Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Proposition 205 would make it legal to carry, use and grow marijuana in Arizona.
Opponents say say voters risk putting more impaired drivers on the roads. Supporters say the ballot measure makes clear that driving under the influence of marijuana - including a car or boat - would remain illegal, and they dispute that legal marijuana would lead to higher instances of drugged driving.
Arizona does not have a per se impairment limit for marijuana, so police would use the same assessments they now use when they suspect someone is impaired by marijuana. Those include blood tests and other evidence such as moving violations and field sobriety tests.
The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com arranged for Mikel Weisser, a medical-marijuana cardholder and recreational-marijuana supporter, to undergo a field sobriety test shortly after smoking marijuana. Dave Kothe, a retired Phoenix police officer, administered the test.
Weisser took the test shortly after smoking marijuana, and soon after, he said he started to feel its effects. The retired police officer said Weisser showed signs of impairment.
Prop. 205 asks voters to legalize cannabis for recreational use and establish stores where sales of the drug would be taxed, similar to the system in Colorado. The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act would allow people 21 and older in Arizona to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, carry it and grow it in their homes.
If Prop. 205 passes, retail sales would be taxed at 15 percent. Prop. 205 requires revenues collected from sales of the drug to fund first a new Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control, which would regulate the program. Then, additional revenue would pay for school construction, maintenance and operating costs, full-day kindergarten programs and substance-abuse programs.
With drivers suspected of being impaired on alcohol, police can administer a Breathalyzer test. Such a test is not employed for suspected marijuana impairment.
Prop. 205 says driving a car, boat or other vehicle while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal. But foes of the measure point to other language in the measure that says the state could not punish someone "for an action taken while under the influence of marijuana ... solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of marijuana in the person's body or in the urine, blood, saliva, hair or other tissue or fluid of the person's body."
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who are both campaigning against Prop. 205, says that language would make it more difficult to successfully prosecute marijuana-impairment cases.
The Yes on 205 campaign says the state Legislature could set a per se marijuana limit in the future, although the No on 205 campaign disagrees.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: How Much Marijuana Does It Take To Get Intoxicated Under Arizona Law?
Author: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
Contact: 602-444-8000
Photo Credit: Hannah Gaber
Website: The Arizona Republic
Opponents say say voters risk putting more impaired drivers on the roads. Supporters say the ballot measure makes clear that driving under the influence of marijuana - including a car or boat - would remain illegal, and they dispute that legal marijuana would lead to higher instances of drugged driving.
Arizona does not have a per se impairment limit for marijuana, so police would use the same assessments they now use when they suspect someone is impaired by marijuana. Those include blood tests and other evidence such as moving violations and field sobriety tests.
The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com arranged for Mikel Weisser, a medical-marijuana cardholder and recreational-marijuana supporter, to undergo a field sobriety test shortly after smoking marijuana. Dave Kothe, a retired Phoenix police officer, administered the test.
Weisser took the test shortly after smoking marijuana, and soon after, he said he started to feel its effects. The retired police officer said Weisser showed signs of impairment.
Prop. 205 asks voters to legalize cannabis for recreational use and establish stores where sales of the drug would be taxed, similar to the system in Colorado. The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act would allow people 21 and older in Arizona to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, carry it and grow it in their homes.
If Prop. 205 passes, retail sales would be taxed at 15 percent. Prop. 205 requires revenues collected from sales of the drug to fund first a new Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control, which would regulate the program. Then, additional revenue would pay for school construction, maintenance and operating costs, full-day kindergarten programs and substance-abuse programs.
With drivers suspected of being impaired on alcohol, police can administer a Breathalyzer test. Such a test is not employed for suspected marijuana impairment.
Prop. 205 says driving a car, boat or other vehicle while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal. But foes of the measure point to other language in the measure that says the state could not punish someone "for an action taken while under the influence of marijuana ... solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of marijuana in the person's body or in the urine, blood, saliva, hair or other tissue or fluid of the person's body."
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who are both campaigning against Prop. 205, says that language would make it more difficult to successfully prosecute marijuana-impairment cases.
The Yes on 205 campaign says the state Legislature could set a per se marijuana limit in the future, although the No on 205 campaign disagrees.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: How Much Marijuana Does It Take To Get Intoxicated Under Arizona Law?
Author: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
Contact: 602-444-8000
Photo Credit: Hannah Gaber
Website: The Arizona Republic
