BLOG

Marijuana Legalization and Drugged Driving

marijuana legalization drugged driving

Across the USA more states are moving toward marijuana legalization, however this requires considerations about drugged driving and other safety and addiction treatment concerns. In Colorado, one of the very first states in the USA to move toward marijuana legalization, the drugged driving rates have spiked. Some suggest this show an increase in the use of the drug by drivers but others believe that advances in detection technology have also made it easier to determine which drivers are actually impaired by the amount of marijuana compounds in the body. Under the law in Colorado, and most other states in America, police officers stop drivers who they suspect are impaired by drugs o alcohol based on what they personally observe. In Colorado drivers who have a whole blood concentration level of 5 nanograms of THC can be considered impaired drivers under the law.

With the marijuana legalization effort currently underway in the USA and other areas of North America the topic of drugged driving must be addressed the same way that drunk driving is. If a driver has only had one drink and their blood alcohol concentration is below the legal threshold for impairment but they are observed driving erratically and in an obviously impaired manner then they can still be arrested. Just like alcohol use the use of marijuana causes impairment, that is the whole point of this type of substance abuse. Once marijuana is consumed the individual may not be able to determine whether they are actually capable of operating a motor vehicle.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    No Twitter Messages.
AI Chatbot Avatar