The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee has voted against a measure that would set a blood-level limit for drivers under the influence of marijuana.
The bill, which came out of a study group, would establish for the first time in Maine a legal limit for how much THC drivers can have in their blood stream, beyond which they could face a charge of OUI. It would set that limit at 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
But committee members were not convinced that that level is supported by science.
“We already have a law enforcement mechanism,” says Rep. Justin Chenette, a Democrat from Saco. “We don’t have a test yet and the science is clearly all over the place when it comes to the THC level.”
There were also concerns about a provision that would extend the current zero-tolerance policy for alcohol for drivers under 21 to marijuana as well. Some oppose that, because it might affect underage drivers who are using marijuana for medical purposes.
District Attorney Geoff Rushlau urged the panel to at least preserve one provision, unrelated to marijuana, that would facilitate the use of portable alcohol testing devices by law enforcement.
“The portable testing was an idea that came from the criminal justice academy because they wanted to see this portable equipment being used more widely in Maine, and they wanted in law how exactly that was supposed to be done,” he says.
But Rep. Lori Fowle, a Democrat from Vassalboro who co-chairs the committee, says that provision was never the focus of the work that was done on the bill.
“It got lost,” she says. “I think the committee was feeling that they hadn’t heard enough about it, that this bill was really focused of the nanograms and THC levels. That was kind of brought to them now as an afterthought.”
The measure could be on the floor next week for consideration by the full Legislature. Lawmakers would have to vote to keep the bill alive, and then amend it to address the concerns of Rushlau and the other district attorneys.
