Guday all. This is aimed at readers living in places where cannabis has either been decriminalized, legalized or is otherwise tolerated. Here in Oz we still bleat about loosening up our draconian laws, but our politicians lack the spine to push any such agendas. Any sniff of reform here is squashed by laws that hit us where it hurts most - driving.
The fact is that we live in a big country and most of us need to drive. Public transport is not an option in the countryside where much of the population lives. We have rolling RBT (roadside breathalyzer testing for alcohol) operations across all states that integrate saliva testing for the presence of cannabis, meth and mdma. As far as the authorities are concerned they're all illegal drugs so they're all the same. If you test positive, even for a trace, you lose your licence for 3 months. The associated fines are also a handy revenue stream for the States' coffers.
I've traveled throughout Europe, Canada and the States where pot is no longer demonized, and I need to know how your lawmakers deal with the matter of 'sobriety' when it comes to driving. RBT's are a fact of life here and ambivalent Joe Citizen swallows the media line that they are necessary to keep us all safe on the roads which, in nearly every respect, is laudable. Chances are, if you drive, you'll be tested sometime or other. But as most of us know, cannabis residuals hang around in the body long after the active effects have worn off, and this is good enough to cost Aussies their licence.
Given how many of you in the rest of the world drive with detectable cannabinoid levels in your system, how does your LE and officialdom deal with it? More's the point, how did you get the ball rolling? How did you sway the conservatives and wowsers? Was there anarchy and carnage on the roads when the laws changed? I'm sure a bunch of Aussies would love to hear how you did it so we can drag ourselves out of the dark ages, too. Please, talk it up. Cheers in advance.
Mods, if this is the wrong place to post my query, bump it where you need to.
The fact is that we live in a big country and most of us need to drive. Public transport is not an option in the countryside where much of the population lives. We have rolling RBT (roadside breathalyzer testing for alcohol) operations across all states that integrate saliva testing for the presence of cannabis, meth and mdma. As far as the authorities are concerned they're all illegal drugs so they're all the same. If you test positive, even for a trace, you lose your licence for 3 months. The associated fines are also a handy revenue stream for the States' coffers.
I've traveled throughout Europe, Canada and the States where pot is no longer demonized, and I need to know how your lawmakers deal with the matter of 'sobriety' when it comes to driving. RBT's are a fact of life here and ambivalent Joe Citizen swallows the media line that they are necessary to keep us all safe on the roads which, in nearly every respect, is laudable. Chances are, if you drive, you'll be tested sometime or other. But as most of us know, cannabis residuals hang around in the body long after the active effects have worn off, and this is good enough to cost Aussies their licence.
Given how many of you in the rest of the world drive with detectable cannabinoid levels in your system, how does your LE and officialdom deal with it? More's the point, how did you get the ball rolling? How did you sway the conservatives and wowsers? Was there anarchy and carnage on the roads when the laws changed? I'm sure a bunch of Aussies would love to hear how you did it so we can drag ourselves out of the dark ages, too. Please, talk it up. Cheers in advance.
Mods, if this is the wrong place to post my query, bump it where you need to.
Weed is still very much illegal in my state but I smell it coming from cars all the time when I'm driving with the top down in my convertible. Hell I remember in college, we had nowhere else to smoke but my buddy's old Honda when we were freshman, we'd drive around and smoke literally every night.
