Quote Originally Posted by HighPopalorum
I had to explain to a cop that I couldn't recite the alphabet backwards. Sober, drunk, high - it doesn't matter. I can provide a lively overview of tripartite government, a thoughtful analysis of the causes of the Civil War, a succinct but humorous recap of the election of 1800. Ask me high school algebra, or to diagram a sentence, or about the relative merits of the wildcat and the wishbone. Unfortunately, sequences of letters and numbers have always been beyond me.
Just so you know, I asked a cop about this once when they had me do some ridiculous field sobriety test. It was multiple things at once, like rub your belly in a circle while counting backwards standing on one foot. When it was done and he was satisfied that I was sober I asked him point blank if he was just messing with me when he made me do all that stuff. He said that drunks practice things like saying the alphabet backwards, but the cops don't really care if you can do it, just how you react. Do you giggle, slur, speed up and slow down, etc?

I'd be all for actual skills based testing, reflex response times, etc. but as others have said, the presence of metabolites or even THC in the blood does not indicate impairment one way or the other.

Maybe it should be illegal to drive after you fight with your S.O. I have been hit twice by idiots arguing with their wives. One ran a stop sign and destroyed the car I was in and injured himself badly. And I see some pinhead or another almost cause a wreck almost daily because they are on the phone.

Maybe all cars should have a little test that you have to perform before it will start. Bad reflexes? Who cares if it's because you're drunk or because you can't stop thinking about your problems. No driving for you. Conversely, if you can pass the tests the car will let you drive. Drunk, stoned, ripped on Viagra and Prozac, or just sleepy. Impairment is impairment is impairment.

This isn't about safety. All of it, 1290, the new regs they are proposing, videos and databases, this nonsense about blood levels and driving, and whatever comes next is a knee jerk reactionary blow against social change that some people don't like. It is the equivalent of the woman on The Simpsons who always freaks out and screams "Think of the children!"

They just don't want to admit that pot is basically harmless when placed next to so many commonly accepted risks.