Pubdate: Sun, 22 Mar 2015 Source: Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO) Copyright: 2015 The Gazette Contact: http://www.gazette.com/sections/opinion/submitletter/ Website: http://www.gazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/165 Authors: Pula Davis, Wayne Laugesen, Christine Tatum ADDRESSING DRIVER IMPAIRMENT DIFFICULT In Colorado, if you drive while impaired by drugs such as marijuana, you can be arrested and charged with a DUI. But the logistics of determining a driver's level of THC (marijuana's active ingredient) impairment have yet to be standardized, and there is no continuity in reporting arrest data for marijuana impairment. The state's marijuana driving impairment limits could be entirely too high. A recently released report issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is at odds with that limit. State officials also concede the toll THC takes on road safety is likely underreported and that Colorado's law enforcement agencies and the Colorado Department of Transportation aren't equipped to gather the data needed to determine a full and accurate scope of the problem. "The challenges with the data are that reporting is not specific to marijuana, there are not clear standards for reporting marijuana impairment, and there is not consistency or standardization in reporting from local levels to the Colorado Department of Transportation," states a September report released by the Governor's Office of Marijuana Coordination. "While fatality data associated with marijuana use are available, there is limited information on accidents not involving fatality or serious injury." Then, there's this from the same report: "Based on several review papers, it is estimated that there is a twofold increase in the risk of an accident if there is any measurable amount of THC in the bloodstream. Risks can be even higher when marijuana is used in combination with alcohol. Blood-alcohol content can be tested on the side of the road with a Breathalyzer, but the same is not true for marijuana." Medical experts warned state lawmakers that even 1 nanogram of THC per milliliter of whole blood could double the risk of a car accident. Nevertheless, the state Legislature set the THC impairment limit five times higher. "The current policies are not rooted in science," said Marco Vasquez, chief of the Erie Police Department and a member of a state task force appointed to identify data the state of Colorado needs to gather and analyze to determine marijuana's impact on key aspects of public health and safety. "And while many voters might have been well-intentioned, I don't think they understood how difficult, resource-intensive and costly the enforcement of just marijuana driving laws - forget all of the other marijuana enforcement that has to happen - would be." DUI enforcement shines a harsh light on one of the chief fallacies of marijuana-legalization supporters' claims, said Vasquez, who served as former chief of investigations for the Colorado Division of Medical Marijuana Enforcement. "When it comes to driving, marijuana is not necessarily safer than alcohol - and in practice, (law enforcement) officers all over the state will tell you that they're seeing people using both substances, which is even worse," he said. Officers across the state agree. Among them is Sgt. Craig Simpson of the Colorado Springs Police Department, who said that even when an officer suspects a driver is impaired by alcohol and cannabis, "typically, just the alcohol is going to be reported." Law enforcement officers, including Simpson and Vasquez, give many reasons for this. Among them: The difficulty of determining THC impairment. There are no Breathalyzer equivalents to determine marijuana impairment easily, and because many drivers pulled over on suspicion of THC impairment register at less than the state's 5 nanogram limit, convictions are difficult to land. The cost of testing. A Breathalyzer and related analysis typically costs a department around $30, while the blood tests required to help determine THC impairment cost around $300, Vazquez said. The time required to investigate possible marijuana impairment. Because the state is still ramping up training to put more officers certified in drug recognition on patrol, even one traffic stop for a suspected THC-impaired driver can take an officer who is not certified in DRE off his or her beat for several hours. [sidebar] The impact of pot on traffic - - Overall, traffic fatalities in Colorado decreased 14.8 percent from 2007 to 2012. During the same five years in Colorado, traffic fatalities involving operators testing positive for marijuana increased 100 percent. - - In 2007, Colorado traffic fatalities involving operators testing positive for marijuana represented 7.04 percent of the total traffic fatalities. By 2012, that number more than doubled to 16.53 percent. The Colorado State Patrol DUID program, initiated in 2014, shows that in the first six months of 2014: - - 77 percent (349) of the 454 DUIDs involved marijuana. - - 42 percent (191) of the 454 DUIDs involved marijuana only. - - According to Colorado Department of Transportation Drug Recognition Experts coordinator Robin Rocke, in 2013, 192 DREs completed 531 impaired-driving evaluations of which 330 (62.15 percent) were for marijuana as confirmed by toxicology results. Source: Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area report Day 1: REGULATION Two important assumptions about successful legalization of marijuana in Colorado were: 1.) Regulation would provide a safer solution to the state's drug problems. 2.) By regulating the sale of marijuana the state could make money otherwise locked up in the black market. Today's stories suggest the net gain from taxes and fees related to marijuana sales will not be known for a while, as costs are not known or tracked well, and there are many other unknowns about pot's effects on public health and safety. About the series After the first year of recreational pot sales, The Gazette takes a comprehensive look at the unintended consequences of legalizing sales and use of recreational marijuana. Day 1: Colorado has a fragile scheme for regulating legal marijuana and implementing a state drug prevention strategy. Day 2: One of the suppositions about legalizing pot was that underground sales would be curtailed, but officials say there is evidence of a thriving black market. Day 3: One teen's struggle to overcome his marijuana addiction shows how devastating the effects of the drug can be for younger, more vulnerable users. Day 4: Amid the hoopla about recreational marijuana sales, the medical marijuana industry is flourishing and has its own set of complicated concerns. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom