Colorado HB 1261 Marijuana Driving Bill
The Colorado legislature is currently reviewing and considering a bill that would put blood THC limits on Colorado Medical Marijuana patients who drive. This Colorado House Bill 1261 is sponsored by Democrat Claire Levy and Republican Mark Waller. The bill is designed to enhance and solidify laws currently in place that make it illegal to drive while impaired. House Bill 1261 is targeted at Marijuana users, but specifically all the Colorado Medical Marijuana patients who can or choose to drive.House Bill 11 1261 is summarized:
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A THC BLOOD CONTENT
THRESHOLD FOR THE PURPOSE OF CHARGING A PERSON WITH
THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF DUI PER SE.
It is basically a DUI or DWAI. This bill sets a strict limit, a quantifiable and testable THC blood content level on all Colorado medical marijuana patients who drive. This bill would set the THC blood level at 5 nanograms to determine whether one was a patient or a criminal. The same thing is currently being done with alcohol with established limits between citizen and criminal drivers. This being said, Waller and Levy are using the same metrics and measurement methods to go after medical marijuana patients.
One of the main issues is the huge difference between THC and alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized, processed and excreted much differently than marijuana. A persons blood alcohol level can significantly drop hours after drinking. In contrast, a medical marijuana patient that has been taking his medicine over a period of time can easily have the 5 nanogram THC blood level even days after taking marijuana. The other problem is that all people are not the same. One person may easily be well over the 5 nanogram limit imposed with HB 1261 for up to a week, while others with different metabolism and only occasional use could be legal in 3 -5 hours. Weight and body type accounts for absolutely undeniable differences which HB 1261 does not address. The one size fits all mentality thinly disguises this blatant attack on patient rights.
Once again, like many other attempts to ignore the Colorado constitution and rights of the voters, this bill would be a direct attack on the people most in need. The patients in the worst shape, with AIDS, Cancer, MS, or other debilitating illness are not likely to have a body that quickly metabolizes and flushes THC. It can he hard to do even basic daily functions, much less strong aerobic exercise that would help speed up their systems. Their organs are already impaired and THC will tend to stick around longer than in young active people.
Traffic and highway safety is a major concern and we all want safer roads, but in my opinion, attacking Colorado medical marijuana patients will do little if any towards making our streets safer. There is a huge difference between the effects of alcohol and marijuana as has already been addressed by past studies conducted by the NHTSA ( National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The odds of you or I being run over or killed by a Colorado medical marijuana patient due to residual THC in their blood stream are infinitesimally small. We are more likely to be the victim of alcohol, meth or coke related incidents but Claire Levy and Mark Waller don't seem to care about that. We all agree with the idea of making the roads safer, but imposing the insane 5 nanogram line between Cancer patients and criminals is not only uncompassioniate but it should be criminal. When will these people stop attacking the rights of legitimate patients based only upon what medicine happens to work best?
You can and should view the proposed bill: Colorado House Bill 1261 THC Driving Limits
To keep track of the process and changes, I recommend going to the Colorado state legislature general assembly webpage for 1261: