TheHeretic
Posts: 19100
Joined: 3/25/2007
From: California, USA
Status: offline
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Q: What's the difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver?
A: The drunk will blow right through the stop sign he didn't see, the stoner will sit there for 5 minutes, waiting for it to turn green. 
As we move forward in overturning the ridiculous drug laws of the United States, the trip down the long road of developing the new laws and policies we are going to need has begun as well.
At the link is an article from Reason, discussing the initial standard being set in Colorado and Washington, to determine impaired driving.
http://reason.com/archives/2013/10/18/too-stoned-to-drive
What is going to make this difficult with marijuana, as opposed to alcohol, is that weed remains detectable in the system, long after the effects have worn off. Someone who routinely smokes in safe settings might very well be over the legal limit, any time they get behind the wheel.
Experience plays a role as well. A novice smoker can barely get the key into the ignition without giggling, when cataclysmically baked, while an old hand can take an 18 wheeler at 79,000 lbs over Loveland Pass.
There are going to be a lot of challenges, as we start undoing decades of failed laws and policies. This will be one of them. For purposes of DUI, I think a field sobriety test will be a better measure of impairment than a specific number on a chemical test.
Any other ideas on the best way to handle this aspect of legalization?
_____________________________
If you lose one sense, your other senses are enhanced.
That's why people with no sense of humor have such an inflated sense of self-importance.
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Too stoned to drive - 
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