Subject:

Your Letter: As your constituent, I’m writing to urge you to reject HB 237, which seeks to impose unscientific and inappropriate presumptive impairment standards in cases where low levels of THC is detected in the blood. Efforts to better identify and prosecute drug-impaired drivers are laudable, but this proposal is not scientific or advisable. That is because the presence of low levels of THC in blood is an inappropriate and inconsistent indicators of psychomotor impairment. No less than the United States Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) agrees, stating, “It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects. ... It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone.” Moreover, recent peer-reviewed studies show that some consumers may test positive for the presence of THC in blood for days after they have ceased using it — long after any effects of the substance have worn off. For these reasons, it should not be presumed that the detection of THC is predictive of psychomotor impairment and such a presumption should not be codified in Florida's traffic safety statutes. The imposition and enforcement of this measure risks inappropriately convicting unimpaired subjects of traffic safety violations. HB 237 is an uninformed and disproportionate response to behavior that is already addressed by present traffic safety laws which criminally prohibit driving while impaired by drugs. As your constituent, I urge you to vote against HB 237.