Why is this needed?
Motor vehicle crashes are the number-one killer of the nation’s adolescents. They account for more than one in three deaths for this age group. (1) In 2009, nearly 3,000 teens were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. (2) In 2008, 25 percent of drivers ages 15 to 20 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes had blood alcohol levels of .o8 or higher. (3)

No level of marijuana in the system has been established to denote impairment. If we can’t tell when a marijuana user is impaired, how can we keep stoned drivers off the road?

This provision will prohibit anyone from driving with any marijuana in his or her system, as detected by tests of oral fluids or urine. Law enforcement and testing costs will be financed by the industry mandated fund described in Provision 5.

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References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2010). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2009. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2007 [Online]. (2009). National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.