“You can't get stoned, get in a car and try to kill someone and see no time in jail,” he complained Thursday.
Under current law you can, but Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, is trying to change that. SB51 would increase the penalty for driving under the influence of marijuana and injuring a person from a class A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.
A class A is punished by up to one year in jail; a third-degree felony can result in up to five years in prison.
The bill received the unanimous approval of a Senate committee Thursday and will go before the full Senate.
“Be stupid on your own time, but when you are affecting society there is just simply no excuse," committee chairman Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said.
- Matt Canham
