Shouldn't there be weaker penalties for "driving while stoned"???

Why should the penalties be harsh for driving while stoned?

Is there evidence that there are many fatal accidents attributed to driving while stoned?

Isn't it more dangerous to text while driving? Shouldn't driving while stoned have a weaker punishment than that?

WHADDUP boss dawg.
Five Scientific Conclusions About Cannabis That The Mainstream Media Doesn
The RSS bot posted this recently, you should check it out. But this essentially says that there are very small increased risks in driving stoned, but I don't think it said anything about fatalities.

I entirely agree with your thoughts, but we all know how that "logic" argument works in politics haha.
Hopefully voice recognition or something takes care of the texting while driving garbage sometime soon. I don't see why people can't just wait for stop lights...

I agree with you. But in order to appeal to people who would otherwise vote no we have to make DUI laws tougher then they should be for marijuana.

All you need is a study that proves driving stoned is safer than driving while texting and the public will be forced to face the facts.

Here's the penalties for texting while driving.

1) Monetary fines- these can range from as low as $20 up to $500 depending on the state

2) Criminal charges- in some states texting while driving can result in criminal misdemeanor charges (Class B or C)

3) Jail or prison time- if the offense has resulted in bodily injury to another driver, jail or prison time may be imposed

For DUID:

1) 3 to 5 years probation for first time offense

2) $1,500-2,000 fine

3) Driver's license suspension

4) Possible jail time based on record simply for DUID

Yes being stoned can double the chance of an accident but being tired can increase those chances five times the normal rate. Texting can increase those chances by over 20 times more than normal.

Giving the stoned driving tough penalties is inexcusable.

http://www.legalmatc...iving-laws.html

http://www.shouselaw.../dui-drugs.html

Got a DUI for marijuana as a result of my taillight being out because of a blown fuse. It was a huge pain in the ass costing me over 5 grand in total, still on probation for 3 more months because of it. Honestly didn't feel like I was endangering anyone else or myself or I would have never considered driving.

I think driving under the influence of anything is potentially dangerous. There are millions of terrible drivers everywhere, the last thing someone needs to be trying to do is smoke some weed.

Got a DUI for marijuana as a result of my taillight being out because of a blown fuse. It was a huge pain in the ass costing me over 5 grand in total, still on probation for 3 more months because of it. Honestly didn't feel like I was endangering anyone else or myself or I would have never considered driving.

$5,000 fucking dollars for smoking weed and driving? I would have just spent that 1 night it jail instead of getting a lawyer..
.

Edited by runthistown18, 08 August 2012 - 02:20 AM.

I think driving under the influence of anything is potentially dangerous. There are millions of terrible drivers everywhere, the last thing someone needs to be trying to do is smoke some weed.

But driving high is much less dangerous than texting while driving or driving drunk.

Shouldn't the laws reflect this. Unreasonable laws means millions of people could be unjustly punished.

It really depends on the experience of the smoker. If you're a half-ounce-a-day kind of guy then obviously smoking a bowl and driving isn't going to impair you that much, and your intoxication won't last as long.

But for a new smoker a bowl of something heavy might moderately impair them.

That's why I think the line should just be drawn at "don't drive under the influence" so we can avoid confusion.

I'm not arguing against having penalties.

Just against the current, harsh penalties.

Why don't you take that opinion out to the general public and see how they feel about it? They'll probably hang you by your feet and beat you like a pinatta.

You mean the uneducated public who think driving stoned is nearly as bad as driving drunk when it's MUCH safer than driving while texting or driving drunk?

That public?

I'm not asking permission to go on my own personal crusade. I'm suggesting that educating the public about the relatively low dangers of driving while stoned should be a top priority for all of us.

But driving high is much less dangerous than texting while driving or driving drunk.

Shouldn't the laws reflect this. Unreasonable laws means millions of people could be unjustly punished.

The laws reflect that driving while under the influence of any substance that may affect your driving is illegal. That is exactly how the law should be.

The laws reflect that driving while under the influence of any substance that may affect your driving is illegal. That is exactly how the law should be.

The one size fits all policy doesn't make any sense.

It's like giving a petty shoplifter and a dangerous car jacker the same penalty.

38% of fatal crashes are caused by drunk driving. It's just about impossible to find the stats for the percentage of fatal crashes caused by stoned driving.

I wonder why.

Because the public in general dosen't know how it is to be high on weed, that's why we get these laws. And we as mj users use terms like "sober" to refer to not being high, in my opinion, fosters the belief among the uninformed that being high is like being drunk on alcohol....

I honestly am a safer driver while high than on nothing but I think there are bigger things to worry about like removing penalties for possessing and using marijuana before getting worked up about this.

The one size fits all policy doesn't make any sense.

It's like giving a petty shoplifter and a dangerous car jacker the same penalty.

38% of fatal crashes are caused by drunk driving. It's just about impossible to find the stats for the percentage of fatal crashes caused by stoned driving.

I wonder why.

Think about all the terrible drivers you know. Now imagine them after smoking a joint.

Marijuana users twice as likely to cause accident

It's like smoking a cigarette while driving.. I don't see any difference really.

Think about all the terrible drivers you know. Now imagine them after smoking a joint.

Marijuana users twice as likely to cause accident

Twice as likely to get into an accident does not equal twice as likely to be in a fatal car crash.

38 percent of fatal car crashes are caused by alcohol. The driving deaths caused by cannabis probably doesn't even reach 5%.

Why would you treat stoned drivers just as harshly as drunk drivers when stoned driving is FAAAAAR less dangerous???

Battery is a misdemeanor.

Aggravated Assault is a felony.

You see. We treat less harmful activities with weaker penalties. Why is this concept so hard to grasp?

I think it might make horrible drivers better because maybe then they would be terrified and drive like 5 under the whole time.


my question is ....how do you prove somebody is high on weed.

well if your car smells like dank that's another thing but I ride clean.

When I do have bud i keep it in the trunk. I live in Cali too but i feel like its good to be safe.

Edited by dank spanko, 09 August 2012 - 04:49 PM.