Driving while stoned

i like to smoke a blunt of dank while i drive in the country, i never smoke then drive iimediatly after wards when i have people with me i give it a few minutes but honestly MJ improves my ability to react to stress when driving meaning if my car spins out i dont freak i gently get control. i do some of my best driving when high although im not just driving around toking and shit, but i did pizza delivery(2years) back in the day when i was a true stoner(8years smoking i was tokin and driven back then) and i still have yet to wreck my car.

i guarantee i could smoke a blunt of the strongest bud, give me 10 min to clear my head and i will do laps on Jeff Gorden.

caffine, cathnone other natural stimulants can also heighten one's sense. but thats the point would i be considered under the influence if i drank coffee? i mean after your first few time's weed isnt that strong and it goes away pretty fast to a high that doesnt really affect your thought process. im high right now and i can function obviously. im typing without looking and still remember everthing i need to in fact i smoke almost everyday and i have a great memory.

polyarcturus said:

caffine, cathnone other natural stimulants can also heighten one's sense. but thats the point would i be considered under the influence if i drank coffee? i mean after your first few time's weed isnt that strong and it goes away pretty fast to a high that doesnt really affect your thought process. im high right now and i can function obviously. im typing without looking and still remember everthing i need to in fact i smoke almost everyday and i have a great memory.

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Anecdotes are not the point. The problem that legalization efforts must overcome is how to induce non-smokers to vote for legalization. Legalization will never happen without the concurrence of non-smokers. Driving under the influence of cannabis is already a crime, and it will stay a crime after legalization. It is counter productive to claim that THC intoxication improves your driving ability, unless your goal is to keep cannabis illegal.

queers against stoned drivers.

The whole logic of a police officer having 'probable cause' is seriously flawed anyways. All it takes is a cop with a bad attitude, or racist, or sterotyper and the rest is all downhill. All THEY have to say is: "I smell weed!" Doesn't matter if it is true or not, but by them proclaiming that simple line, they can proceed to be more of an ass than they already are. It all comes down to: The quality of law enforcement officers and the laws that are supposed to protect the general public have both gone down the shitter. Same as politicians, judges, lawyers... the list goes on.

i as well as everybody i know can drive like a boss while high.

Ditto that. I can ride my motorcycle high too. It relaxes me and I concentrate more on the road. Now I just have to learn to text, smoke and ride my bike all at the same time I'd be rock n and Rollin.

this is what I see in NY, which of course has its own rules
i have never seen a ticket issued for stoned driving in my local court system, at least not for just stoned
i have seen it part of combined alcohol and other circumstances, usually where there are bodily injuries
reality is it's not easy to test for(blood tests are not convenient compared to breath test), not easy to determine impairment
under the unlikely case of legalization in NY, i doubt much change will happen
there are a lot of stoned drivers currently, numbers probably won't change much
in NY, LEO just don't seem to make it a high priority

growone said:

this is what I see in NY, which of course has its own rules
i have never seen a ticket issued for stoned driving in my local court system, at least not for just stoned
i have seen it part of combined alcohol and other circumstances, usually where there are bodily injuries
reality is it's not easy to test for(blood tests are not convenient compared to breath test), not easy to determine impairment
under the unlikely case of legalization in NY, i doubt much change will happen
there are a lot of stoned drivers currently, numbers probably won't change much
in NY, LEO just don't seem to make it a high priority

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All good points. I think you are right.

It might be possible to require blood tests instead of urine tests for detection of thc. They measure actual THC level, not inactive TCH metabolites as detected in urine, and so will be a better indicator of actual impairment rather than an indicator of past use. They're usually cleared in a few hours, up to maybe a day after heavy repeated use.

That argument could help sway some of the the anti-legalization people who are on the fence. If presented as both more fair and more accurate it could persuade some of them to abandon the dark side.

Obi Wan Kenabis said:

It might be possible to require blood tests instead of urine tests for detection of thc. They measure actual THC level, not inactive TCH metabolites as detected in urine, and so will be a better indicator of actual impairment rather than an indicator of past use. They're usually cleared in a few hours, up to maybe a day after heavy repeated use. That argument could help sway some of the the anti-legalization people who are on the fence. If presented as both more fair and more accurate it could persuade some of them to abandon the dark side.

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this is a hot issue on MJ legalization/medication and what not
blood tests seem to work, but having a state trooper pop you with a needle?
not gonna happen, it means hauling you off to the local medical place for a blood draw
from what i've seen, the saliva test is what law enforcement seems to be hoping for, but those tests are pretty much crap at the moment

I was wrong. I looked a little deeper into the blood testing, and found that it still gives a positive long after any impairment is gone. Anywhere from a day to a week seems to be the consensus. Threshold levels are ridiculously low, too.

And yeah, the idea of some sadistic cop poking me with a dirty needle while his buddies hold me down isn't too appealing. Although they can already do that if they feel like it, and it's been upheld all the way up to the SCrOTUS.

The saliva tests look like they might be a little more fair, if they can be made to work. The jury seems to be out on this, too.

Unfortunately actual impairment is almost totally irrelevant. Anyone can be completely zonked, almost comatose, on cold and allergy meds or whatever but be completely free from any legal consequences.

The only way I can think of that might be both fair and accurate would be a computerized field sobriety test. A program on a game boy or whatever that checks reaction time, response to unexpected situations, that kind of thing. Then if you aren't fit to drive, whatever the cause, you're off the road.

good points Obi Wan, we've gotten a bit crazy with tests, in the USA everything becomes a technology solution
a roadside sobriety check can be the best evaluation, provided you have an 'honest' tester
which of course you don't, conflict of interest, a cop wants arrests, and he'll get 'em anyway he can
the video records have actually helped where they can't be too over the top
a computer based test sounds pretty interesting, that may be worth some thought