A proposed bill in Congress would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct testing on the impact of marijuana use on driving.
Colorado Congressman Jared Polis eyes federal guidelines for marijuana-impaired drivers
Staff Report
FRISCO — Teaming up with California Republican Tom McClintock, Colorado Congressman Jared Polis is continuing his efforts keep the federal government from interfering in state marijuana laws.
The McClintock-Polis Marijuana Amendment, which failed on a narrow House vote, would have prevented the federal Drug Enforcement Agency from prosecuting individuals who use, sell, or possess marijuana in compliance with state laws.
The measure would provide much-needed certainty to marijuana businesses that they can operate free from harassment and interference by federal drug authorities. The amendment narrowly failed on a vote of 206-222.
“The federal government shouldn’t be swooping into Colorado to decide how we regulate marijuana any more than it should be swooping in to Louisiana to tell them how they should regulate fried crawfish,” Polis said.
“In Colorado, we’ve seen that regulating the marijuana industry is a far more successful approach than leaving the market in the hands of criminal cartels. With each passing year, Congress moves one step closer to leaving marijuana policy up to the states, where it belongs. I’m confident that with time, we’ll finally get there.”
A second amendment prevents the DEA from interfering with state medical marijuana laws. It passed the House last year with bipartisan support and was included in the omnibus government-funding bill signed into law in December 2014.
Another budget amendment that passed shifts $9 million from the DEA’s failed Cannabis Reduction and Eradication program to anti-domestic violence and anti-child abuse programs was adopted on voice vote.
Polis is also working to more closely define the definition of impaired driving to include individuals who are cognitively or physically impaired by marijuana.
The Limiting Unsafe Cannabis-Impaired Driving (LUCID) Act, introduced by Polis last week, would create incentives for states with legalized marijuana to enact laws prohibiting marijuana-impaired driving – similar to the requirements that exist relative to drunk driving.It would also provide states with comprehensive guidance to help them prevent marijuana-impaired driving using measures that are both economically feasible and scientifically sound. The LUCID Act would not mandate a specific measurement that states must use to test for marijuana-impaired driving, but it would call on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to publish recommendations based on the most up-to-date scientific research.
The LUCID Act is also cosponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07).
“As more and more states follow Colorado’s lead by treating marijuana similar to alcohol, we must be vigilant in our efforts to stop impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel of a car,”Polis said.
“The LUCID Act saves lives and ensures that states are implementing and enforcing laws to combat marijuana-impaired driving, and that state officials have the tools and knowledge to keep roads safe using strategies that are based on the most recent science.”
“In Colorado, we’ve enacted strong standards to keep our roads safe from drivers under the influence of marijuana and to train law enforcement officials to identify impairment,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “The LUCID Act helps to ensure that, however a state decides to police or regulate marijuana, we all stay safe on the road.”
The measure has support from the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council and from the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.
Specifically, the LUCID Act would:
- Update the federal definition of an impaired driver to include drivers who are physically or cognitively impaired by marijuana;
- Make a state’s eligibility for certain federal highway funding contingent upon having in place a law prohibiting marijuana-impaired driving and methods for enforcing that law by determining drivers’ cognitive or physical marijuana impairment, if the state has legalized recreational or medical marijuana; and
- Direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct testing on the impact of marijuana use on driving and issue guidance to states on the most feasible and scientifically sound mechanisms for combating marijuana-impaired driving.
