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Another welcomed change

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Illinois

* Under current state law, if you have any THC in your system and you’re involved in a car crash, you can be sent to prison - even if you hadn’t ingested any THC in weeks. The new marijuana decrim bill amends that ridiculous statute…

One little-reported provision of the measure would change the state’s zero-tolerance law for driving with marijuana in one’s system.

Marijuana remains in the body much longer than alcohol, after the effects of pot’s psychoactive component, THC, have worn off. So instead of drivers being deemed intoxicated with any amount of pot in their systems, the new limit, if the bill becomes law, would be 15 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, or 25 nanograms per milliliter of saliva.

Cassidy said the standard is based on federal studies that looked at when impairment occurs.

Police would still be able to use field sobriety tests to establish impairment regardless of blood levels, just as with alcohol.

Common sense.

Finally.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:01 am

Comments

Those who defended that perverse definition of DUI were defending injustice.

Comment by nona Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:05 am
Great news! The old law was just plain stupid and the prosecutions under it were a gross miscarriage of justice.

Comment by Forklift Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:08 am
I hope that Anita Alvarez’s opponents are taking note of this common sense development.

Comment by Forklift Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:10 am
I guess the next step would be to determine what is allowable in the combination of THC and alcohol to trip a DUI, a not uncommon occurrence among some who imbibe in both.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:10 am
Curious about how many departments have the technology to test this.

Comment by Mason born Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:14 am
this is good news… if rauner actually signs it. I’m waiting to hear what concessions he’ll try to extract.

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:18 am
As popular as these measures are among many, its a step in the wrong direction. Every step toward “common sense” is another step toward normalization of Marijuana use in society. It’s prevalent enough as it is, and is a net negative on society as a whole, just as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling are. This is not to paint myself as a saint, I enjoy a beer, an occasional cigar, and like to bet the horses at the State fair. However this does not mean I cannot clearly look at the steps toward legalization of pot and see that in the long run it will cause more harm than good.

Comment by John A Logan Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:19 am
More than a few stories have been covered here involving people with traces of drugs in their system being prosecuted for DUI.

Prosecutorial discretion, judiciously applied, should have prevented many of these cases to begin with. They have failed to do so, making this necessary.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:20 am
===a net negative on society as a whole, just as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling are.===

I won’t disagree, but I would point out that all those things are highly regulated and legalized.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:20 am
HB 218 is a pretty solid bill. I give both Rep. Cassidy and Senator Noland a lot of credit.

Comment by Team Sleep Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:22 am
John A Logan: it’s already normalized. and it’s amusing to see someone excuse his own vices while painting a safer alternative as some kind of menace to society.

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:31 am
To Rich’s point, it is worth remembering that during prohibition, the possession and consumption of alcohol were perfectly legal, it was only the commerce of alcohol that was banned.

Comment by Juvenal Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:39 am
Any substance that might make someone stop and question alcohol, tobacco and gambling as well as all the other rackets contributing to our fantasized way of living could contribute to the net positive. Not good for the GDP of course, but maybe good for the earth in the long run.

Comment by vole Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:44 am
Long overdue.

Comment by Jorge Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:44 am
I forgot to add firearms to alcohol, tobacco and gambling.

Comment by vole Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:46 am
JL, you want to lock up people who enjoy the occasional beer, cigar and bet on the ponies? Would that be a step in a right direction to mitigate the alleged negative effects on society?

Comment by Wordslinger Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:51 am
If marijuana intake decreases alcohol consumption isn’t that a good thing?

Comment by Forklift Friday, May 22, 15 @ 11:58 am
Forklift: decreased alcohol consumption is exactly what happened in Colorado. fewer DUIs, too.

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Friday, May 22, 15 @ 12:01 pm
oh, c’mon, let’s not go nuts. Im for legalizing marijuana but it’s goofy to attribute legal weed to a decline in alcohol consumption or DUIs.

How in the world do you even get there?

Comment by Wordslinger Friday, May 22, 15 @ 12:21 pm
Homer: Thanks for sharing that statistic! A choice with less calories and carbs as well! A healthy alternative so might say that could help with the United State’s obesity problems.

Less, less filling, if you will.

Comment by Forklift Friday, May 22, 15 @ 12:21 pm
Wordslinger: after doing some checking, I was wrong about DUIs and was remembering this article about fewer fatalities. couldn’t find any 2014 stats for DUI.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/08/05/since-marijuana-legalization-highway-fatalities-in-colorado-are-at-near-historic-lows/

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Friday, May 22, 15 @ 1:20 pm