I dont see a solution to bogus stops.

[Maxima1]

Actually, no it's not and I really don't like to see people say this crap. I've been driving stoned for over 40 years now and I haven't had a single accident. While I've never been drug tested I can state with confidence that I would have failed one at any time of my adulthood. While I am able to drive and function in public while having consumed enough weed to stun an elephant I do agree that there are some people, mostly those new to getting baked and those who react strongly to THC, who shouldn't imbibe and take the wheel. If they do, I have no problem with the law nailing them to the wall. I really don't worry about that because I'm a patient, responsible driver and I don't attract the law, even in our well-equipped Mustang.

Being anesthetized with alcohol and being stoned and inexperienced are two completely different things but they can similar results when behind the wheel of a car.

Sorry but this is just wrong. Being stoned is similar to the risk of a shift worker i.e. 1.5-2x more likely to get into an accident. I'm not sure if there's an accurate roadside test out for this now as just simply having THC in the system doesn't tell enough.

 

[DrDoug]

Sorry but this is just wrong. Being stoned is similar to the risk of a shift worker i.e. 1.5-2x more likely to get into an accident. I'm not sure if there's an accurate roadside test out for this now as just simply having THC in the system doesn't tell enough.

When it's a state of being and you live it every day, as difficult as it may be for you to believe, it's life as usual for people like me. Hell, I have to deal with people who are shitty drivers, dodging their asses in our cars or on my motorcycle. Stoned. Somehow I've been able to avoid every single situation that a shitty driver has caused for me, without accident or injury. Stoned. For over 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of miles and nada. The funny part is that I don't even own a smart phone and that makes me a better driver than most of the other assholes out there who aren't stoned because at least my eyes are on the fucking road.

Either way, you can keep putting everyone in the same box if it works for you. Black and white worlds are appealing to some people, go figure...

 

[Paladin3]

It's hard to be irresponsible when I'm behaving in a responsible manner, stoned or not. I'll get back to you when I have an accident or injure someone with a vehicle.

Don't hold your breath, it's been over 40 years now.

If you really want pot legalized for responsible use everywhere, then you should not supporting driving stoned. Just because you've never personally been in an accident doesn't mean it's a safe practice. Such attitudes keep pot illegal in many places, and totally undercut the argument that it's a harmless drug.

EDIT: I'm not trying to be hypocritical and say that everything I do is perfectly safe either. I own guns, ride my motorcycle without a helmet and eat waaaaay too many tacos. But I don't lie to myself that those are safe, responsible behaviors in the long run. But at least they are legal.

 

[Maxima1]

When it's a state of being and you live it every day, as difficult as it may be for you to believe, it's life as usual for people like me. Hell, I have to deal with people who are shitty drivers, dodging their asses in our cars or on my motorcycle. Stoned. Somehow I've been able to avoid every single situation that a shitty driver has caused for me, without accident or injury. Stoned. For over 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of miles and nada. The funny part is that I don't even own a smart phone and that makes me a better driver than most of the other assholes out there who aren't stoned because at least my eyes are on the fucking road.

Either way, you can keep putting everyone in the same box if it works for you. Black and white worlds are appealing to some people, go figure...

1.2-2X is not something that will be that noticeable. There are thousands more that also think like you and one of them someday will become part of a statistic and ruin someone else's life.

 

[DrDoug]

If you really want pot legalized for responsible use everywhere, then you should not supporting driving stoned.

Where did I state that? Are you stoned? I have no problem with any person with any kind of DWI being properly punished. Now how do you propose testing for being stoned? A drug test is worthless because weed can be detected in your system days after smoking it and it having worn off. I've been pulled over by cops for a license/insurance checks (I have a pony tail, I'm used to it) and you would think that those professionals would have noticed that I was stoned, eh? They didn't. One Washington state trooper pulled me over just so he could check out my Mustang and I showed it to him. Stoned and without a worry (once he apologized and told me that I hadn't done anything wrong). He was a Mustang lover, that's all.

If you can't handle it, don't drive. It's that simple. There is a limit to how high you can get on weed and people like me hit it long ago.

 

[BoomerD]

Where did I state that? Are you stoned? I have no problem with any person with any kind of DWI being properly punished. Now how do you propose testing for being stoned? A drug test is worthless because weed can be detected in your system days after smoking it and it having worn off. I've been pulled over by cops for a license/insurance checks (I have a pony tail, I'm used to it) and you would think that those professionals would have noticed that I was stoned, eh? They didn't. One Washington state trooper pulled me over just so he could check out my Mustang and I showed it to him. Stoned and without a worry (once he apologized and told me that I hadn't done anything wrong). He was a Mustang lover, that's all.

If you can't handle it, don't drive. It's that simple. There is a limit to how high you can get on weed and people like me hit it long ago.

They're working on it:

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article234714067.html

The current drug testing discrepancy is one of the things I didn't like about legalization. There's no way to discriminate between the joint you smoked in the comfort of your living room last weekend and the one you smoked 30 minutes ago driving down the freeway. HOPEFULLY, the test in the link above will solve that.

 

[DrDoug]

They're working on it:

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article234714067.html

The current drug testing discrepancy is one of the things I didn't like about legalization. There's no way to discriminate between the joint you smoked in the comfort of your living room last weekend and the one you smoked 30 minutes ago driving down the freeway. HOPEFULLY, the test in the link above will solve that.

