Pubdate: Tue, 23 Apr 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press
Page: 3A

STONED-DRIVING BILL FIZZLES

A marijuana blood limit for drivers was rejected Monday for a fourth 
time in the Colorado Senate, where bipartisan skepticism on the pot 
analogy to blood-alcohol limits helped sink the measure even in a weaker form.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 to reject the blood standard 
after a long hearing that has become something of an annual tradition 
in the Senate: reviewing the scientific basis for using marijuana 
content in blood to determine whether a driver is stoned.

"This is a significant public safety concern," said Matt Durkin, a 
state assistant attorney general and supporter of the bill, which 
would have limited drivers to 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood for 
THC, pot's psychoactive ingredient.

Durkin worried that recreational pot use will spike because of last 
year's vote to defy federal drug law and declare marijuana OK in 
small amounts for people older than 21.

Washington state also voted to legalize pot last year, but voters 
there included a 5-nanogram driving limit for impairment cases.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom