Does Marijuana Impair Driving?

It is against the law to drive while under the influence of marijuana. It has always been assumed that cannabis, like alcohol, impairs the perception, coordination, reflexes and judgment necessary for the safe operation of a motor vehicle. And, of course, there have been governmental studies addressing the question: Does marijuana impair driving?

Interestingly, however, the findings do not necessarily support popular opinion….

On the one hand, the California Department of Justice concluded long ago that marijuana undoubtedly impairs psychomotor abilities that are functionally related to driving and that driving skills may be impaired, particularly at high-dose levels or among inexperienced users. “Marijuana and Alcohol: A Driver Performance Study”, California Office of Traffic Safety Project No. 087902 (Sept. 1986).

How do machines test for alcohol in breath?

Although three types of breath-testing estimators are approved for use in Arizona, the police only use one–the Intoxilyzer 8000© made by CMI, Incorporated, in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The Intoxilyzer 8000 uses Infrared Spectroscopy to analyze breath to create and estimated breath alcohol content. It does this by first projecting infrared (IR) light through a sample chamber at two IR detectors with only ambient air in the chamber. It measures the amount of IR light that strikes the detectors and sets up a baseline to compare to a subsequent breath sample.
Next, a person blows into the machine, filling the sample chamber with breath. The Intoxilyzer projects IR light through the breath sample at the detectors. The IR light excites the molecules in ethyl alcohol, causing the molecular bonds to bend, stretch and rock. This causes less IR light to strike the detectors. A difference in the amount of light which struck the detectors before and during breath samples is measured and a breath alcohol estimate is calculated by way of a secret formula known only to CMI.

DUI Hard-Charger Falls on Hard Times

According to reports from various news outlets, including ABC and Fox News, several hundred DUI arrests in Utah are now in question following a lawsuit filed last month.  The two plaintiffs, Thomas Romero and Julie Tapia, filed their complaint in the U. S. District Court in Utah, alleging civil rights violations by former Utah State Trooper Lisa Steed.  Romero alleges that Steed arrested him for DUI when his BAC was 0.00; Tapia similarly claims that Steed arrested her for DUI when she had not even been drinking.  But although such claims are not unusual, the complaint calls into question more than just these two incidents.

Lisa Steed began working for the Utah Highway Patrol in 2002.  And apparently she was quite a hard-charger, earning the title of Trooper of the Year in 2007.  But her real claim to fame came in 2009, when she set a record of 400 DUI arrests in one year, more than double that of any other trooper.  The record even earned her special recognition at the state capital.

Mississippi Senate Bill 2183: Ending Beer Discrimination or Enabling Abuse?

With the ratification of the 21^st Amendment in 1933, prohibition came to an end.  The federal government, as well as the several states, exercising their new-found authority to regulate the substance, began passing laws to provide for its manufacture, consumption, and possession.  And amid the deluge of subsequent legislation, the federal legislature was kind enough to allow for in-home production of wine; but they apparently forgot about beer.  In fact, it was not until 1979 that the home brewing of beer was legalized under federal law.

Following that change in federal law, most states passed their own laws to legalize the home brewing of beer.  But the disparate treatment of beer continued in many states, especially Mississippi.  Under Mississippi Code Annotated section 67-3-11, in-home production of wine has been legal for almost eighty years, since February 26, 1934; but home brewing beer is still illegal.  And until July 1, 2012, beer in Mississippi was capped at an alcohol content of 5% by weight; wine and distilled spirits, for all intents and purposes, were not so restricted.

MADD Science in Mississippi: Ignition Interlock Devices for Everyone?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 10,000 DUI-related fatalities in 2010.  NHTSA also reports that DUI-related traffic crashes cost an estimated $37 billion annually.  And although many of us are likely familiar with these statistics, they attest to the truth of the matter: the social consequences of drunk driving are severe.

In response, Mothers Against Drunk Driving tirelessly seeks to reciprocate by lobbying for equally severe consequences for DUI offenders.  And partly due to MADD’s efforts, ignition interlock devices (IIDs) are becoming more widely used across the states.  For over a decade now, IIDs have been used in Mississippi to combat repeat offenses.  But up until now, Mississippi law only applied the use of IIDs to repeat offenders (second and subsequent convictions); many, including MADD, feel that this is not enough.

“Mixing Alcohol with Diet Soda May Make You Drunker”

This is the title of a new NPR report about a recent study done on the effects of mixing alcohol with diet soda rather than sugared soda. Author Allison Aubrey posted the following information on the NPR “insider’s blog:”

“Alcohol, consumed with a diet mixer, results in higher (BrAC) Breath Alcohol Concentrations as compared to the same amount of alcohol consumed with a sugar-sweetened mixer,” says Cecile Marczinski, a cognitive psychologist who authored the new study.

Why? Turns out that sugar slows down the absorption of alcohol from the stomach to the bloodstream.

Drunk? Just Ask Your Ice Cube

Created by a student at MIT, glowing ice cubes are now able to calculate how much you are drinking and respond by changing color: green after sip one, yellow after sip two, eventually changing to red signaling you should slow your alcohol intake.  The circuit in the ice cube keeps track of time and the number of sips you take.  This allows the ice cube to, according to reports, reliably guess your level of intoxication.  Should you drink too much, the ice cube will send a text message to your close friends.  What will they think of next?

Have a DUI/DWI/OUI related question? Stephen L. Jones is available 24-hours a day. Please call: (617) 851-7153.

Proposed Mississippi DUI Law Change Would Allow Online MASEP Classes

Mississippi law requires that drivers convicted of DUI First Offense “attend and complete an alcohol safety education program.”  Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-30 not only includes MASEP as a sentencing requirement, but it also establishes MASEP completion as a prerequisite for obtaining driver’s license reinstatement or a hardship license pursuant to the 90-day administrative suspension provision.  Clearly, then, MASEP is unavoidable for first offenders convicted under Mississippi’s DUI statute.

Authority for the MASEP program is found in Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-32.  In addition to providing for assessments against the offender, section 63-11-32 requires that “the program shall consist of a minimum of ten (10) hours of instruction.”  And in its current form, MASEP classes are carried out through in-person, weekend classes offered at 41 locations across the state.  For more information on MASEP, see the MASEP website:http://www.ssrc.msstate.edu/divisions/masep/