Good for them but they better test the fuck out of that to make sure the claims aren't high-tech bullshit. Still, my point in mentioning this was that there are lots of chronic users out there who are so habituated to it that it really doesn't affect their activities. You drive around them all of the time and they aren't causing any accidents. While I've talked to plenty of cops over the decades, not one has picked up that I was stoned at that very moment. Not a single one, but if this test was available then I would have failed and thus I would be stoned and out of control. As it was I went on my merry way and nothing of note ever happened.

If you're curious, look up smoking yourself straight. It happens to some people and I'm one of them.

 

[Maxima1]

They're working on it:

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article234714067.html

The current drug testing discrepancy is one of the things I didn't like about legalization. There's no way to discriminate between the joint you smoked in the comfort of your living room last weekend and the one you smoked 30 minutes ago driving down the freeway. HOPEFULLY, the test in the link above will solve that.

It seems to substitute alcohol, so there's no issue here. Alcohol increases risk of accidents far higher than marijuana.

 

[Maxima1]

Still, my point in mentioning this was that there are lots of chronic users out there who are so habituated to it that it really doesn't affect their activities. You drive around them all of the time and they aren't causing any accidents.

Of course because 20-100% increase in risk isn't enough necessarily to come across an accident for an individual or anecdotal reports of a few more. But if we're talking about thousands, then it's going to happen at some point. Remember the new regulations on trucking during the Obama admin? It was calculated to save a lot of lives each year, but truckers and conservatives of course piss and moan that it doesn't apply to them (ha! It's what everyone who ever got into accident said to themselves prior).

 

[DrDoug]

It seems to substitute alcohol, so there's no issue here. Alcohol increases risk of accidents far higher than marijuana.

I may be a stoner but one big problem I can see with this new test is that it can't detect edibles.

As far as stoners being perceived as weak-minded, inept and lazy, I did every bit of this while thoroughly stoned:




I designed it, built it, wired it and I drive it just about every day. The complete powertrain is all me, every bit of it. Same with the custom electrical system. Notice the dual alternators? More stoner stuff. Same with the dual ignition systems. The only problem with getting stoned while doing things like this is that I keep coming up with good ideas that I end up incorporating into my build.

It's my never ending stoner project.

 

[Maxima1]

I may be a stoner but one big problem I can see with this new test is that it can't detect edibles.

As far as stoners being perceived as weak-minded, inept and lazy, I did every bit of this while thoroughly stoned:
[/snip]

It's my never ending stoner project.

Cool. I never thought the stereotypes reflected a cause by marijuana use. It just reflected the people most drawn to it.

 

[DrDoug]

It just reflected the people most drawn to it.

That's my problem with the pigeonholing of people who partake of the bud, they aren't all like the 'typical stoner'. As far as reflecting the people who are attracted to it, you ought to try sitting outside one of our weed establishments and see who comes by to buy. It isn't just the typical stoners, I can promise you that. I know that I'm an atypical stoner and that in most cases people who use will not use to the degree that I do, nor will they build up the tolerance for it. If they are driving they will get caught.

In a couple of weeks my wife and I will be celebrating our 33rd anniversary and she doesn't smoke it, nor does she care that I do as she knows that it has never held me back in life. We've also never fought, raised our voices at each other or have ever gone to bed angry with the other. Maybe I'm just too mellow to fight? Both of our kids waited until adulthood to partake and after years of seeing me do so, they are now what I call people like myself...

Serious stoners. We get baked and down to business.

 

[Pipeline 1010]

The problem with driving stoned is that just like driving drunk...it can easily become something worse.

OK so if it becomes worse then make the arrest. What's the issue? Let's not go down the road of precrime.

I don't like pot. The stench is nauseating to me...but I support legalizing it...with heavy penalties for DUI.

Same.

 

[Paratus]

Personal anecdote time.

20 years ago in my first job out of school working for the evil Halliburton they shipped me off to a job site 5 hours away from my home for 4 months.

The job was working 4-10’s Monday- Thursday. So I’d leave home Monday morning at 2:00 AM drive through rural parts of Texas and Arkansas to get to work by 7:00 AM. Work my 4-10’s and drive home Thursday night.

3 weeks in a row I was pulled over by cops in different little towns for BS reasons early Monday morning.

Twice it was for going 5mph over the speed limit. This was BS because I knew where all the speed limit changes were and always slowed down specifically because the cops were always out.

The other was because he thought I was falling asleep. It was windy that night and it was buffeting our lightweight Saturn which I happened to be driving.

The stops were bogus but not likely to be racially motivated.

HOWEVER once they saw me, an early mid 20 something white guy driving a newish car heading to work and ran my license, they always told me to slow it down and have a nice night.

Would that have happened if I wasn’t a white guy? I’m betting that at least one would have tried to make a ticket stick or maybe claimed to have “smelled something“ if I was a minority. (It probably would have been the one officer wearing mirrored sunglasses at 4:00 AM - seriously)

Now I knew they manufactured reasons to pull me over. Once that happens you’re at the mercy of officer to decide if they let you go with a warning, a ticket, or a trip to the local PD. The more suspicious they are of you, rightly or wrongly, the more likely it’ll be a ticket or an arrest.

Since it’s human nature to be suspicious of those who are different from you, minorities already start out in the hole. Couple that with the us vs them mentality some police departments encourage and a financial incentive to pull over motorists and a minority is likely to find themselves ticketed and/or arrested.

Once you’ve got a record, the next time they pull you over and run your license you’re going to look very suspicious and pretty much be guaranteed to be ticketed / arrested again.