Advancing the Libertarian Party through Vision and Innovation
An Independent Review of Washington State’s I-502
I showed up to Hempfest on Saturday morning and the first thing that struck me as odd, were all of the “No on I-502” signs, t-shirts, and buttons. 
Wait a minute…isn’t I-502 the marijuana legalization bill set to be voted on in November?
Isn’t this the same bill that is being promoted by many leaders within the marijuana legalization movement?
Something wasn’t right. Fortunately for me, the Libertarian Party of Washington* booth was located right next to a “No on I-502” friendly booth. At the booth, a young man and woman named Adam and Katie proceeded to tell me everything that was wrong with the bill. I was floored by what I was told. But instead of immediately switching my view on I-502, I decided to do some research of my own. I acquired the entire 66 page bill and this is what I found hidden inside of it…
Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana
I-502 will create new criminal penalties for medical marijuana users who drive, through a new and intrusive per se DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) law. I-502 institutes a new unreasonable legal limit on blood THC levels for marijuana users. Active THC from marijuana stays in a person’s blood days and even weeks after the marijuana has been ingested. Inactive THC stays in the body for much longer.
“Sec. 31.1 Any person who operates a motor vehicle within this state is deemed to have given consent…to a test or tests of his or her breath or blood for the purpose of determining the…THC concentration…”
“Sec. 31.2 The test or tests of breath shall be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to believe the person to have been driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle within this state while under the influence…of any drug.”
“Sec. 31.2 (i) The driver is age twenty-one or over and the test indicates…that the THC concentration of the driver’s blood is 5.00 or more;”
“Sec. 31.2 (ii) The driver is under the age twenty-one and the test indicates…that the THC concentration of the driver’s blood is above 0.00;”
That sounds reasonable right? People shouldn’t be driving under the influence of drugs. Well, it would be reasonable if there were scientific proof of impairment with a blood THC level of 5ng/ml. The facts are…
“It is not possible to conclude anything about a driver’s impairment on the basis of his/her plasma concentrations” –U.S. Department of Transportation “Marijuana and Actual Driving Performance: Effects of THC on Driving Performance”
and…
“THC may be present in blood for a period of days after past use, long after any performance impairing effects have worn off” –Armentano, P. “Cannabis and Driving: A Scientific and Rational Review”
I see this provision to be unrealistic and hurtful to the medical marijuana community. It also implements a zero-tolerance policy for any medical marijuana patient between the ages of 18-21, even when they have a recommendation from their physician to use medical marijuana. This provision would be the same as if you had a glass of wine or beer at dinner, then was arrested and charged with a DUI the next day.
This is the most glaring problem with this initiative, although there are others…
I-502 gives the report of the police officer status as actual evidence to be used to press charges against the patient.
“Sec. 31.8 (b) The sworn report or report under a declaration authorized by RCW 9A.72.085 submitted by a law enforcement officer is prima facie evidence that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person had been driving…while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs…”
I am not going to go into the new FBI background checks, or the new restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries that this initiative adds, although they are important.
Unfortunately, according to the sponsors of I-502, they are aware of the lack of scientific evidence of impairment that coincides with the use of marijuana, as well as the recent studies that have shown that traffic fatalities drop by an average of 9%-13% in states that have adopted medical marijuana friendly laws.
A driving under the influence of drugs charge will:
Stay on your driving record forever.
Severely impair your ability to get a job.
Cost you your drivers’ license for up to a year.
Get you a seat in drug & alcohol classes.
Raise your car insurance rates.
Cost you attorney fees.
So, why have the sponsors of I-502 added these ridiculous provisions to the initiative? They argued that their polling data from Proposition 19 in California showed that there was a large group of uninformed voters who would not vote for I-502 unless it included new penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana.
Uniformed voters? So, instead of trying to educate people on the truth of this issue, they will instead punish peaceful marijuana users?
Wow.
As leaders, we cannot sacrifice principles for political expedience, especially when it will do harm to the very people who have trusted us to fight on their behalf. I would ask that the current leaders supporting I-502 take a second look and oppose this hurtful piece of legislation. The pro-marijuana bills that are going to be on the ballot in Colorado and Oregon in November will have to lead the way for the marijuana legalization movement. These bills do not have DUID provisions.
As a Libertarian, I cannot, under good conscience, support any piece of legislation that violates our natural rights as humans. Whether you agree with the use of marijuana or not, you should agree that adults have the right to choose what they put in their own body without influence, force, and fraud perpetrated by government.
I-502 will cause more harm than good to peaceful marijuana users. I urge you to vote No on I-502! But don’t take my word for it. Read the bill here and watch the debate below.
