Massachusetts Governor Focuses Efforts to Combat Stoned Driving |

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker highlights the death of a state trooper killed by a motorist found to have THC in his blood and renews his efforts to combat stoned driving.

Baker, a Republican serving his second term as governor of the Commonwealth, announced Wednesday that his administration had re-submitted laws that would “update road safety laws by establishing uniform standards and promoting best strategies to reduce car accidents and the Recommendations of the special commission on driving under the influence and handicapped driving, “said his office in a press release.

“This legislation aims to make the Commonwealth’s roads safer and save lives, and we are grateful to the Clardy family for offering their family name and support for this legislation that will help us avoid future driving accidents Avoid disabilities, “Baker said in a statement. “This bill will provide law enforcement officers with more rigorous drug detection training and strengthen the legal process by empowering the courts to recognize that the active ingredient in marijuana can and does harm motorists. The bill is based on thoughtful recommendations from a broad cross-section of stakeholders and we look forward to working with our legislative colleagues to get this bill passed and make our roads safer. “

The Baker administration said it resubmitted the bill as the “Trooper Thomas Clardy Law,” named after the late Massachusetts State Trooper Thomas L. Clardy, who “passed a traffic control on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton in March 2016 when his parked.” Kreuzer was hit by a speeding motorist who was skidding in three lanes, ”and was later found to have THC in his blood.

Local television broadcaster WCVB reported that Clardy’s widow, Reisa Clardy, attended Baker’s bill announcement in Worcester District Court on Wednesday.

“Our family is deeply affected by the tragic loss of my loving husband. Our children have lost their hero, a man who had love for his family and an insatiable love for life, “Reisa Clardy said in a prepared statement released by Baker’s office. “We wholeheartedly support the implementation of these critical public safety measures in the hope of relieving other families from our anguish and preventing the heartbreak caused by a driver’s decision to get behind the wheel of drugs. “

Recreational cannabis use has been legal in Massachusetts since 2016, a year after Baker took office.

Clardy Law isn’t the first time the Republican governor has targeted drug driving. As his office noted, the law was first tabled in 2019 and is based on “recommendations from a special commission on driving under the influence and handicapped driving created as part of the 2017 Law to Legalize Adult Marijuana to Develop”. a series of recommendations to mitigate the negative effects of increased marijuana use in Massachusetts, including the expected increase in driving disorders. “

The commission made a number of recommendations included in the latest bill, including the following: “Adopt tacit consent laws to suspend driving licenses for arrested drivers who refuse to participate in chemical drug tests like this current law has long required for arrests “drivers who refuse breath tests for alcohol”; “[a]the adoption of a law giving courts the power to judge that the ingestion of THC, the active chemical in marijuana, can and does harm motorists ”; “[p]Prohibition of drivers from having loose or unsealed packs of marijuana in the driver’s cab of a vehicle, according to the same provision of the Motor Vehicle Act that has long prohibited driving with open alcohol containers; and “[e]Authorize law enforcement officers to obtain electronic search warrants for evidence of chemical poisoning, as is the case in over thirty other states. ”