One of the primary problems with medicinal marijuana is those using it and operating motor vehicles. If you are a non-pot smoker or marijuana user, how much tolerance do you have for people using THC and driving? Not much I bet.

The fact is both users of medicinal marijuana and recreational marijuana are driving under the influence regularly.

How do you tell if someone is too stoned to drive?

Keep in mind - driving while impaired by any drug is illegal in all states!

Most convictions for drugged driving now are based on police observations, followed later by a blood test, according to the Huffington Post.

The goal of course is to establish a field-sobriety test that can indicate whether a person is stoned at the time of the incident, or merely has residual THC in their system.

Of course, the problem is that marijuana stays in the blood long after the high wears off a few hours after use, and there is no quick test to determine someone's level of impairment – not that scientists haven't been working on it.

A solution needs to be found and quickly. Marijuana causes dizziness, slowed reaction time and drivers are more likely to drift and swerve while they're high.

Proposed solutions include setting limits on the amount of the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, THC that drivers can have in their blood. But THC limits to determine impairment are not widely agreed upon.

The “legal limit” varies from state-to-state. Two states place the standard at 2 nanograms per milliliter of blood. Others have zero tolerance policies. And Colorado and Washington state are debating a threshold of 5 nanograms.

But several factors can skew THC blood tests, including age, gender, weight and frequency of marijuana use. Also, THC can remain in the system weeks after a user sobers up, leading to the anxiety shared by many in the 16 medical marijuana states: They could be at risk for a positive test at any time, whether they had recently used the drug or not.

Researchers envision a day when marijuana tests are as common in police cars as Breathalyzers.

We have some of the world’s greatest scientists. While this may not be the most pressing issue in medicine, there should be a priority placed on finding a Breathalyzer-type solution to test for marijuana.

Just last week I blogged about the horrible withdrawal symptoms suffered by newborns of moms addicted to prescription medication.

Many states, including Oklahoma are looking to create a committee to study whether stronger laws and policies should be adopted to deal with women who use illegal drugs while pregnant.

Does it take a pickup load of dead babies before we decide to act?  This is a horrible situation where addicted babies enter the world feeling absolutely miserable.

Currently, physicians are granted discretion in deciding whether new mothers and their newborns should be tested for illegal drugs and state child welfare workers have discretion in determining whether an infant should be removed from a mother following a positive drug test. Among issues that need to be considered are:

• Should states pass legislation requiring mandatory drug testing of all newborns?
• Should they pass legislation requiring removal from maternal custody, at least temporarily, of a child who tests positive?
• Should a positive drug test for a new mother be considered the same as the infant testing positive in determining whether the child should be removed?
• Should improperly used prescription drugs be considered the same as illegal street drugs in determining whether an infant should be removed?
• Should states amend legislation that allows criminal prosecution for exposing children to illegal drugs to include exposing a fetus to illegal drugs?
• Should an infant who tests positive for alcohol or illegal drugs automatically be classified as deprived or a victim of child abuse?

From my perspective, pregnant mothers are committing child abuse by continuing to abuse prescription medication.  This is no different than if they were drinking alcohol to excess, smoking marijuana or using harder drugs.  If this problem persists, perhaps a drug test on all pregnant mothers becomes part of the checkups.

Who would of ever thought to snort or smoke bath salts? Drug addicts desperate to get high – that’s who!

Now in addition to drug testing for marijuana, cocaine, opiates and other drugs, you can add bath salts to the list of drugs you can be tested for.

Authorities said many people who abuse synthetic cannabinoids and “bath salts” do so because they believe they can get high and still pass drug tests mandated by their employers or arranged by families.

But local medical companies are adapting to the synthetic drug craze by offering tests that can detect common chemicals used to manufacture the substances.

Wisconsin Governor John Kasich signed legislation outlawing “bath salts” and synthetic cannabinoids, which are products that mimic the effects of stimulants and marijuana and are sold at local smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores.

The court already has the capability to test for bath salts and K2, a synthetic marijuana.

A normal drug test costs $15, and if K2 and bath salts are also tested, the test costs about $45.

The new law takes effect on Oct. 17, but because the drugs are deemed mind-altering, it’s already a probation violation to be caught under the influence of bath salts or K2.

MedWork serves municipalities, counties, schools, industrial companies, trucking businesses and other “safety sensitive” employers. In jobs where mistakes can be deadly, employers are interested in ensuring their workers are drug-free and not concealing a substance-abuse problem by using synthetic products.

Is it me, or does it seem like drug use makes everything more expensive?