Lawmakers seek study on pot-impaired drivers
Worried that legalizing recreational cannabis use will cause more people to drive high, a second legislative committee overwhelmingly voted Thursday to advance a bill to study how law enforcement can detect when people are driving under the influence.
With few accurate roadside tests to detect marijuana impairment, police mainly rely on field sobriety tests and observation, which can be subjective and foiled.
That concerns many lawmakers, including some Democrats who otherwise support legalization. It could prove an obstacle to legalization, policy supported by Gov. Ned Lamont.
“Law enforcement in general has not caught up to the extent that it needs to be with respect to the detection piece,” said Democrat Rep. Joe Verrengia, who was a West Hartford police officer for 25 years. “That’s the biggest challenge.”
The bill passed Thursday requires James Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, to review research on how marijuana use impairs drivers, examine data on accidents in which it was involved and make recommendations on training, methods and devices for police to use to detect the drug. The result of his study would be due to the General Assembly in 2020.
The bill needs to pass the House and Senate and a signature from Lamont to become law.
Legislation passed by the Judiciary Committee includes $500,000 for each of the next two years for the state police to train more troopers as drug recognition experts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Connecticut ranks behind only Washington, D.C. for the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities nationwide. In addition to alcohol-impaired drivers, the amount of Connecticut’s drugged drivers is about 20 percent higher than the national average, according to a 2017 report released by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.
A recent study by the national Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute found that accident claims rose 6 percent in states that legalized marijuana for recreational use, including Colorado and Washington, compared to surrounding states where it was illegal.