Proposed Bill Could Establish Tests To Determine Motorists' Marijuana Levels

[bobandtorey]

The program appears to be a Department of Public Safety initiative and is adding another level to the continued discussion in Maine about whether to legalize marijuana.

Federal and state laws prohibit marijuana use, but other barriers are eroding. Several states have voted to legalize the drug.

In Maine, pushes to legalize pot failed in Lewiston and York, but passed in Portland and South Portland. Even though those gestures are mostly symbolic, they have raised important questions.

A new bill set to be proposed in 2015 in the state House of Representatives could answer those questions.

Scott Gagnon is with the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalizing marijuana.

“In terms of public safety and keeping everyone safe, I think it’s something we should definitely embrace,” Gagnon said.

Gagnon and others tout the expertise of Maine’s Drug Recognition Experts program. Officers train to be drug recognition experts, but there are not enough DREs to deal with every traffic stop.

 “With marijuana, you need to do a blood test or a urine test. So, unfortunately, it’s not like alcohol yet, where you can just do a Breathalyzer and get something right away,” Gagnon said.

Paul McCarrier is the president of Legalize Maine, one of the groups pushing to legalize marijuana statewide. He said he agrees with his opponents that there should be limits and better ways to test them.

“Well, we have to figure out what the level of intoxication is,” he said. “With medical marijuana, it affects everyone differently -- especially if you’re a heavy medicinal user. So I’m very interested to see what the bill language will be.”

 

http://www.wmtw.com/news/proposed-bill-could-establish-tests-to-determine-motorists-marijuana-levels/30210394

Edited December 13, 2014 by bobandtorey

[Chauncy Gardner]

Setting a FAIR legal limit for marijuana in the bloodstream is going to be a very interesting endeavor to observe. I can see people being charged with intoxication who show absolutely no signs of impairment on the police video cam. What happens when that hits court?

 

Will shaking in your boots or wetting your pants be signs of intoxication? How about breaking out in laughter when the officer makes a stumble in his routine? Will speaking in a quaking voice be grounds for arrest? What about being TOO cooperative? What if your mouth is too dry for the officer to get a mouth swab? It boggles the mind...

[bobandtorey]

[trichcycler]

[t-pain]

what if your eyes are TOO red ?

[cheapshades]

what if your eyes are TOO red ?