Ohio's "D.U.I.D." bill for "trace elements of THC" set to become law

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

After approval by the State Senate and House, a bill that bans "drugged driving" is set to become law in Ohio, RAW STORY has found.

Activists groups that focus on the decriminalization of marijuana are outraged that the almost-certain-to-become law will also target individuals found with trace amounts of tetra-hydro cannabinol or THC - the active ingredient in the drug - still in their system, even if they weren't "drugged" at the time. Marijuana can remain in a user's system for weeks afterward.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML), Ohio will soon be joining Nevada and Indiana as "zero tolerance" states that handout DUIDs (driving under the influence of drugs) to motorists for detectable trace amounts of THC. Ohio's SB 8 prohibits "the operation of a vehicle or vessel if a statutorily specified concentration of amphetamine, cocaine, cocaine metabolite, heroin, heroin metabolite (morphine), heroin metabolite (6-monoacetyl morphine), L.S.D., marihuana, marihuana metabolite, methamphetamine, or phencyclidine is present in the operator's blood or urine, subject to certain exceptions and to extend the time within which a chemical test of an arrested person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine must be taken in order for the results of the test to be admissible as evidence." The Ohio Senate passed the House amendment by a vote of 30 to 2.Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Iowa are among the states that exclude cannabis metabolites from their state DUID laws.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Ohio_passes_drugged_driving_law_0331.html

[reichstag911]

1. How about...

...Driving Recklessly Under the Influence of Drugs (aka DRUID)? Will that be an additional, felony charge? :sarcasm:

[OnyxCollie]

2. Blackwell, Voinovich, Dewine, Taft, Petro, Noe, Boehner, Montgomery,

and now this. Fucking Ohio. Living here sucks.

[acmejack]

3. Unfucking real

Sorry guys, these jerks are totally running amok.

[L A Woman]

13. whatever happened to Dick Celeste...

now that was a pretty decent Ohioan! But sorry - it's a bad time to be a Buckeye, but I'm sure it will tip back this way soon!

[Nikia]

20. I believe that he is a college president

At Colorado College.

[Webster Green]

4. That's completely insane...

Makes no sense at all, like most of the stupid shit the fascists come up with. It's possible to test positive six weeks after smoking pot. The effects would have worn off within hours.

The assholes are still pissed about that "Summer of Love" thingie that they missed out on, so they're getting their revenge on the hippies.


Man, I'm never leaving Northern California unless it's to leave this fucking country.

Now, where's that doob?......

:hippie:

[morningglory]

7. Oh, just wait till a few thousand of their (our) children are locked up

for a very long time and they look at what it costs, maybe minds will change. Are you going to suspect that a driver of a republican-type car may have trace elements in the body and pull him/her/it over, pay for a test with our money? Nope they are going to pull over Dem-looking cars: old, used. That would be the poor Dem's. That would allow them to make non-voting felons out of a lot of Dem voters while they leave the fat cats be.

[PetraPooh]

10. Its not the locking up that will occur, it will be costly court and

rehab, and community service. I have found in our community that finding teens with trace amounts of marijuana or paraphenalia is a huge income maker for the judicial system and it "subsidaries"

[Earth_First]

5. Maybe someone in Ohio could explain to me what's in the water...

that folks in Ohio feel compelled to support while under the influence. :shrug:

[OnyxCollie]

24. I don't drink my water.

It smells like ammonia. I drink distilled. Maybe that's the difference.

[Igel]

6. It seems to me the relevant question is what the

"statutorily specified" concentration is. Rawstory implies it's "threshold level", but they only imply it. I like stories that purport to report facts to actually report the facts they're purporting to report.

I'm not even sure what "statutorily specified" means: does it require an act of the OH legislature, or has that authority been delegated?

[MazeRat7]

9. Its what the technology can detect which is 50 ng/ml today.

See my post later in this thread for a link to the limits of the detection devices.

MZr7

edit: That would be post #8 with the link to detection limits by TesTStick.

[jmowreader]

14. Go a little lower than that

http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/general/testing-error-drugs.htm

Test-stick screening: 50ng/ml
Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) screening: 15ng/ml

And at that rating, don't smoke weed within 30 days of driving your car. A contact high stands a good chance of showing GC/MS positive.

[MazeRat7]

15. Sure if you take it to the lab. But there is the cost issue...

Most municipalities are going to opt for the cheaper version... (I hope)...

Your right, its CSI for those of us driving stone cold sober but having indulged in the privacy or our own home some days pervious... :grr:

MZr7

[jmowreader]

16. Depends on how bad they want the bust

The company that does my store's piss testing sells us a "block" of tests. We buy 25 tests in the winter months and 50 in the summer (we need more in the summer because that's prime hiring season and we do pre-employment screening) for a flat rate; go over that and it's a per-test fee.

There is nothing preventing a police department from buying a block of 500 GC/MS tests to use on stoned-driving suspects, stoned-walking suspects (you know it's coming), county-jail inmates and applicants for the critical position of Cop Car Detailer.

[SPKrazy]

19. I Doubt That A "Contact High"

unless you were trapped in the cab of a truck with 3 people passing joint after joing, is going to show up on a GC/Mass Spec

GC can also differentiate between drugs that can cause false positives, vs. THC or other drugs.

[MazeRat7]

8. Bad as this is.. it will only snag chronic users....

Sure I think its crap... but for people that "occasionally smoke"..those trace amounts may not be detectable depending on use frequency. Most law enforcement agencies use the TestStick, HERE is a link to show durations for its ability to test you positive.

MZr7

edit: typo

[Nikia]

21. Well depending on when you smoked

I suppose that if you smoked the night before that you should be very, very careful about obeying traffic laws for the next few days.

[YouthInAsia]

11. I really wish people would relax about weed.

I never met a pothead who'd steal their grandmotrhers television set for a dime bag (like crack heads and heroin addicts do.) I wonder if most of the anti-weed people have ever actually smoked pot before in their lives? I really consider it pretty inocuous. I'd rather be around a bunch of stoners than a bunch of beer muscled drunks. This is my humble opinion, of course

[slaveplanet]

12. Vampires

[Joe Fields]

17. This is regressive, puritanic politics at it's worst.

[Bozita]

18. no Ambien? ... My congrats to Ohio's legislators for finding another demon

[Cobalt Violet]

22. No more poppy bagels in Ohio. n/t

[tabasco]

23. The police state exists to perpetuate itself.

It is not about "keeping us safe" or "protecting the public,"

It is about perpetuating a police state that derives revenue from citizens caught in their nets.

Now you can get busted for "DUID" a week or two after you smoked a joint.

How irrational will our society become before it collapses?