How Do You Deal With Stoned Drivers? (Denver, Durango: crime, home)

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by Motion

Check this out.
you tube video

Interesting. Total stoner girl = totally unattractive (IMO). It's a shame, she's cute otherwise.

People should not be driving stoned. But they also should not be driving, drunk, angry, crying, sleepy or stupid… so what can you do? Just be defensive and take every precaution I guess.

[JMM64]

As long as stoners stay in the right lane I have no issue. Just don't go 20mph in the left or middle lanes!

Is it a potential issue? YES! Is it illegal to drive impaired? YES! However if alcohol is legal then it makes sense for marijuana to be legal too and we have to accept that some people will break the law and drive impaired if the substance is legal.

[Mike from back east]

There was an auto wreck back in January where the police claim the driver was stoned. The dude became the poster boy for stoned driving.

Details recently released indicate the man was drunk, not stoned, with a blood alcohol level of .268, more than 3 times the legal limit of 0.08

Like that old saying, a lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets started.

[Hipchik]

Thanks for posting that update, Mike. I wondered about that...

[RockChester]

Originally Posted by Motion

I've been curious to see what type of issue this would become. Are too many people driving high? Are too many drivers also driving with marijuana and alcohol in them? How do control this?

More Colorado drivers in fatal crashes positive for pot, study says - The Denver Post

It turned out that the police misrepresented the incident. The driver was alcoholic-level drunk. His blood alcohol was three times the legal limit so it wasn't the pot that caused him to crash in to the parked police cars. It sounds to me as if the police in Colorado deeply hate the state making pot legal since they're willing to lie the way they did.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by RockChester

His blood alcohol was three times the legal limit so it wasn't the pot that caused him to crash in to the parked police cars. It sounds to me as if the police in Colorado deeply hate the state making pot legal since they're willing to lie the way they did.

Perhaps it was the mixture of pot and alcohol that led to the crash? I'm not buying the notion of some big association of cops hating the pot laws and making up lies to make their point. It seems more likely the product of normal human error, which could include some prejudices.

[jwiley]

Like it or not I can see the cops picking up and blaming something on cannibus before they do on alcohol. Most cops became cops before MMJ became the growth industry it has, not to mention recreational use, they have been taught all the terrible things that drug use brings, and most were taught in training that weed is not much different than coke or heroin, so they still notice the drug use 1st.

[RockChester]

Originally Posted by otterprods

Perhaps it was the mixture of pot and alcohol that led to the crash? I'm not buying the notion of some big association of cops hating the pot laws and making up lies to make their point. It seems more likely the product of normal human error, which could include some prejudices.

Never said it was a big association of cops. The driver had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. That, my friend, is a full blown blackout drunk alcoholic. That much alcohol would kill the average person. The little bit of MJ that he had in him was nothing compared to that much alcohol. And the cops didn't smell the alcohol? Seriously, that's just not realistic. And, they kept the toxicology report hidden. The Colorado newspapers bought the cop story hook line and sinker. It took outside news agencies to uncover the fact that a boatload of alcohol was the real culprit.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by RockChester

Never said it was a big association of cops.

That's true. I assumed that "police in Colorado" would be a pretty big group.

Originally Posted by RockChester

The driver had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. That, my friend, is a full blown blackout drunk alcoholic. That much alcohol would kill the average person. The little bit of MJ that he had in him was nothing compared to that much alcohol. And the cops didn't smell the alcohol? Seriously, that's just not realistic. And, they kept the toxicology report hidden. The Colorado newspapers bought the cop story hook line and sinker. It took outside news agencies to uncover the fact that a boatload of alcohol was the real culprit.

I just wondered if some synergy was at play, regardless of whatever the mixture ratio was. Are you saying that having enough alcohol in your blood offsets the effects of THC or other active drug ingredients? Or are you saying that the alcohol was MORE of a factor than anything else? If the latter is the case, I agree. But I'm still not buying the idea of some sot of anti-pot conspiracy. Series of embarrassing blunders and oafish cover-ups? Probably. Organized attempt to expose the pitfalls of pot legality? Doubtful.

[RockChester]

Originally Posted by otterprods

That's true. I assumed that "police in Colorado" would be a pretty big group.

I just wondered if some synergy was at play, regardless of whatever the mixture ratio was. Are you saying that having enough alcohol in your blood offsets the effects of THC or other active drug ingredients? Or are you saying that the alcohol was MORE of a factor than anything else? If the latter is the case, I agree. But I'm still not buying the idea of some sot of anti-pot conspiracy. Series of embarrassing blunders and oafish cover-ups? Probably. Organized attempt to expose the pitfalls of pot legality? Doubtful.

Three times the legal limit of alcohol was in his blood. Dude, please. Saying that MJ had something to do with his crash is like having a major heart attack and spraining your hand when falling to the ground and the coroner saying the sprain was what killed you. I'm pretty sure that it was the HEART ATTACK that was the problem. Maybe he didn't get enough sleep the night before. Whatever. The fact that he had enough alcohol in his system that would kill a normal person is the reason why he crashed.