BILL SETTING LIMITS ON MARIJUANA AND DRIVING ADVANCES, BUT WITH AMENDMENTS

I had previously written about a Bill making its way through the Colorado legislature aiming to set a limit of 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood on anyone driving while using marijuana medically or recreationally. The saga continues. After passing the House, the Senate version of the Bill has advanced, but with a significant amendment. On Monday a Senate committee heard testimony from experts on both sides of the issue.Proponents of the bill argued that a 5 ng limit was reasonable while experts against the limit testified that this number was too low especially in the context of a medical marijuana patient who was a regular user and therefore had a tolerance to the drug. Dr. Paul Bregman, a medical marijuana specialist, puts the number for a regular user at closer to 20 nanograms before becoming a driving risk. The disparity between these radically different scientific assessments was not lost on the Senate committee. An amendment to the bill was attached unanimously, requesting that a state task force review the science and recommend an appropriate limit. The Bill now heads to another committee before being heard before the entire Senate.