Article on Marijuana on boats

T

thataway

Active member
The "Log" has an articlemarijuana use on boats in California. Basically, the Coast Guard operates under federal laws. The local LEO can cite a person for operating under the influence. But as in automobiles there are a number of grey lines about levels of impairment. Has that been an issue in Washington and other states when use of pot is legal?

One of the comments as follows:

Per the San Diego Harbor Police there is nothing regarding second smoke in the new law. This is what was sent to me by the above law enforcement agency. “When it comes to vessels, if they are in a slip and plugged in, they are technically at that point not a mobile conveyance. If you are living aboard that vessel, it is your home. One is allowed to smoke inside their home or even on a patio or open area within the home / boat. Unfortunately, there is no laws regarding second hand smoke when it “permeates” next door.”
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For the record, I have never used Marijuana, am for the pharmaceutical use, but agains operation of any vehicle when under the influence.
 
When recreational use of marijuana first became legal in Washington State, the discussion came up during a captains' meeting. The word we were given: the Coast Guard is still operating with a zero tolerance policy, and they are the controlling agency on the waters there where we were operating. No stated policy by state or local law enforcement on the water at that time. Random "pee tests" are part of the job.

US boats checking into Canada were more likely to be more thoroughly searched by Canadian Customs when checking in.

The companies I worked for have a no smoking policy on all their boats. I let guests know that meant: no smoking of anything.

If someone on your boat is holding, you would still be in violation of the zero tolerance policy.
 
thataway":2amicziw said:
Basically, the Coast Guard operates under federal laws.
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They do indeed, and it wouldn't surprise me to see someone get their boat impounded. Mark may be able to tell us how local law enforcement here deals with boaters under the influence.
 
Recreational marijuana is legal in Mass. I'm against it because I feel that weed IS a gateway drug and DOES impair the user. Some people will argue that it doesn't impair the user as much as alcohol but that is assuming that every alcohol user drinks to excess!

Being high on weed is not comparable to someone having one or two drinks over the course of a few hours. NOW, if you have 3 or 4 drinks (or more) then that's a different story! I think people being high while on the water is a bad idea BUT folks have been doing long before this law passed. People that do drugs could care less about the laws, they'll do them regardless.

Well, I guess it's all moot because the voters of Mass made their voices heard and it's law now. For the record, I have used marijuana a few times in my teen years and I wasn't a fan. I like being in control and hate the feeling of not being myself. Will never do it again. I do still use alcohol socially. And I quite enjoy that! :)
 
The first line of that article says "...green on the water is a grey area." It really is not, if you are on a federal waterway. I also operate an inspected passenger vessel and the Coast Guard's position has not changed. Everyone on the crew is randomly tested, and the drug test program seems to be one of the things the CG spends the most time going over in our annual inspections. I'm not an expert, but understand that marijuana can be detected for quite a while after use, so it is one of the substances most likely to be caught on a test.
 
I ran a substance abuse program for 8 years at CSULB. The blood tests are a bit more accurate as for recent use of TCH ( tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive component). For "Drug testing", the urine test is cheapest and most effective. TCH-COOH a non psychoactive breakdown product can be in the urine for as long as 5 days after a single use, A heavy chronic using may have the TCH-COOH in the urine for as long as 3 months...The TCH-COOH has no correlation to degree of impairment.

If there is an accident or CG investigation, I believe that three kinds of testing may be involved: Breath for alcohol, blood for alcohol, drug screen, including TCH, and urine for chronic use of drugs or TCH. (This was based on my peripheral involvement in several cases with the Florida Marine Patrol, where death occurred at the hands of an impaired boater.)
 
----"The TCH-COOH has no correlation to degree of impairment."

Dr. Bob, do you know of any test that does show degree of impairment?
 
This area is a can of worms, with much yet unknown. Unlike alcohol, which is relatively quickly washed out of the blood stream and other tissues, THC and the other psychoactive components (and their metabolites) take longer to be eliminated, and AFAIK there is not a consensus on what bloodstream levels constitute significant impairment. Certainly nothing in law that I know of.

My brief period of experimentation with 1960s grade marijuana (many, many times less potent than today's street-grade stuff) thoroughly convinced me that operating a motor vehicle while "stoned" was definitely hazardous to me and others ... very impaired, to say the least. Further, the stuff knocked my mental alertness down several notches the next day, to the extent that I have not touched the stuff since 1970.

I know others who habitually drive while mildly stoned, who claim not to be impaired. I am extremely skeptical of that.

