Jacob Sullum on Why ‘You Can Never Drive’

Washington’s five-nanogram rule, modeled after
the per se standard for alcohol, was meant to reassure voters
worried about the threat posed by stoned drivers. But like all per
se standards, it treats some people as unsafe to drive even when
they’re not, writes Jacob Sullum. Last year experiments by KIRO,
the CBS station in Seattle, and KDVR, the Fox affiliate in Denver,
showed that regular cannabis consumers can perform competently on
driving courses and simulators at THC levels far above five
nanograms.

The lack of correspondence between the new standard and
impairment is especially unfair to medical marijuana users, some of
whom may be above the five-nanogram limit all the time, meaning
they are never legally allowed to drive in Washington.

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