Uncommon Knowledge
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While state legislators are trying to reduce fatalities on Connecticut highways, they haven’t been able to agree on the next steps regarding drivers smoking pot or drinking alcohol.
Republicans said that marijuana is a major problem on the highways, but their amendment to make it easier for police officers to pull over pot-smoking drivers was defeated by the Democratic-controlled committee by 19-14.
The amendment was part of a broader bill to lower the threshold for arrest for drunken driving from a blood alcohol concentration of .08% to .05%. The only state that currently has the .05 level is Utah. But lawmakers also could not reach a broad consensus on alcohol as Democrats and Republicans split on the issue that passed narrowly.
Republicans said they do not believe it is a coincidence that fatalities have increased since the legislature approved the decriminalization of marijuana in June 2021. But lawmakers from both parties said they lack detailed information regarding the impact of marijuana on accidents. Retail sales of marijuana did not become legal in Connecticut until January 2023, and comprehensive statistics are not available in real-time.
Democrats noted that the state now has 72 “drug recognition experts” who can check for impairment and will be better able to document marijuana use.
Lawmakers are examining a package of bills to improve road safety as the transportation committee faces a deadline Friday in a short legislative session that ends on May 8.
Rep. Thomas O’Dea, a New Canaan Republican, cited a provision that was passed as part of the marijuana law that says that “the odor of cannabis or burnt cannabis” cannot be used as the sole reason for probable cause for an officer to pull over a driver.
“That’s insanity. It defies logic,” O’Dea told committee members. “We argued this on the floor of the House. It makes no sense. If a police officer sees a person drinking a beer while driving, the police can use that as probable cause to pull that person over. If a police officer observes a person holding a bong in their hand, and the police officer sees that, can they pull the person over for holding a bong or a roach? My understanding is they can’t.”
Rep. Roland Lemar, a New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the committee, said the driver could be pulled over for reckless driving if that was the case.
“The reason why I am so apoplectic about this is because of other issues,” O’Dea said. “We’re literally encouraging people — smoke marijuana and gummies. Just don’t drink. … And we wonder why there are more deaths on our highways?”
Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant
Connecticut State Representative Tom O’Dea says Connecticut should change the law on allowing police to pull over drivers who are smoking marijuana. Here, he reacts after his name was called in the past on opening day at the start of the legislative session.
In one of the contentious issues of the day, O’Dea offered an amendment to change the state law and allow police officers to stop drivers if they see the driver has been using marijuana.
“It allows a police officer, if they see someone smoking marijuana … you can pull them over,” O’Dea said. “If you see a driver smoking dope, you can pull him over. This, I guarantee you, will save lives. I know I’m a little passionate about this. If you really want to impact the safety of our roadways, this will do it.”
In Stamford, O’Dea said, “When I am walking to buy lunch, I smell marijuana coming out of vehicles.”
But Lemar and other Democrats opposed the amendment, saying that the issue in traffic safety should be focused on alcohol. Democrats also said the amendment could jeopardize the underlying bill, and the issue would instead by addressed in a separate bill by the legislature’s judiciary committee on Wednesday.
“I don’t know, frankly, if this is the right way to address the issue,” Lemar said. “It is almost impossible to tell, from the side of the road, whether a person has been smoking marijuana or not. If you’re speeding or operating the car recklessly and the officer smells or sees marijuana, they can test for impairment.”
Rep. Devin Carney, a Republican, said that he recently pulled over at a rest area off Interstate 95 and personally saw a person in the driver’s seat of a car who was smoking a joint. Carney said he did not see the person drive away, but he noted the anecdote was illustrative.
“We are sending the wrong message when we say you can drive by a police officer, light up a joint, and there is nothing the police officer can do,” Carney told fellow committee members.
After losing the debate over marijuana, O’Dea and some other Republicans eventually voted against the bill regarding lowering the alcohol level to .05%.
“I’m not sure this is going to save a life,” O’Dea said, adding that he was sure that his marijuana amendment would save lives.
But Sen. Tony Hwang, the committee’s ranking Senate Republican, voted in favor, saying he hopes to change the culture around drinking.
“The saddest part is it is a preventable tragedy,” Hwang said. “It should not be a coincidence … that the marijuana legalization, combined with alcohol, have contributed to these kind of road fatalities and road dangers. For us to pass a bill only looking at blood alcohol level and rejecting these amendments related to cannabis as it affects safety on our roads, I think, we, as a committee, are only doing part of our job. … We should have accepted those amendments, in addition to blood alcohol content. It weighs on me that we, as a committee, only went halfway on this.”
While noting that the legislature can pass many laws, Hwang said, “But you can’t teach common sense.”
He added, “If we don’t support law enforcement to enforce these laws, it’s going to be tragedy as usual. … If we’re handcuffing one hand behind their back and we’re not addressing the other issues of impairment, I really believe we are doing an incomplete job.”
But Rep. Kate Farrar, a West Hartford Democrat, said legislators are making their best efforts to stop tragedies on the roads.
“Are we doing everything we can?” Farrar asked. “We know that lowering this blood alcohol level can save lives. … I do hope that all of our colleagues, again, take seriously that we really have taken this moment to do everything we can to protect the residents of our state.”
Utah
Utah became the first state to lower the blood alcohol level in 2018 and has seen a drop of 19.8% in fatal crashes.
Dropping the level, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, would lower the death rate in Connecticut by an estimated 11%. Like Connecticut, other states that are currently considering .05 are Hawaii, Washington, New York, North Carolina and others.
Nationally, 13,384 people died in the United States in alcohol-related crashes in 2021, the most recent year where complete numbers are available. That includes 112 alcohol-related deaths in Connecticut.
