DRIVING STONED IS OK IN IDAHO

SAN FRANCISCO -- In Idaho, you can drive high as long as you can
drive straight.

Marijuana users can drive legally in the state so long as their
driving isn't erratic and they can pass a field sobriety test, a
federal appeals court has ruled. The three-judge panel wrote that
while it is illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol or
narcotics, Idaho law doesn't list marijuana as a narcotic.

The ruling overturned an impaired driving conviction against Matthew
Patzer, 21, who was stopped for a broken tailgate light in 1998 and
admitted to police he'd smoked marijuana at a party.

The appeals court said Patzer could not automatically be presumed
impaired; he wasn't driving erratically and passed two field sobriety
tests.

"Given the distinction drawn by the statute, there is no basis to
conclude that impairment may be presumed upon admission of use of a
non-narcotic drug," the appeals court wrote.

The circuit court's decision also reverses Patzer's illegal weapons
convictions.

In his Chevrolet Blazer, police found four illegal homemade grenades,
a sawed-off shotgun and modified rifle with a home-made silencer. But
the court said that because of his unlawful arrest, the vehicle
search was illegal.