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Thursday, Jan 26 2017

Full Issue

States Reconsider Traditional Sobriety Tests For Identifying Drivers High On Marijuana

Flunking tests like walking a straight line can identify drunkenness, but defense attorneys dispute their ability to identify someone driving under the influence of pot. Meanwhile, Colorado and Florida consider medical marijuana rules.

For decades the same test has been used to convict drunk drivers. Police ask a driver to stand on one leg, walk a straight line and recite the alphabet. If the driver fails, the officer will testify in court to help make a case for driving under the influence. But defense lawyers argue, science has yet to prove that flunking the standard field sobriety test actually means that a person is high, the way it's been proven to measure drunkenness. (Smith, 1/25)

Efforts over the years to add PTSD as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana in Colorado have been met with failure. The Colorado Board of Health denied multiple petitions for the inclusion, citing the need for more scientific evidence; bills’ trips through the General Assembly have been short-lived; and veterans and PTSD-sufferers’ legal bids were quashed. (Wallace, 1/25)

In recent weeks, the state Senate and the Florida Department of Health released proposals that would mostly keep control of the marijuana market in the hands of a few companies licensed to grow marijuana, process it and sell oils and pills to patients. Leaders in the Florida House, which have not yet released a plan, say they are inclined to do the same. Instead of creating a whole new marijuana system, the Senate and health department proposed adding new patients to an existing, limited program passed two years ago. It allows terminally ill people to use full-strength marijuana and certain patients, including children with severe epilepsy, to use strains of cannabis low in the chemical THC, which causes a high. (Auslen, 1/25)

As the Florida Legislature begins debating how to make medical marijuana available to patients, Miami Beach commissioners voted Wednesday to extend a moratorium on dispensaries to give city planners time to develop local zoning laws to govern where such businesses can open. (Flechas, 1/25)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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