Comments

• On the Blog Post Are Gun Control Laws Constitutional?

  

  

  Adam Thayer, Esq.

  4:53 pm on Friday, June 14, 2013

  To directly respond to Naome and Tiverton Dad,

  I am an independent contributor to Patch. I am an attorney working in Newport and chose to write this blog because I thought it would help inform the public on both sides of the issue as to the current state of the laws in the country as compared to the proposed laws here in RI.

  No where in my blog did I tell people what to think (or what I think) and I certainly did not write anything evenly remotely inflammatory. If you re-read my blog you will find it to be of an entirely neutral and informative nature.

  For every one person that comments and takes a strong stance one way or the other, there are likely many more who either ignored my post entirely or read it and then moved on.

  I take direct offense to you claiming I was engaged in any sort of ploy or that I am undermining "real journalism." I have zero control over the comments.

  I find it rather ironic that people claiming to hate inflammatory comments would engage in such tactics themselves. Next time you take such offense to my work please contact me directly and refrain from attacking me in a comment section over comments which I cannot control.

• On the Blog Post What Effect Will Marijuana Decriminalization Have?

  

  

  Adam Thayer, Esq.

  3:03 pm on Friday, April 5, 2013

  Art Tips...allow me to comment to your concern regarding impaired drivers.

  In Rhode Island the blood alcohol limit is .08. However, a breathalyzer reading of above .08 is not required for a DUI charge or conviction. Usually when someone refuses a breathalyzer and is then charged with a refusal, you will likely see that they are also charged with DUI. This police are able to charge the DUI based on other evidence, including their general observations (slurred speech, odor of alcohol, the person's driving..etc) and the results of the field sobriety tests.

  Also, the impaired driving laws are written to include both liquor and other intoxicating substances. So police are able to charge persons who drive impaired (whether that be due to marijuana, prescription drugs...etc) without the necessity of a THC test. So like alcohol, a DUI charge could be made and a conviction could sustained on police observations (observing someone smoking while driving, erratic driving, the odor of burnt marijuana, slurred speech, red eyes...etc) in the absence of a THC test.

  So while I cannot know what effect decriminalization will have on the number of impaired drivers on the road, decriminalization itself will not affect the police's ability to arrest persons for driving while impaired by marijuana.