The .05 measure is part of a broader plan to reduce a skyrocketing number of fatalities on Connecticut roads. Legislators were stunned at 366 deaths on the roads in 2022 — about one per day. The statistics show that 2022 was the worst year on Connecticut roads since 1989. While fatalities dipped to 323 last year, the accidents are continuing this year.
The national standard is .08% that states have enacted in order to avoid losing funding for federal highway construction. As a result, Connecticut is currently at the same level as nearby New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Lawmakers were already working on the problem of wrong-way crashes, but they vowed to redouble their efforts following the death last year of state Rep. Quentin “Q” Williams. The Middletown Democrat was killed in early January 2023 when his car was hit by a wrong-way driver shortly after Williams had left the governor’s inaugural ball in Hartford. Both drivers were legally drunk and both had marijuana in their system.
Rep. Aimee Berger-Girvalo, a Ridgefield Democrat, cited recent testimony by the National Transportation Safety Board that alcohol is a larger problem than marijuana. She also cited the death of Williams last year in a head-on collision.
“This will reduce fatal crashes, and that is the point,” she said of the bill.
State Sen. Christine Cohen, the committee’s co-chairwoman, said that 2022 marked the highest deaths on Connecticut roadways in the past three decades, but the fatalities have continued this year at a steady pace.
“We know from the [transportation] commissioner that 2024 is on track to be even deadlier,” Cohen said. “I really do believe this is a multifaceted issue and deserves a multifaceted approach.”
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
You might want to ‘Compromise Elsewhere’, Boar’s Head deli meat fans. Numerous grocery store chains are temporarily shutting down their deli departments for a deep-cleaning following a reported multi-state outbreak of listeria.
Big Y has announced that their deli’s will be temporarily closed after Boar’s Head Provisions Co recalled all of their liverwurst product. Boar’s Head has also more of their deli meats that may have been produced on the same production line. According to Big Y, the USDA has recommended a deep-cleaning/sanitization of all surfaces, and to discard any open meats and cheeses in the deli. The other Boar’s Head meats that have been recalled are:
All of the Boar’s Head deli meats have sell-by dates of “AUG 10”, and the Heat & Eat Bacon has a sell-by date of “AUG 15”.
Big Y did not offer Boar’s Head deli meats in their Connecticut markets for the longest time, I recall that it’s only been a year or two that I’ve been able to buy my favorite – Boar’s head low-sodium ham, at the Big Y – Torrington and New Milford locations.
Stop & Shop supermarkets around Connecticut will also temporarily close their deli’s for a deep cleaning according to nbcconnecticut.com. The good news is that if your local deli does not carry Boar’s Head deli meat, there should be a pile of clean, shaved beef waiting for you.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are underway, and while watching the opening ceremonies, I started imagining what kind of games, celebrities, and venues our state would present as our finest. What would an Olympics look like if the games were held in Connecticut?
Gallery Credit: Getty Images/Google
Gallery Credit: Ethan Carey
Amid rising bear encounters in the state, an adult black bear and its cub were found trapped inside a car outside a home in Winsted, Connecticut, on July 15, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
DEEP environmental conservation officers were called by the vehicle owner in the northwestern town. Upon arrival, officers opened the car door, releasing the two bears. The bears reportedly ran off with a third bear that had been running around in distress while the two were trapped.
State officials believe that the bears opened the car door themselves to enter the vehicle.
AP Photo
Newsweek reached out to DEEP’s communications team for comment via email on Friday.
The car’s interior was completely torn apart from the bears thrashing. The bears appeared to blare the horn and play the radio.
The northwestern part of the state has the highest concentration of black bears, according to DEEP. Last year, bears were found in all but three cities and towns across the state, with sightings in 165 of 169 municipalities. This past week, there have been three publicly reported bear-related incidents.
The black bear population is growing in the state, and based on data published in DEEP’s 2024 State of the Bears, there are an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 bears in the state, adding that “the population has a high potential for growth,” given their habitat and food sources.
In June 2023, a state law passed that allows individuals to seek permits to kill a bear if it is damaging livestock and agriculture, as well as establishing the right to use deadly force in defense of an attack.
A year after the law was passed, this June, a Connecticut resident shot and killed a 450-pound adult male black bear, claiming it was in self-defense.
This past week, three bear-related incidents were publicly reported, including a bear being killed after being hit by cars and another euthanized after reportedly biting a woman.
DEEP requests residents to report bear sightings on its website. So far this year, there have been 7,674 reported bear sightings, with 2,255 “bear conflicts” in the state, according to the state’s wildlife sighting public viewer.
In February 2023, DEEP launched it’s “Be Bear Aware” public campaign to raise awareness and lower the total human-bear conflicts in the state through education programs and conflict management advice.
In an email to CT Insider regarding the July 15 incident, DEEP Senior Advisor Ethan H. Van Ness said: “DEEP would like to remind residents to remain bear aware. Always lock your car doors, particularly if you live in areas with regular bear activity.”
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
CONNECTICUT — Since 1940, the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (formerly the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance) has presented Gold Keys to deserving individuals who had made a considerable impact on the state’s sports landscape. In addition to the Gold Keys, other awards are meted out in various categories, and the CSMA has named the final nine recipients who will be honored at the 82nd annual dinner this fall.
Receiving accolades at the dinner will be:
Gold Key Award recipients for 2024, announced in the spring, are former Daniel Hand High School and Yale University football coach Larry Ciotti, longtime Windham High School wrestling and football coach Brian Crudden, retired Pomperaug High School field hockey coach Linda Dirga, award-winning sportscaster George Grande and Wesleyan University women’s basketball coach Kate Mullen.
Proceeds support the Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship, a $3,000 annual award named in memory of the noted high school sports editor of the Hartford Courant and past CSMA president, who passed away in 2003 at age 49.
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