We were disappointed to see a state Senate committee this week put the brakes on a bill that would have set reasonable limits for the legal amount of marijuana drivers could have in their system.
The reason, lawmakers said, was to allow for more study.
How much study is necessary, for crying out loud?
The issue has been thoroughly vetted by committees and subcommittees of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
There were defense lawyers, prosecutors and medical marijuana attorneys involved in examining the research and recommending the 5 nanogram limit for THC in the bloodstream. It’s a reasonable limit that has been adopted by other states that have medical marijuana.
What happened is that members of the state Senate Judiciary Committee got bamboozled by medical marijuana advocates who, quite frankly, would rather not see any DUI-type limits on allowable amounts of THC in drivers’ systems.
Make no mistake: This is a public safety issue. Given the number of people in Colorado who have medical marijuana cards — nearly 124,000 — the potential for people driving while stoned is considerable.
Colorado’s toxicology lab, operated by the health department, is receiving nearly 200 samples per week taken from people suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana. That’s a big number, and it has been on the rise in recent years.
If legislators cannot come to agreement on the 5 nanogram limit, perhaps there ought to be a zero tolerance limit for driving with medical marijuana in one’s system.
In the end, that just might have to be the price that these patients have to pay if they want to use a drug that varies so greatly in the content of active ingredients that it’s difficult to know how stoned you’re getting.
Ensuring safety on the roads must be the first priority. State Sen. Steve King, a Grand Junction Republican, hit the nail on the head when he said the issue had been studied enough.
“I think it’s a study at the risk of lives,” King said.
He’s right. We hear there is a movement afoot to keep the bill from reaching the Senate floor. We urge lawmakers to reverse the Judiciary Committee’s decision, put the 5 nanogram limit back into House Bill 1261, and allow lawmakers the chance to vote up or down on the bill.
It’s one thing for people to decide that smoking or ingesting marijuana is right for their own health. But once they get behind the wheel, their personal decisions can play out in ways that adversely affect the well-being of others. That’s why we have legal limits for alcohol, too.
Lawmakers must act expeditiously to set a reasonable limit on the amount of marijuana that drivers can have in their systems. It’s a public safety issue that cannot wait.
