Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2011 Source: Denver Daily News (CO) Copyright: 2011 Denver Daily News Contact: http://www.thedenverdailynews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4274 Author: Gene Davis Bookmark: http://www.drugsense.org/cms/geoview/n-us-co (Colorado) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) BUZZING OVER THE DEATH OF THE STONED DRIVING BILL Mixed Reaction to Senate's Decision to Kill Measure That Targeted Stoned Driving Both the medical marijuana community and the Colorado Attorney General yesterday were buzzing about the legislature's decision to a kill a measure that would have set a limit for how much marijuana a person could have in their system while driving. The Colorado Senate Monday evening surprised many people by killing House Bill 1261 on a voice vote. The bill would have allowed a person who drove with a tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) the psychoactive substance found in marijuana content of five nanograms or more in their blood to be charged with a DUI per se. Critics of the bill argued that frequent marijuana users could have more than five nanograms of THC in their blood even if they weren't under the influence of marijuana when they were pulled over. They pointed out that there is no nanogram limit for oxycontin or other drugs that may impair drivers and that medical marijuana patients are "once again treated like second-class citizens for their choice of medicine." "This is a huge victory for patients, who fought to uphold their rights with hundreds of letters and phone calls," said a statement from Laura Kriho, spokeswoman for the Cannabis Therapy Institute, which heavily opposed HB 1261. However, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers blasted the Senate's decision to kill HB 1261. He argued that there are 125,000 people registered to use medical marijuana in the state and that he has seen the damages that can be done by people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. "The fact that some senators were succumbing to pressure from the marijuana industry while others may have been concerned the per-se limit was too high is no excuse for complete inaction on such a critical public safety issue," he said in a statement. "This is yet another public policy failure by the General Assembly to enact appropriate marijuana policies in Colorado." HB 1261 easily passed out of the House before enduring a bumpy road in the Senate. After being delayed in a Senate committee, lawmakers Monday voted against setting a nanogram limit before killing the watered down version of the bill. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake