With the legal consumption of marijuana now a reality in Washington State, a team of reporters at CBS affiliate KIRO-TV chose to get a group of viewers really high and then put them behind the wheel of an automobile.
Local government officials in Seattle have been tasked with determining what level of marijuana usage should be considered “driving under the influence.” Apparently not wanting to wait for official DUI estimates, the stations producers jumped into action with the help of a local Sheriff’s department, a drug recognition experts, and a driving school instructor.
One participant was three times over the legal limit before testing even began, and all three drivers were four times over the legal limit after toking up.
Despite their level of euphoria, all three drivers did very well.
It wasn’t until each driver had smoked a full gram of pot that they felt “too stoned” to drive.
The pot smoking participant who was already high before the experiment began was listed as “borderline” in terms of completing the obstacle course.
The participant who was already buzzed was medical marijuana patient, Addy Norton. Addy managed to inhale an additional half a gram of pot before admitting that it wasn’t safe to drive.
According to Norton:
“(I’m) way more stoned. Way more stoned. Definitely shouldn’t be driving.”
Driving under the influence of marijuana has previously brought with it DUI or DWI charges based on state laws. With medical marijuana now legal in Colorado and Washington, officials are left to determine when those driving under the influence laws should still apply.
Here is a video of the KIRO-TV experiment with pot smoking Washington residents:
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