“We are trying to make sure that we establish—like we did with alcohol—a taboo. It’s wrong. It has to stop.”
By Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
Citing statistics showing that impaired drivers contribute to more than 30 percent of fatalities on Florida roads, Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black introduced legislation Thursday that would ban medical marijuana patients from possessing open containers of cannabis.
The prohibition would apply if they were driving or a passenger in a vehicle, with the penalty being the loss of their medical marijuana card after committing a third such violation.
The bill (HB 1003) would work the same way Florida law does now in banning driving with open containers of alcohol, Rep. Black told members of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee Thursday.
“We are trying to make sure that we establish—like we did with alcohol—a taboo. It’s wrong. It has to stop,” he said.
Black cited an Ohio study published last fall showing that, over six years, 40% of drivers who died in motor vehicle collisions had tested positive for THC in their system—and said he had plenty of anecdotal evidence that this is also happening in Florida.
“I was in Tallahassee and watched two people who were in front of me at a light on Monroe Street, and they were passing a bong between the windows of their car,” he said, eliciting laughs from some lawmakers. “It’s ridiculous. It’s killing people.”
Among the concerns opponents expressed is that the bill says that a county or municipality “may” adopt an ordinance that imposes more stringent restrictions than simply the removal of one’s medical marijuana card.
Mixed public comment
“Does that mean that this civil offense in this bill can all of a sudden become a criminal offense if you’ve got some sheriff, police chief, or judge in some local municipality who really has these archaic ideas of ‘stoned and drive, ‘bong hits,’ ‘smoking pot in your vehicle?’” said William Dale Clark, quoting comments made by Black, during public comment. “No, these are medical patients, guys. This is state sanctioned.”
“The local part concerns us considerably,” said Jodi James of the Florida Cannabis Action Network. “That I might be guilty of one crime in Brevard County and guilty of another crime in Volusia County?”
“Are you treating me as a patient who is legally using medical marijuana the same way that you are treating your daughter who legally uses an anti-depressant?” James added.
The bill defines open container for the driver of a vehicle as being “readily accessible to the operator while he or she is in a seated position.” For a passenger, it is defined as being “in the physical control of the passenger.”
“There was talk here today about constitutional rights,” countered Barney Bishop of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance. “I don’t know of any constitutional right that says that you can take any drug that you want, and you have a constitutional right to be high, be on the road, and seriously injure somebody, or kill. Do we think that’s somehow okay? It’s not. We’re not taking medical marijuana users from the ability to take their medicine.”
Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie, a criminal defense attorney, said the problem with testing for marijuana is that THC remains detectable in an individual’s system (for 30 days on average) long after they are no longer impaired. He added that medical marijuana was being treated differently than having an open container of other medications, with the penalty being the ultimate removal of a medical marijuana card.
“Yet you don’t do the same thing if you have an Oxycodone,” he said.
Rep. Jessica Baker, R-Jacksonville, also an attorney, argued the measure wasn’t about criminalizing medical marijuana, but about public safety and consistency with the law. “Florida already prohibits open containers of alcohol in vehicles, even though alcohol is legal for adults. We do that because consuming an impairing substance while driving puts everyone on the road at risk, and medical marijuana is no different in that respect.”
The proposal passed the committee on a party-line vote, with all five Democrats opposing the measure.
Black said he is amenable to changing the punishment of an individual losing their medical marijuana card after three offenses. “How about 6, 10, 20? How about we strike it all together, and under no circumstance would you lose your medical marijuana card and it’s simply be the non-moving traffic violation that is now. We can have that conversation.”
The measure has two more stops in the House. Its Senate companion (SB 1056) has yet to be heard in any committee.
This story was first published by Florida Phoenix.
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