Are You Too Stoned to Drive?

What’s the Latest Development?

The state of Colorado, one of the first to legalize the general use of marijuana, is now facing a dilemma over how, and whether, to criminalize drugged driving. “Since the passage of Amendment 64 in November, Colorado has been wrestling with the many questions of how to regulate the new marijuana reality, from how to tax it and monitor its growth to where people can buy it, sell it, smoke it and advertise it. But drugged driving looms as one of the most critical and controversial issues.” How Colorado regulates marijuana will likely serve as a model for states that choose to legalize the drug in the future. 

What’s the Big Idea?

Should the law should serve society or the individual? State Sen. Steve King, a Republican who supports a THC limit, insists that driving high is no different than driving drunk. “You’re a threat and a hazard,” he said. “The consensus should be to err on the side of safety for the traveling public.” On the other side of the debate is Michael Elliott, a lawyer and executive director of the Colorado-based Medical Marijuana Industry Group, who said: “When it comes to criminal law, we err on the side of protecting the freedom of our citizens and holding the criminal justice system to the highest standards of proof.”

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Read it at the Washington Post