Vote moved to Wednesday: Defeat bill that would put marijuana users at risk of DUI arrest

Published: January 12, 2010

Vote moved to Wednesday: Defeat bill that would put marijuana users at risk of DUI arrest

A bill that would expand New Hampshire’s DUI law to punish driving while impaired with chemical metabolites in one’s system, HB 665, was scheduled to get a vote last Monday. However, because the House was considering so many other bills that day, the vote was moved. It is now scheduled for a vote at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 13 – tomorrow! Driving while impaired by marijuana or any other controlled substance is already illegal in New Hampshire, but HB 665 potentially gives overzealous police and prosecutors another tool with which to harass and punish past marijuana use.

Whether you have already contacted your representatives or not, please do so TODAY using our automated e-mail system, and tell them to vote “NO” on HB 665. Then, please ask your friends and family to do so as well. Of New Hampshire’s 400 representatives, only 243 have received constituent messages via MPP’s system so far. We need your help to make sure that every representative hears that his or her constituents oppose this unnecessary and wasteful bill.

As I mentioned in my previous e-mail alert on this bill, HB 665 would not result in an automatic DUI for drivers who test positive for marijuana metabolites. But since it lacks a clear standard for judging impairment, even a trace amount of marijuana in a driver’s system could potentially be used to charge someone with a DUI.

Reckless driving and driving under the influence of a controlled substance like marijuana is already illegal in New Hampshire. HB 665 would also waste precious public resources, because it will require more drivers to be tested for the presence of any chemical substances in their systems, and will result in useless administrative expenses.

We need as much support as possible to successfully block this bill in the House, so please forward this alert to others in your community who are interested in opposing laws that are wasteful and unnecessary. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies.