A Serious Safety Problem with Pot Legalization Could Be Emerging

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Despite the fact that being high causes you to perform significantly worse on traditional sobriety tests (duh), there’s no widely accepted legal limit for THC (the main mind-altering ingredient in marijuana). Current regulations differ by state, and are known as “per se limits.” Basically, they’re arbitrary, and there’s no science backing them up.

While there’s a blood test for THC, it’s not very accurate, since everyone reacts to weed differently. What’s more, THC can actually linger in the blood for weeks, reports the Associated Press (AP).”A law against driving with THC in your bloodstream is not a law you can know you are obeying except by never smoking marijuana or never driving,” Mark A. R. Kleiman, a professor at NYU specializing in criminal policy, tells the AP.

In the study, dangerous drivers pulled over for sobriety tests were likely to be using alcohol and other drugs, too. Only 23 percent tested positive for just cannabis.

RELATED: This Girl Scout Deserves a Badge for Selling Cookies Outside a Marijuana Dispensary

The bottom line: Whether or not there’s a universal limit law in place, driving under the influence of anything is never safe.