which are detectable by drug tests long after its intoxicating effects have worn off.
Marijuana impairment peaks within minutes of use and is seldom severe or long lasting, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Conversely, alcohol impairment peaks much later and lasts for hours, meaning there’s a true correlation between high alcohol levels and driver impairment.
A driver with high levels of THC (the active psychotropic ingredient in marijuana) in the blood may not be impaired in any manner if time has passed since the substance was last used. The inability to accurately measure marijuana impairment is why both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse have stated that marijuana impairment testing via blood sampling is unreliable.
Driving under the influence of any substance is dangerous and should not be tolerated, but sending innocent people to jail for DUI using methods incapable of accurately measuring impairment is not the answer.
Lawmakers should reject SB5 as they have done in the past, instead focusing on finding real, scientifically valid ways to detect impaired drivers and get them off Kentucky highways.
Nathan Miller, a Kentucky native, is legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 11:42 am | By: Radical Russ
Subject: Last Chance To Oppose Zero Tolerance Marijuana Measure
Kentucky legislators are trying to misuse the state’s traffic safety laws to target and prosecute adults who use marijuana responsibly in the privacy of their own home. It’s up to you to stop them.
Senate Bill 5, an act to criminalize anyone who operates a motor vehicle with any detectable level of marijuana in their blood, was recently approved by the state Senate and is now before the House of Representatives. It is imperative that you contact your elected officials today and urge them to stop this misguided campaign against responsible cannabis consumers.
If passed, Senate Bill 5 would mandate criminal penalties for any person who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable level of THC in their blood. This proposal would improperly impact cannabis consumers because THC can remain detectable at low levels in the blood of daily marijuana users for up to 1 or 2 days after past use. In the case of chronic smokers, THC may be detectable in the blood for even longer periods of time. (More information on this subject is available from NORML here.)
Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver — at most — for a few hours, not days. To treat marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug’s effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair.
In addition, Kentucky already has laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle “under the influence” of illicit drugs. Senate Bill 5 creates a separate crime of “drugged driving” that is, potentially, divorced from impairment and that could jail motorists for simply having consumed an illicit substance at some prior, unspecified date.
Please take a moment today to contact your representative and urge them to oppose Senate Bill 5. If your representative sits on the House Judiciary Committee then it is especially important that he or she hears from you. For your convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to your state representatives when you go here.
Thank you for supporting NORML’s marijuana law reform efforts in Kentucky.
Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm | By: Radical Russ
New Hampshire Stashers, this Thursday there is a hearing on HB 575 . This bill would radically expand the New Hampshire DUI laws and enable police to conduct an unprecedented witch hunt on our roads and highways.
The public hearing for this bill is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, at 11:00 in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) room 204. If you can attend this hearing of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, please do so. You will not have to speak, but it would be great to have as many people as possible sign the committee’s sign-in sheet registering their opposition to the bill.
Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm | By: Radical Russ
NORML regrets to inform you that Senate Bill 5, an act to criminalize anyone who operates a motor vehicle with any detectable level of marijuana in their blood, has been referred to the Kentucky Senate Rules Committee.
If passed, Senate Bill 5 would mandate criminal penalties for any person who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable level of THC in their blood. This proposal would improperly impact cannabis consumers because THC can remain detectable at low levels in the blood of daily marijuana users for up to 1 or 2 days after past use. In the case of chronic smokers, THC may be detectable in the blood for even longer periods of time. (More information on this subject is available from NORML here.)
Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver — at most — for a few hours, not days. To treat marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug’s effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair.
In addition, Kentucky already has laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle “under the influence” of illicit drugs. Senate Bill 5 creates a separate crime of “drugged driving” that is, potentially, divorced from impairment and that could jail motorists for simply having consumed an illicit substance at some prior, unspecified date.
Please take a moment today to contact your elected officials and urge them to oppose Senate Bill 5. If your senator sits on the Senate Rules Committee then it is especially important that he or she hears from you. For your convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to your state representative when you enter your contact information below.
RevRayGreen: I'll post a pic of me and my son....gimme a minute
Missippi Hippy: Guess what... I'm gonna be a new... ummmmm well, my pet piggie Ganja is in labor and they ain't mine in the same sense. See what your wife [...]
RevRayGreen: days they didn't talk back..or act disrespectful..
RevRayGreen: feel so lucky my son is 18 going 19 and my daughter 16 going on 17..relish the days that can't talk back
Urb Age: Congrats Spof thats awesome. My little Clara is about to hit 20 months. Im not the activist I used to be, but its made me a better man.
Urb Age: Heck I was gonna go up there, but just not feeling well this weekend..Dang it, I hate it when that happens..
RevRayGreen: wishing I was hanging at NORML cafe...
JohnH: Just a quick comment about tokin' and sperm motility....been tokin since age 14 and have 8 kids ranging in age from 30 to 9...(what can I say, I found 2 [...]
slash5city: really ..oprah 35 yr or more in the closet toker ...outed ....o my god !!
SneakerPimp: that would be huge news just imagen the headline
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Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
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