C. Michael Pickens is the Washington State Director for the Gary Johnson 2012 Campaign. He is also the author of the new book, “Libertarian Leadership: Planting the Seed for a Libertarian Future.” Michael can be reached at cmichaelpickens@gmail.com
*The Libertarian Party of Washington did not endorse I-502
11 Responses to “An Independent Review of Washington State’s I-502”
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I hope the libertarians will look at I-514 and help us get on the ballot for next year.
Let us allow adults to grow share and sell marijuana and only jail people if they involve children.
http://cannabischildprotectionact.org/
The Libertarian Party of WA has already endorsed I-514! Whoohoo!
If I-502 were to pass, would I-514 still be able to go forward? Would it replace the I-502 bill, overlap it, etc.?
>I was floored by what I was told. But instead of immediately switching my view on I-502, I decided to do some research of my own. I acquired the entire 66 page bill and this is what I found hidden inside of it…
Super-duper, Michael and kudos to you for being real and up-front on this. More pro-I-502 folks need to take some time out and re-evaluate their support for this drastic piece of proposed legislation.
Yes – it’s going to be hard for some folks to change ships after being so public in their support of I-502, but I believe that the integrity of some of the more prominent proponents of 502 will win the day and they will come out and say so.
Ding ding ding! Jayelle Farmer for the win! Most concise summary I’ve seen yet!
I’m a 502 supporter, I don’t like the per se limits. I think anyone should have the right to contest it. There remain many avenues to do so. However people are convicted on inactive THC levels now. 502 limits this to active marijuana. I don’t see why patients are fine with an expensive legal battle to evade a >5ng limit now, but are terrified of the 5ng permanently, or even per se limits. But these can be fixed. And the problems No on I-502 describe are happening today, at a worse rate, and no one is fixing them.
I like 514, I’ve signed it, but its not going to make the ballot because no one who doesn’t already use/support cannabis will vote for it. That’s the reason 502 got money and other initiatives didn’t. 502, flaws and all, was designed to succeed. 514 pleases cannabis activists only.
mbaileyh, you are incorrect about the active/vs inactive THC levels, but you must have gotten your information from the New Approach WA website, where the truth is stretched. I was pulled over a year ago for a broken tail light, and it was definately my active THC that was tested, mine was 18.7ng. I was charged with DUI, and my lawyer had it reduced to a Neg 1 because there is no current level that claims that I was impaired. Once this per se of 0ng for under 21 and 5ng for adults becomes law, we will have no rebuttable presumption of innocence, in other words, we will have no means to argue in court that 18ng active thc in my blood does not prove impairment for me. The smell of cannabis and the fact that I told that officer that I am a patient when questioned about it is what made the officer think I was impaired, so there you have it, the officer’s grounds for impairment to have me driven in to take my blood was that I was driving with a tail light out, and I smelled like pot.
Sir,
There is nothing new about the blood test. New areas of law are underlined in the initiative. The fact of the matter is that there is effectively a zero tolerance for any THC in any driver’s blood whether they are a patient or not. (The Medical Use of Cannabis Act explicitly states it does not offer an “affirmative defense” against DUI charges) Currently (and under 502) a police officer would need probable cause to detain, arrest, and test a driver. That test must be done by a medical professional. The police officer never sees that THC level, the prosecutor does. The prosecutor, after reviewing the probable cause evidence, decides whether or not to request that test from the state toxicologist. The fact of the matter is that currently drivers are being brought to trial with ANY levels of THC including carboxy THC. 502 does not allow carboxy THC to be considered evidence of impairment.
We can argue about where we should draw that line but the fact is that when the law is not clearly defined it is rarely enforced fairly and equitable and unfortunately we have seen that disparities in drug enforcement typically fall on racial lines. You are also ignoring the fact that I-502 would legalize marijuana, industrial hemp, and would not impose any regulations or taxes on medical marijuana. A per se DUI limit, which is a legal distinction, that gives no new abilities or tools to the police is not a good enough reason to oppose a legalization initiative.
Please don’t let the distortions and misrepresentations from black-market profiteers force you to work against your own interests. Gary Johnson supports I-502.
Currently there are no per se DUID limits for blood THC levels. This bill will establish the level at 5 nano-grams per milliliter. This is unacceptable. I will not, in good conscience, make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute marijuana related DUIDs. Sorry, not going to happen.
“A per se DUI limit, which is a legal distinction, that gives no new abilities or tools to the police” You are right, it doesn’t give new tools to the police. It gives new tools to the District Attorney. I know how the Judicial System works, or better yet, only works for the prosecution, I will not take a gamble with someone else’s livelihood and ability to travel freely.
This one unnecessary provision, among many. I will vote no on I-502 and tell as many others to vote no as well.
Look to I-514…
[...] you have no clue who you are talking to ? I know more about pot than you could ever dream of. An Independent Review of I-502 "I-502 will create new criminal penalties for medical marijuana users who drive, through a [...]
Yeah, well it passed…