New lazer alcohol detection for moving vehicles

[JC316]

yep. wait to youre old enough to actually party hard then get back to us, squirt.

I am old enough to party hard, and you're still a fucking asshole for driving drunk.

[BlackGT]

I am old enough to party hard, and you're still a fucking asshole for driving drunk.

X2!!!!!!11111one

No excuse for putting lives at risk all because you think you're a badass and that driving drunk is somehow cool...

[John -- '02 HAWK]

Actually the laser probably is unconstitutional. The reason is that you are testing what is inside the car without probable cause.

its constitutional, as long as the person is on a public road, and because the police have been given the rights to search a vehicle if its within public view.

The laser is just testing whats in public view

[John -- '02 HAWK]

I think the recent actions coming out of the DEA show that this country is in the business of making people criminals rather than solving actual problems. On the bright side of all that nuttiness, I think the whole Reefer Madness rhetoric they were spewing a few weeks ago directly led to The House giving their budget funding the finger. That was a surprising and welcome turn of events.

As Beavis mentioned its a laser spectrometer, which mean it can probably also be tuned to detect pot smoke/particulates in the future.

I think you combining two different issues here the DEA and Pot, and the commercial prison industry with its lobbyists who advocate more prison time vs rehabilitation

[Broncojohnny]

its constitutional, as long as the person is on a public road, and because the police have been given the rights to search a vehicle if its within public view.

The laser is just testing whats in public view

It is settled everybody, we have a Supreme Court justice on the site now!

[CexMashean]

i just drove home drunk tonight. have i done it enough times to where you couldnt tell if im sober or not? yes. am i proud of it? nope. am i going to call a cab 5 miles from home? nope. i'll willing to take the risk b/c i'm that good. ive been pulled over several times hammered, got to go home b/c i can handle myself (even had a pig push my car to the gas station) choooo choooooooo!!!

Quoting to accurately remember how much of a douche bag you really are. You're the stereotype people associate with motorcycle riders.

[SSMAN]

Sounds to me like a laser spectrometer. I'm surprised they didn't have something like this sooner..

I'm all for getting drunks off the road. The problem is that our laws damn to hell anyone that just made a mistake one night the same way they damn the habitual drinker that constantly puts lives at risk. As with many things in our legal system, it is more about punishment and collecting revenue than about solving actual problems.

This^. I agree

[SSMAN]

its constitutional, as long as the person is on a public road, and because the police have been given the rights to search a vehicle if its within public view.

The laser is just testing whats in public view

And yet people get in trouble for pulling Direct Tv out of the air?

[xplosiv]

DUI's aplenty for E85 vehicles lol

[talisman]

As Beavis mentioned its a laser spectrometer, which mean it can probably also be tuned to detect pot smoke/particulates in the future.

I think you combining two different issues here the DEA and Pot, and the commercial prison industry with its lobbyists who advocate more prison time vs rehabilitation

Go look at the top 5 organizations that are lobbying against pot decriminalization/legalization and get back to me.

[talisman]

It's a bit dated, but it was the first thing I came across.

http://www.republicreport.org/2012/marijuana-lobby-illegal/

Last year, over 850,000 people in America were arrested for marijuana-related crimes. Despite public opinion, the medical community, and human rights experts all moving in favor of relaxing marijuana prohibition laws, little has changed in terms of policy.

There have been many great books and articles detailing the history of the drug war. Part of America’s fixation with keeping the leafy green plant illegal is rooted in cultural and political clashes from the past.

However, we at Republic Report think it’s worth showing that there are entrenched interest groups that are spending large sums of money to keep our broken drug laws on the books:

1.) Police Unions: Police departments across the country have become dependent on federal drug war grants to finance their budget. In March, we published a story revealing that a police union lobbyist in California coordinated the effort to defeat Prop 19, a ballot measure in 2010 to legalize marijuana, while helping his police department clients collect tens of millions in federal marijuana-eradication grants. And it’s not just in California. Federal lobbying disclosures show that other police union lobbyists have pushed for stiffer penalties for marijuana-related crimes nationwide.

2.) Private Prisons Corporations: Private prison corporations make millions by incarcerating people who have been imprisoned for drug crimes, including marijuana. As Republic Report’s Matt Stoller noted last year, Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies, revealed in a regulatory filing that continuing the drug war is part in parcel to their business strategy. Prison companies have spent millions bankrolling pro-drug war politicians and have used secretive front groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, to pass harsh sentencing requirements for drug crimes.

3.) Alcohol and Beer Companies: Fearing competition for the dollars Americans spend on leisure, alcohol and tobacco interests have lobbied to keep marijuana out of reach. For instance, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors contributed campaign contributions to a committee set up to prevent marijuana from being legalized and taxed.

4.) Pharmaceutical Corporations: Like the sin industries listed above, pharmaceutical interests would like to keep marijuana illegal so American don’t have the option of cheap medical alternatives to their products. Howard Wooldridge, a retired police officer who now lobbies the government to relax marijuana prohibition laws, told Republic Report that next to police unions, the “second biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is big PhRMA” because marijuana can replace “everything from Advil to Vicodin and other expensive pills.”

5.) Prison Guard Unions: Prison guard unions have a vested interest in keeping people behind bars just like for-profit prison companies. In 2008, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association spent a whopping $1 million to defeat a measure that would have “reduced sentences and parole times for nonviolent drug offenders while emphasizing drug treatment over prison.”

- See more at: http://www.republicreport.org/2012/m....qdlrjQZN.dpuf

[TRAILBLAZER]

I'm joining DAMM

Drunks Against Mad Mothers

[CJ]

its constitutional, as long as the person is on a public road, and because the police have been given the rights to search a vehicle if its within public view.

The laser is just testing whats in public view

With probable cause. The forth amendment still applies.

[kingjason]

Unless there is a reason to be aiming that at me, then you shouldn't be invading the privacy I possess inside my vehicle. If you pull me over because your toy can't read inside my truck, enjoy the lawsuit.

Can you masturbate in your vehicle driving down the road? This is not a challenge, but a question. Not sure how far you think the whole privacy thing goes in your car....

[talisman]

This is not a challenge, but a question.

Nice qualifier!