Oppose draconian marijuana policy in Ohio
Published: March 20, 2006
Tomorrow, March 21, the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee will hear S.B. 8, which would impose criminal penalties for drivers who are found to be operating a vehicle with the presence of THC or THC metabolites in their blood or urine. S.B. 8 would punish Ohioans for driving completely sober, and we need your help to stop it in its tracks.
There are three things you can do today to defeat this misguided legislation.
1- Please call the members of the Criminal Justice Committee immediately and tell them:
Please oppose S.B. 8, the drugged driving bill. The bill imposes criminal penalties without using scientific standards and will lead to many innocent, sober drivers being criminalized. I oppose this bill and urge you to oppose it, as well.
The numbers of the committee members are below:
Chair Bob Latta (R-6th) 614-466-8104
Vice Chair David Evans (R-71st) 614-466-1482
Rep. Danny R. Bubp (R-88th) 614-644-6034
Rep. Stephen Buehrer (R-74th) 614-644-5091
Rep. Mike Gilb (R-76th) 614-644-3819
Rep. Ronald Edward Hood (R-91st) 614-466-2500
Rep. Jim Hughes (R-22nd) 614-466-2473
Rep. Sally Conway Kilbane (R-16th) 614-466-0961
Rep. Derrick Seaver (R-78th) 614-466-1507
Rep. Bill Seitz (R-30th) 614-466-8258
Rep. John R. Willamowski (R-4th) 614-466-9624
Rep. Timothy J. DeGeeter (D-15th) 614-466-3485
Rep. William J. Healy, II (D-52nd) 614-466-8030
Rep. Annie L. Key (D-11th) 614-466-1414
Rep. Lance Mason (D-8th) 614-466-5441
Rep. Jeanine Perry (D-49th) 614-466-1418
Rep. Tyrone K. Yates (D-33rd) 614-466-1308
Rep. Kenny Yuko (D-7th) 614-466-8012
2- Please follow up your calls with an e-mail to the Criminal Justice Committee members urging them to defeat S.B. 8. Clicking on this link will enable you to send a letter to all of the committee members, urging them to oppose S.B. 8. Our automated system allows you to easily send pre-written letters to your legislators, or you can compose the letters yourself. State legislators truly do listen to their constituents, and you can voice your support by taking action now.
3- Then, please send a letter-to-the-editor to your local papers and express your opposition to S.B. 8. Our automated system will easily allow you to send a letter to newspapers in Ohio. It takes only a few moments, but it can make a world of difference. Feel free to draw from the talking points that we have provided, but remember that a personalized letter is more likely to be published than a form letter.
Please send a letter-to-the-editor today.
S.B. 8 presumes that completely sober drivers are intoxicated for having 2 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood in their systems or 10 nanograms of THC per milliliter of urine, both of which constitute trace amounts below the scientifically supported standard for proving intoxication. In addition, S.B. 8 imposes criminal penalties for those found to have 10 nanograms of marijuana metabolites per milliliter of blood or 15 nanograms per milliliter of urine. These metabolites can stay in a persons blood and urine for up to 30 days, meaning that drivers who have not used marijuana for up to a month may still be arrested and prosecuted for driving under the influence of drugs.
S.B. 8 will lead to innocent Ohioans being prosecuted for crimes they did not commit. Clearly, impaired driving should remain a crime. But Ohio already has a sensible DUID law that criminalizes a person driving under the influence of a drug.
E-mail your representatives now and urge Ohio to embrace sensible marijuana policy that protects all Ohioans.
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this on so that even more Ohioans can participate in reform.
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