DUID Victim Network
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) updated its 2017 drugged driving report that has garnered an immense amount of press.
Many in the media understood the report to say that drugged driving has surpassed drunk driving, although that was not the report’s conclusion. Data were reported based upon NHTSA’s FARS reports which in turn are primarily based on coroner’s testing of drug and alcohol content of drivers killed in fatal crashes. The GHSA report … READ MORE
Thanks to the efforts of DUID Victim Voices supporter Stephie Mager, Nevada has a DUID per se law that establishes legal limits for several drugs including methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, and phencyclidine (Angel Dust). The blood THC limit is 2 ng/ml, very close to the limits of quantification of most forensic toxicology laboratories.
Perhaps due to Nevada’s recent move to legalize marijuana, the Reno Gazette Journal published an editorial April 10, … READ MORE
Monday, April 3, 2017 the Santa Fe New Mexican published Don’t regulate marijuana like alcohol, an op-ed co-authored with Barry Logan, PhD, and Stephen Talpins, JD. The thrust of the op-ed is that, since marijuana is unlike alcohol chemically and metabolically, an impairment-based per se limit like we have for alcohol just doesn’t work for marijuana’s THC. Plus, the quantities ingested or smoked is nothing compared to the alcohol consumed when binge drinking or … READ MORE
Colorado makes no effort to collect, analyze and publish DUID statistics in the state. The state’s DUI reports cannot distinguish between causes of DUI, even though many law enforcement officers are trained to do so.
The ability to identify drugged drivers is especially true in the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) that typically writes 20-25% of the state’s DUI citations. All troopers are trained in ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement), which gives them more tools … READ MORE
The Denver Post reported on March 4, 2017 that Jesus Carreno received a maximum sentence of six years after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide due to reckless driving and DUI. The report is misleading, although technically correct. Vehicular homicide caused by reckless driving is a Class 4 felony, which carries with it a presumptive sentencing range of 2 to 6 years in prison. Carreno also pled guilty to DUI, which is a misdemeanor, not a … READ MORE