Arizona simply isn’t ready to legalize recreational marijuana.
Legalization wouldn’t necessarily be bad; I’ve long been a proponent of taxing an industry that would make millions for Arizona state needs. The state of Colorado made $69 million dollars in tax revenue between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. That is $27 million more than alcohol taxes in the same duration.
The problem with Arizona’s proposition, Proposition 205, is that it doesn’t work nearly the same as the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado.
Prop. 205 does not allow for a legal limit of marijuana in the system while driving. At first this may seem good, however, it creates several problems.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety does recommend moving away from a legal limit and instead training officers to evaluate for behavioral and physiological evidence of driver impairment.
Officers would go through 72 hours of training and field testing to become certified as Drug Recognition Experts, who would then be called to the scene of a possible DUI to evaluate the driver. Along with the behavioral and psychological evidence, a driver would still need a positive test for recent marijuana use.
But under Prop. 205 a positive test can’t be used against you, meaning DUI charges would rely upon an officer’s assessment of a driver’s impairment, making them incredibly difficult to prosecute.
(Side note, I’m very pleased with the acronym. If anyone should be certified to recognize drugs, it’s the DRE).
“(The writers of Prop. 205) have basically taken away the very evidence that a prosecutor would use to prove that somebody is driving while impaired,” said Cindy Dahlgren, communications director for the Center for Arizona Policy.
If this seems confusing – it is.
Everything you should know about the Prop. 205 from The State Press on Vimeo.
While CAP does not support the legalization of recreational marijuana, Dahlgren says this proposition in particular isn’t the way to do it.
“I think regardless of what one thinks about legalizing a drug for the sole purpose of getting high, Prop. 205 would not be the one that anyone would choose,” Dahlgren said.
All of this brings me to our real problem, testing for marijuana in the system of a driver. To properly regulate smoking and driving, we need an accurate way to measure impairment. We do not currently have such technology.
Alcohol dissolves in water, whereas THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) dissolves in fat. For those of you like me who suck at chemistry, alcohol can be measured from saturation in your lungs or blood and accurately tell how it is affecting the brain. Marijuana can’t be measured in such a way and your blood THC level is not an accurate indication of how impaired you are, especially if you smoke frequently.
Disclaimer: This video contains adult language.
Driving while high is dangerous, and legalizing marijuana will add to the number of marijuana-related traffic incidents.
The AAA Foundation found that the year after Washington legalized recreational marijuana, the percentage of fatalities involving drivers who had recently used marijuana more than doubled. In Colorado, the average number of marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 41 percent in the two years recreational marijuana was legalized according to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
The failure to properly address driving laws is one of many problems with Prop. 205. Many local voices have been speaking out against the proposition. Two weeks ago over 35 members of the state congress wrote an op-ed against Prop. 205. And, just yesterday, The Arizona Republic’s editorial board stole my thunder and urged their readers to vote no on Prop. 205.
Prop. 205 sets foolish standards and does not meet the requirements our community needs to legalize recreational marijuana.
Reach the columnist at maatenci@asu.edu or follow @mitchellatencio on Twitter.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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