No Tolerance Policy
By: Anna • Essay • 1,020 Words • December 25, 2009 • 865 Views
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No Tolerance Ohio
In almost every state today marijuana is illegal, but laws vary from state to state. Some states allow you to be caught with some and only get a ticket. On the other-hand other states will lock you up in jail for having any at all. Ohio used to be one of those states that would let you go with a fine up to so much marijuana. Well that was the case until the government proposed a bill changing the law to no tolerance policy in Ohio. That means if you are caught with marijuana you will be put in jail. Because they changed the law to no tolerance I think that the jails in Ohio will get overpopulated for a faulty crime.
Activists groups that focus on the decriminalization of marijuana are outraged that the law will also target individuals found with trace amounts of THC which is the chemical in marijuana. Even if you haven't smoked in weeks marijuana can remain in your system and THC levels can be high. When the law is passed, Ohio will be joined by Nevada and Indiana as zero tolerance states, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law. Also, anyone with detectable traces of THC in their system could face jail time if they're driving. This is considered a DUID which is driving under the influence of drugs. Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Iowa exclude marijuana out of their DUID laws because of it staying in your system for a long period of time. If Ohio is arresting people for having traces of THC in their system I think that the jails are going to become over-populated and full of innocent people.
The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor. It will take effect ninety days after his approval. Ohio is only the third state to pass a DUID law for motorists with trace levels of THC, and it is the sixth state to criminalize motorists who drive with levels of THC in their bodily fluids. The old law was not near as bad and was reasonable. For instance, if a person had less than one-hundred grams of marijuana on them they would receive a citation for 100 dollars and no criminal record. If you are caught with possession over one-hundred grams you will receive a fine up to 250 dollars, but if you're caught with over two-hundred grams you can receive up to 6 months in jail. So the new law is a lot stricter and will cause people to get arrested for faulty reasons.
With this new law I think that Ohio's jails are going to get full of people that really shouldn't be there. The law states that if you are driving and pulled over with suspension of marijuana they can drug test you and if you fail you go to jail. THC will stay in your system for weeks at a time. That doesn't me that you're intoxicated at the point and time, but that's what the law says. That's ridiculous because what if alcohol could be tested from past experiences. Everyone who ever touched a drink would be in jail if they consumed alcohol in the past month. I think that the no tolerance policy would be fine if people smoking marijuana didn't go to jail for failing a drug test while driving. As long as they're not intoxicated while driving they shouldn't be punished for something