Finally, operating a rapidly moving power vessel in almost any marine environment is much more demanding of mental acuity and ability to assess what a person sees that operating a motor vehicle on a roadway. It is nuts to operate a power boat while stoned.
 
BillE":i5p4p0y0 said:
----"The TCH-COOH has no correlation to degree of impairment."

Dr. Bob, do you know of any test that does show degree of impairment?
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At this point there are no definitive blood, urine, breath or saliva tests which are universally recognized. Washington and Colorado have established a blood level of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood which can be used to press charges.

Some officers are trained as "Drug recognition experts", and they administer a series of tests, including eye, balance, psychological, memory, co-ordination etc and render an opinion--some courts accept this others do not.

When I was running the program, we would pick out certain athletes to test, based on their mistakes made--and that was fairly accurate. However our program was very strict, and any positive had a consequence--including that the third time, the athlete was off the team, loss of scholarship. (Earlier steps included brief counseling by several professionals the first time, prolonged counseling suspension the second time. We only had one athlete who went to the 3rd level. Unfortunately he died in a cocaine related auto crash about a year later.

There also appear to be some other negative long term medical effects from marijuana use. Over a billion dollars is spent by drug companies before a new medication comes to use by the general public. No where near this amount has been spent on the effects of marijuana use. Marijuana is classified by DEA as a Schedule I drug, same as Heroin, LSD Peyote--"no accepted medical medical use" . Strange World we live in!
 
thataway":2040u96m said:
BillE":2040u96m said:
There also appear to be some other negative long term medical effects from marijuana use. Over a billion dollars is spent by drug companies before a new medication comes to use by the general public. No where near this amount has been spent on the effects of marijuana use. Marijuana is classified by DEA as a Schedule I drug, same as Heroin, LSD Peyote--"no accepted medical medical use" . Strange World we live in!
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I don't smoke at pot is a vasodilator (dilates blood vessels/veins) which pools blood in the lower extremities which means no blood in the brain. To compensate your heart starts to pump harder, after your adrenal gland kicks in, to push the blood back up to your brain. This is not a pleasant feeling for some. Panic attacks and why a lot of people freak out and like to lay down when they smoke. Laying down levels the blood and things calm down. I'm very sensitive to this and learned this early in my career (college).

I would wager that big pharm has killed a lot more people than pot. My state's (Alabama) fastest growing prison population is middle aged white women addicted to pain pills. Also, if you look at the history of marijuana laws it was never about what was best for mankind. Laws are always about money and power and this held true for marijuana.
 
RCW 79A.60.040



Operation of vessel in a reckless manner—Operation of a vessel under the influence of intoxicating liquor, marijuana, or any drug—Consent to breath or blood test—Penalty.


(1) It is unlawful for any person to operate a vessel in a reckless manner.

(2) It is unlawful for a person to operate a vessel while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, marijuana, or any drug. A person is considered to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor, marijuana, or any drug if, within two hours of operating a vessel:

(a) The person has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher as shown by analysis of the person's breath or blood made under RCW 46.61.506; or

(b) The person has a THC concentration of 5.00 or higher as shown by analysis of the person's blood made under RCW 46.61.506; or

(c) The person is under the influence of or affected by intoxicating liquor, marijuana, or any drug; or

(d) The person is under the combined influence of or affected by intoxicating liquor, marijuana, and any drug.

(3) The fact that any person charged with a violation of this section is or has been entitled to use such drug under the laws of this state shall not constitute a defense against any charge of violating this section.

(4)(a) Any person who operates a vessel within this state is deemed to have given consent, subject to the provisions of RCW 46.61.506, to a test or tests of the person's breath for the purpose of determining the alcohol concentration in the person's breath if arrested for any offense where, at the time of the arrest, the arresting officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person was operating a vessel while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a combination of intoxicating liquor and any other drug.

(b) When an arrest results from an accident in which there has been serious bodily injury to another person or death or the arresting officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person was operating a vessel while under the influence of THC or any other drug, a blood test may be administered with the consent of the arrested person and a valid waiver of the warrant requirement or without the consent of the person so arrested pursuant to a search warrant or when exigent circumstances exist.

(c) Neither consent nor this section precludes a police officer from obtaining a search warrant for a person's breath or blood.

(d) An arresting officer may administer field sobriety tests when circumstances permit.

