DENVER—Colorado's long, tortured debate over stoned driving came to a quiet end Tuesday when the state Senate gave final approval to a blood-limit standard they'd rejected several times before. The vote sends the driving-high measure to the governor's desk, who has long advocated for Colorado to join other states and set a blood level to determine marijuana impairment behind the wheel.


However, concerns about skimpy data and possible wrongful convictions stalled the proposal for three years. Tuesday's final Senate vote of 24-11 came after the chamber twice this year rejected the same standard. The final version states that juries can assume someone is impaired by marijuana if their blood contains more than 5 nanograms per milliliter of THC, marijuana's psychoactive ingredient.

On the blood-standard's final debate, the proposal's longtime champion, Republican Sen. Steve King, argued that marijuana legalization last year makes the driving standard more important. It's not, he insisted, an attempt to ensnare legal pot users.

"Colorado has voted. The people have spoken. I get that," King said about marijuana Monday. The Senate did not debate the measure Tuesday before it won final passage.




"You can see how ludicrous this part of the bill really is," Marble argued.

Senators turned down the idea after sponsors argued that the purchasing limits would send a message to Colorado's neighbors and the federal government that efforts are being made to prevent legal pot from leaving the state.

Sen. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, said purchasing limits may be a necessary annoyance "so the federal government will not step in and take over."


Senators made only slight tweaks to the pot regulation bill, adding provisions such as a ban on government-owned marijuana grows or stores, as contemplated in at least one Colorado town. Senators also approved a ban on mobile dispensaries, banning the prospect of "pot trucks" able to roam cities dispensing weed like tacos.

"You can't drive around the city in a bus and call yourself a store," said Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge.




"Pass it and tax the heck out of it ... that was a familiar refrain," Jones said.


"We are encouraging people to stay in the black market through this," argued Republican Sen. Owen Hill of Colorado Springs.

The marijuana tax and regulation measures ultimately won approval on unrecorded voice votes. Final votes are required on Wednesday, the final day of this year's legislative session.


Kristen Wyatt can be reached at



House Bill 1325: