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Vermont Senate Rejects Proposal for Roadside Marijuana Testing

A Vermont Senate committee has rejected a bill that would have allowed police to use a roadside saliva test to detect marijuana.

The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill Wednesday by a vote of 4-1. The Burlington Free Press reports the state House of Representatives previously endorsed the bill in March.

The bill would have authorized police to screen for the presence of cannabis and other substances using a saliva sample rather than a blood sample, which requires a warrant.

Republican Sen. Joe Benning, a member of the Judiciary Committee, says the test would have been inherently unfair because there would have been no numerical threshold to determine marijuana intoxication — like blood alcohol content.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott's marijuana commission endorsed the proposal in January.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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