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per se DUID
Colorado per se DUID bill killed by opponents of gay civil unions
A bill proposed and passed by ignorant people who are intolerant of marijuana consumers was left to die because ignorant people who are intolerant of homosexuality had to kill a bill to recognize even a second-class marriage right for gay people.
Colorado per se DUID bill passes Senate on 18-17 vote
The bill, Senate Bill 117, is similar to last years, setting a 5 nanogram THC blood limit as a way to measure impairment as far as law enforcement goes. Activists argue that blood tests are faulty science at best; they are invasive, discriminatory and inaccurate gauges of levels of impairment. Opponents of legalizing marijuana say that drugged driving is a real threat, that there must be a measurable limit, and that science has shown that 5 nanograms shows recent consumption.
Colorado Senator’s deciding vote switch for 5ng per se DUID attributed to “abuse” by “medical marijuana industry”
Here we have a lawmaker who knows this issue needs more study and knows the 5ng/mL limit is problematic enough to vote against, yet who is willing to switch her vote in order to set a “bright line” to rein in “abuse” by the “medical marijuana industry”.
NORML SHOW LIVE #901 – Medical Marijuana Laws Without the Marijuana?
Dr. John McPartland on the endocannabinoid system; Todd Armstrong on Empathy in Todd’s Toker Topics; music by See-I
While legislators worry about stoned drivers, sleepy drivers cause 1 in 6 fatal crashes
“What About the Stoned Drivers?!?” is built on a false premise that once we legalize marijuana, suddenly there will be stoned drivers. It’s as if without legalization, there are no pot smokers, which, of course, is ludicrous. On the other hand, here are some scary drivers that legislators never seem to mention. An estimated one in six fatal crashes — nearly 17 percent — involves a drowsy driver, which is about four to five times higher than previous studies have found. And drowsy drivers are involved in one in eight crashes that result in serious injury, the report found.
Thirteen states have marijuana per se DUID statutes (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Further research shows that in 2002, the year before the per se DUID went into place, only 3 Nevada law enforcement agencies reported their arrest data to the FBI. In the other years, there were 31 to 34 of Nevada’s law enforcement agencies reporting. If we’re willing to concede a pattern of an upward trend in DUID arrests 2001-2009, then it’s safe to say 2002′s complete data would be at least 8,824 (2001′s figure), if not more DUID arrests. So the actual increase 2002-2004 is more likely around +3.5% or lower, not +76%.
Anti I-502 blogger selectively quotes DUID statistics to frighten medical marijuana patients
For some people, all they had to see was that first sentence with “drugged driving arrests increased a whopping 76 percent statewide” to fire up the laptop for another round of Frighten The Patients!!! into voting against legalization of marijuana. This from a blog post entitled “Marijuana DUIs Went Up 76% In Nevada With Per Se Limit”
NORML SHOW LIVE #868 – The Facts on 13 States with Per Se DUID Laws
Cannabis Cure UK interviews legendary smuggler Howard “Mr. Nice” Marks; Brian Blank delviers Todd’s Toker Topic; and Russ covers the statistics on 13 states that have “per se DUID” laws
States with medical marijuana saw 9% drop in traffic fatalities
Comparing traffic deaths over time in states with and without medical marijuana law changes, the researchers found that fatal car wrecks dropped by 9% in states that legalized medical use — which was largely attributable to a decline in drunk driving. The researchers controlled for other factors like changes in driving laws and the number of miles driven that could affect the results.
Dominic Holden debunks the “no patients can drive” I-502 scaremongering
Those activists have been hammering Holden (as they have me) over the dire threat looming if I-502 passes; namely, we’re “throwing medical marijuana patients under the bus” in order to get our “recreational ounce”, because all patients would be re-criminalized as DUID drivers thanks to the 5ng/mL per se DUID standard included in I-502. Those patients, they’ll tell you, could never drive because they use so much cannabis they’d never be below 5ng/mL. To bolster their claims, they’ve presented some of the DUID studies that Paul Armentano has done such a great job of condensing. Unlike Armentano, Holden, and myself, they didn’t bother to read them.