LINCOLN — Kids caught smoking pot need to lose their driver’s license, just like those caught drinking alcohol.
That was the reasoning Wednesday in the Nebraska Legislature as lawmakers, on a 25-0 vote, adopted an amendment to provide the same penalties for marijuana users as those adopted recently for anyone under 21 caught drinking.
Earlier this session, a bill was passed that allows judges to take away the driver’s licenses of those convicted of being minors in possession of alcohol. The idea was to give stiffer consequences for MIP.
Wilber Sen. Russ Karpisek said it was only fair to give possession of marijuana equally tough treatment.
“I’m concerned if we show that alcohol has a penalty more strict than marijuana, then kids are going to say, ‘Well, gosh, I’m just going to do marijuana then,’” Karpisek said.
The senator had tried to amend his pot penalty onto the earlier MIP bill, but it was ruled not germane.
Under the MIP law, a first offense could result in the loss of a driver’s license for up to 30 days and attendance at a drug education class. The penalty jumps to 90 days suspension and 20 to 40 hours of community service work for second-offense MIP.
This time, Karpisek’s amendment was attached to Legislative Bill 800, a major piece of legislation aimed at reducing truancy in schools and repeat offenses by juveniles.
That prompted a protest from Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen, who said that while he supports the tougher penalties for young pot smokers, attaching the seemingly unrelated amendment to a juvenile justice bill is “what concerns me about government.”
“We’re just throwing bills together,” Janssen said. “We have rules, and we’re trampling all over them.”
He added that he was harshly criticized a year ago when he proposed an amendment to an unrelated bill that would do away with the state’s in-state tuition break for illegal immigrants.
LB 800 was advanced to final-round debate on a voice vote after the marijuana amendment was attached.
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