NORML regrets to inform you that earlier this week the House and Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 8, Ohio’s proposed per se “drugged driving” bill. While some of our allies on the House Criminal Justice Committee valiantly tried to address some of our concerns by introducing several amendments to the bill, SB 8 – as approved by both chambers – would still potentially punish marijuana smokers for "drugged driving," even if the individual is neither under the influence nor impaired to drive. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor, whose administration lobbied for its passage, and will take effect 90 days after his approval. Ohio is only the third state to pass per se DUID legislation for motorists with trace levels of THC in their blood, and it is the sixth state to criminalize motorists who drive with levels of non-psychoactive marijuana metabolites in their bodily fluids. (Please see NORML’s comprehensive report, You Are Going Directly To Jail: DUID Legislation – What It Means, Who’s Behind It, and Strategies to Prevent It, for more information about state DUID laws, penalties, and how these laws disproportionately impact cannabis consumers. You may access the report here: link. This pending law represents an all out assault on Ohio’s marijuana smoking community. Because marijuana's main metabolite, THC-COOH, remains detectable in certain bodily fluids, particularly urine, for days and sometimes weeks after past use, this legislation seeks to define sober drivers as if they were intoxicated. Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver at most for a few hours; certainly not for days or weeks. To treat all marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug's effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair. In addition, Ohio already has effect-based laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle "under the influence" of illicit drugs. Under Section 4511.19 of Ohio's Revised Code, motorists face up to six months in jail if they drive "while under the influence of a drug of abuse." By contrast, SB 8 creates a separate crime of "drugged driving" that is, potentially, divorced from impairment and that could possibly jail motorists for simply having consumed an illicit substance at some prior, unspecified date. While it’s regrettable that the Ohio Legislature has decided to move forward with the unnecessary and dangerous proposal, NORML would like to acknowledge those of you that have worked with us over the past two and a half years in opposition to this measure. While our efforts did not ultimately prevent this bill’s passage, they did influence the Legislature to amend the bill in ways that will potentially limit its scope and possible abuse by law enforcement. Once again, thank you for your assistance in our legislative efforts in Ohio, and feel free to contact the national office if you have questions pertaining to Ohio’s pending DUID law.