(5) The test or tests of breath must be administered pursuant to RCW 46.20.308. The officer shall warn the person that if the person refuses to take the test, the person will be issued a class 1 civil infraction under RCW 7.80.120.

(6) A violation of subsection (1) of this section is a misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (2) of this section is a gross misdemeanor. In addition to the statutory penalties imposed, the court may order the defendant to pay restitution for any damages or injuries resulting from the offense.
 
I have a sign on my boat that states, "Absolutely no drugs allowed on board including marijuana as the United States Coast Guard does not recognize Washington State drug laws". I talked to the Coast Guard down at Westport and asked them what happens if they board my boat and a guest on my boat has pot on them. All they would say is "as captain, you are responsible for anything on your boat". I point my sign out to friends and tell them to please take any pot that they might have with them back to their vehicle. I hope that if I should be boarded and the Coast Guard finds pot on someone that they give me a break because of my sign and precautions. That said, as a non user of pot, the ultimate gateway drug by far is alcohol, which is the reason many teens start a family in the back seat of a car or do something stupid to get arrested. Nobody that drinks alcohol should throw stones at pot smokers.
 
I am quite annoyed by all the party boaters to be honest. Sure I will have a light beer when at rest and my wife may have a glass of wine but I see at boat launches people unloading their boats with countless "empties" constantly. Here in Portland it seems there is no enforcement at all. My favorite was watching some idiot jumping waves with his open bow boat with a little kid up front who was literally in the air at various points. Bottom line don't be an idiot, treat it like driving a car and be safe you have your most precious cargo on board, is it really worth it to do any kind of drugs or drink that much alcohol? I don't get it. I would almost bet if they tested folks on the dock here in Portland at least every 3rd or 4th boat coming in would have a captain not fit to drive a car let alone a boat or drive a car towing a boat. I do my best to stay away from these idiots - literally in the summer when I go retrieve my boat I scan the docks before coming in for the least "stupid" looking folks.

Marijuana is non addictive supposedly so it should be easy to leave it at home right? I find this whole argument of it being non addictive ridiculous. I have seen friends, co-workers and acquaintances of mine loose their marriages, kids and jobs over this stupid drug. I don't get the attraction it makes you lazy, paranoid and stupid. (yes this is a generalization but one I have seen all too often) Same goes for alcohol BTW, I had a friend of mine who became a real ass when he drinks - to the point where he once hit his ex. I don't get it all around. Is life really that terrible people need this "escape". Quite sad.
 
There are a significant number of marijuana users who become addicted (have physical symptoms if they do not receive the drug), and a larger number who have habit forming dependency (psychological dependance). There is also a documented sociological impact of heavy use. Unfortunately the "pro" marijuana groups tend to ignore this, proclaiming it "safe", because no deaths have been associated with "overdose". There are cases of cardiac disease associated with heavy use/contaminates in the material.
 
thataway":2nw9jiww said:
There are a significant number of marijuana users who become addicted (have physical symptoms if they do not receive the drug), and a larger number who have habit forming dependency (psychological dependance). There is also a documented sociological impact of heavy use. Unfortunately the "pro" marijuana groups tend to ignore this, proclaiming it "safe", because no deaths have been associated with "overdose". There are cases of cardiac disease associated with heavy use/contaminates in the material.
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I would have agreed with you if you had included alcohol in your statement as we all know alcohol has both physical and psychological dependence at rates hundreds of times greater than marijuana. I don't see how anybody can logically claim one is better than the other. Disclaimer: I have an occasional beer and I have personally seen the destruction alcohol causes in families. I don't know much about marijuana other than what I read but I do know the few pot smokers that I personally know are far less dangerous on the road than drunks. Back to boating, no drugs or alcohol should be tolerated while operating a boat. I wouldn't mind breathalyzer checks for the registered boat owners upon return to the boat launch.
 
Naturally intoxicating substances have been enjoyed by humanity from the beginning. Any intoxicant will have its abusers. Many (the majority?) of those who enjoy natural intoxicants do so while doing no harm to themselves or others. To paint everyone who enjoys either alcohol or marijuana with broad stereotypical brushes is both naïve and counterproductive.

jd
 
nimrod":3ew2sk8r said:
Naturally intoxicating substances have been enjoyed by humanity from the beginning. Any intoxicant will have its abusers. Many (the majority?) of those who enjoy natural intoxicants do so while doing no harm to themselves or others. To paint everyone who enjoys either alcohol or marijuana with broad stereotypical brushes is both naïve and counterproductive.

jd
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I'll drink to that!
 
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