Assemblyman Keith Brown (R,C-Northport) is urging immediate action to curb marijuana-impaired driving across New York state. Brown, a lead sponsor of legislation (A.5271) that would authorize oral fluid testing for cannabis, said the state’s failure to establish roadside testing standards has left communities vulnerable and law enforcement officers without the tools they need to keep roads safe.

“Since marijuana legalization, we’ve seen a clear rise in impaired driving crashes and fatalities,” said Brown. “The state moved quickly to create a billion-dollar cannabis market, but it left out the most basic public safety safeguards. My bill would change that by giving law enforcement the ability to reliably test for impairment and remove dangerous drivers from our roads.”

According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, more than half of people injured or killed in vehicle crashes nationwide tested positive for alcohol or drugs, most commonly cannabis. In New York, multiple high-profile tragedies have highlighted the deadly consequences of impaired driving.

Assemblyman Brown’s bill, A.5271, would implement oral fluid tests, a proven, accurate roadside tool that can detect the presence of cannabis in a driver’s system. Similar technology is already in use in states such as California and Michigan.

“We cannot wait for another tragedy to take action,” Brown said. “Our laws must evolve alongside the changing realities of substance use and public safety. Implementing oral fluid testing will help ensure that legalization does not come at the expense of innocent lives on New York’s roads.”

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay’s recent column underscored the same urgency, calling on state officials to “strengthen laws, raise public awareness and protect innocent lives from the dangers of marijuana-impaired driving.”