Drug hangover can count as DWI, N.J. court rules | Inquirer | 06/30/2007

Although, with an alcohol hangover, you still may have alcohol in your system. Alcohol elimination has zero-order kinetics, thus it is totally time-dependant. Many with hangovers still have the EtOH in their system.

But, where do you draw the line? Are we going to get arrested for impaired driving when we haven't gotten enough sleep? Although not a good idea to drive while tired, how do you enforce that or justly judge that?

Chemically, this guy was clean, yet he still lost his case. This is wrong, IMO.

[edit] Although he did have cocaine metabolites in his sytem, they fail to indicate whether they are active metabolites. If they are active metabolites, then I would think it is OK for the ruling to stand. Many drugs are pro-drugs, and only their active metabolites provide the pharmacological effect.

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them; speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

Doesn't take a test to be arrested and convicted for impaired driving in my state, which ranks impaired driving at the same level as DUI for penalties and insurance purposes. Any LE officer can arrest an individual on the basis of judging a driver to be impaired for whatever reason while operating a motor vehicle. As many motorists have to their dismay discovered, that includes attitude toward the officer and appearance. The court depends on the 'professional judgment' of the officer regardless of field sobriety or laboratory tests.

Due to the reactive nature of LE, DUI, impaired driving and traffic violations have become very important revenue sources for municipal coffers as federal state revenue sharing decreases to support foreign policy. Any tax increase in my state at any level requires a public majority vote and people don't support tax increases, so the civil service drones and politicians are getting their raises and benefits by any other means possible.

I think the idea of making drunk driving illegal in the first place is stupid. Same for other drugs. Drinking is not the only cause of collisions, incompetent driving is another. Conversing with someone in the car. Using a navigation system. Having a lot on your mind. You name it. Just make it the person's fault if he fucks up, drunk or not. Or you might as well just ban cars since I doubt you will find people with nothing on their mind who are not distracted by anything ever.

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If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.

Driving after doing cocaine constitutes "impairment"? A stimulant that increases alertness and masks fatigue? I'd much rather be across the highway from some coked up guy than someone who hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. I wonder if driving under the influence of caffeine is also considered impairment. How about the millions of people that drive on a daily basis (particularly in the morning) while suffering from caffeine withdrawal?

This ruling is stupid and hypocritical, and it provides a microcosm for our country's stupid, hypocritical, propaganda-heavy stance on various drugs and driving. I'd be mollified if lecherous old Senators got thrown in the drunk-tank for driving under the influence of Viagra - now there's a distraction...

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

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I think I'd choose that coked up guy over the all-nighter, too.

It's a crazy ruling. I hope the guy has enough money to appeal. It shouldn't stand.

[sarcasm] Thanks for the visual of the old senator under the influence of viagra.[/sarcasm] Yeeech.

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them; speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

This is bullshit. "he appeared incoherent and lethargic", so they gave him a drug test - after he had already passed a breathalyzer. Shit, I appear incoherent and lethargic on any given morning before my coffee has kicked in. Could they haul me in for that? Bullshit.

Seems reasonable. Caffeine is a more powerful drug than cocaine.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson