I don't think I meant "negative effect" in my last paragraph to mean "should remain outlawed", but rather that we need to understand and perhaps plan for the negative consequences of legalization.
The biggest challenge is that there is not yet any procedure that can verify impairment by marijuana. With alcohol, it is easy- any amount over 0.08 and you are legally considered impacted.
With pot, the metabolites stay in your system for weeks. Did you crash because of a genuine accident, or did you crash because you were driving impaired by weed? The police don't have a way to make a distinction with a simple breath / blood test, so it is harder to enforce.
The biggest challenge is that there is not yet any procedure that can verify impairment by marijuana. With alcohol, it is easy- any amount over 0.08 and you are legally considered impacted.
With pot, the metabolites stay in your system for weeks. Did you crash because of a genuine accident, or did you crash because you were driving impaired by weed? The police don't have a way to make a distinction with a simple breath / blood test, so it is harder to enforce.