September 20, 2015
Sheree Krider
On Monday, September 14, FLORIDA State Representative David Kerner, a Democrat, Filed HB161 which attempts to set a standard for measuring (via blood test) Marijuana intoxication.
It sets the “limit” of 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood.
Anyone with a blood test showing THC level that is above 5 nanograms “commits the offense of driving under the influence”.
This was done in response to the death of a 16 year old girl, Naomi Pomerance, who was killed while riding on the back of a scooter and being hit by a car whose driver had been smoking marijuana in March of this year. According to the reports, Tyler Cohen, was high on marijuana, and ran a red light.
While that may or may not be true, it currently remains impossible to determine “intoxication” levels due to consumption of Marijuana. With the blood tests that are available, it can only be determined that a person may have consumed at any time in the weeks prior to the incident – not that they were incapacitated from Marijuana at the time of the accident.
In a Todd County Kentucky case this year, a man was charged with Second Degree Manslaughter and 23 counts of First Degree Wanton Endangerment when his truck hit a school bus during a storm and hydroplaned off of the road causing the death of one man and hurting three others seriously, including himself.
The only drug of abuse which showed up in his blood test was Marijuana at the time of the accident. Additionally there was no other evidence to confirm his use of Marijuana that day. After acquiring an “expert witness” to review the blood test being offered as evidence in the case against him, the witness, a Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, concluded that it did not indicate intoxication at the time of the accident. Therefore, the Court was not able to use this “blood test”as evidence against him in this case.
It would seem to me that any Representative or Senator who would file such a “BILL” should be intelligent enough to have the “science” of the issue verified before submitting another piece of legislation to be signed into law In order to allow prosecutions.
It remains to be seen if this Bill will die in the House. If by some chance it would be signed into law, I believe we will see many Court battles fighting the legality of the law.
You cannot make something “truthful” just by saying it is or even writing that it is. The science behind the fact must be proven before it can set a valid and legal precedence. In this case, I have not seen any “proof” that a blood test can accurately predict intoxication by Marijuana. Therefore, if they use this law to prosecute people who have more than 5 nanograms of THC in their blood for DUI they are effectively prosecuting anyone who has smoked Marijuana at any time in the prior weeks leading up to the incident.
This could turn out to be the way that they will continue to fill the prison industrial complex, yet again, with people who do not deserve to be there.
The drug war will never end. It will just change its’ angles of prosecution.
(If we can’t get to them one way, we will get to them another)
Assessing Marijuana Intoxication
by Matthew C. Lee, MD, RPh, MS
Marijuana is composed of a number of different cannabinoids, some are psychoactive, while some are not. When marijuana is absorbed through inhalation of smoke, or ingested when mixed with food, a psychoactive component, Δ-9 THC is taken up by the fat cells and stored. Where over time it is slowly released back into the bloodstream and subsequently excreted in the urine. This is why marijuana can be detected days to weeks after consumption. Additionally this is also the reason withdrawal from marijuana is so rare. The slow release of the Δ-9 THC stored in the fat cells leads to a prolonged taper of excretion from the body.
FLORIDA HOUSE BILL 161,
INTRODUCED BY DAVID KERN
…providing that a person with a specified amount of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol per 5 milliliter of blood commits the offense of driving under the influence or boating under the influence,
Subsection (1) of section 316.193, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
…The person has a blood level of 5 nanograms or more of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of blood, as shown by analysis of the person’s blood…
…This act may be cited as the “Naomi Pomerance Victim Safety Act.”
…This act shall take effect October 1, 2016
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/09/20/florida-bill-would-set-marijuana-standard-fatal-crashes/72514946/
http://www.constitutionalcannabis.com/toxicology–ui.html
http://archive.wtsp.com/assetpool/documents/150920080505_hb161.pdf
http://expertpages.com/news/Assessing_Marijuana_Intoxication.htm
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