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MissJ
Social climber
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Marijuana and Driving
This information was prepared by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre in Australia, and used with permission. .
It is well-known that driving under the influence of alcohol increases the risk of having a car accident. Recently, the role that other drugs play in car crash risk has received a lot of attention. Both the short-term effects of marijuana intoxication and the long-term effects of being a regular user of the drug have been suggested to have a negative effect on driving ability. However, it is difficult to determine the effect of marijuana on driving ability.
Studies on marijuana and driving
There are three main ways to study whether or not marijuana impairs driving: laboratory studies, which test the effects of marijuana on skills that are used in driving, such as reaction time and attention; simulator studies, which assess the effect of marijuana on driving using specially-made equipment that mimics what it is like to drive a car; and field studies, which assess the relationship between accidents and marijuana use in the real world.
Laboratory studies
Laboratory studies have shown that marijuana compromises reaction time, attention, decision making, time and distance perception, short-term memory, hand-eye coordination, and concentration. These studies have the advantage of being able to test the effects of large doses of marijuana under controlled conditions, but it is unclear to what extent these results apply to real-world driving.
Simulator studies
The simulator studies are more realistic than the laboratory studies, but are still not the same as driving in real life. Some of these studies have found that marijuana causes a range of problems, such as a poor ability to maintain lane control. However, other studies have shown that people under the influence of marijuana are more likely to reduce risks by going slower and maintaining a greater distance between themselves and the car in front, than those who have not had any marijuana. This may be because the marijuana-affected drivers are compensating for their slowed reaction time. This strategy has been shown to last just over an hour and does not help if something unexpected happens on the road.
Field studies
Marijuana-induced impairment of driving has been demonstrated in on-the-road driving tests where subjects were accompanied by licensed driving instructors in vehicles fitted with another set of controls to insure safety at all times. These studies have also shown when marijuana is consumed in combination with even a low dose of alcohol the impairment is far more severe. An alternative method to studying the effects of marijuana on real-life driving is to look at the relationship between marijuana use (known from blood or urine analysis or from self-report) and accidents that have already happened. These studies have found higher rates of marijuana use among people who have been involved in accidents than what would be expected by chance. A recent study on fatal driving accidents conducted a culpability (responsibility) analysis and concluded that marijuana users were significantly more culpable than non-marijuana users and likelihood of being responsible for an accident increased with marijuana dose. Other studies that have asked people about marijuana use and their involvement in accidents have found that long-term marijuana use is associated with car accidents. However, there may be something about people who are involved in accidents that mean they are also more likely to be marijuana users (such as being young and male). Yet, overall, the results from studies in the field confirm that marijuana use can adversely affect driving performance.
The latest review of the evidence reports that driving under the influence of marijuana appears to increase the risk of motor vehicle crashes by a factor of two to three times. In addition, it is also important to remember that many people mix marijuana. There is now good evidence to suggest that using marijuana and alcohol together, even at low doses, could have a worse effect on driving than either marijuana or alcohol alone.
Prevalence of driving under the influence of marijuana
According to the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey , about 5% of males and 2% of females reported driving under the influence of a drug other than alcohol. Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used. The likelihood that an individual would drive under the influence of marijuana is increased when that individual believes the risk is low, if the individual is marijuana dependent, or if they also use other illicit drugs.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Sorry, MissJ, people that are going to smoke weed and drive are already doin' it... ESPECIALLY in Colorado.
Driving while Under the Influence has been illegal, and will be illegal.
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J.Haze
Sport climber
Ohio
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Will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the long run. Doesnt really bother me either way as I don't drink or use drugs these days, climbing is the only thing I need in my life to make me happy, perception altering substances need not apply.
Although studies show less drinking I would still be more afraid of the drunk and high driver than either instance seperate from eachother. If that offense could be proven would the sentance be more harsh than each seperatly? Thought?
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Jimmy Russells
climber
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Personally, I think some people would drive better and be more considerate behind the wheel while stoned.
I'm much more scared of the dozens of frantic, distracted soccer moms zipping around in their huge SUVs while yapping on their stupid phone, cutting people off and driving like they're the only people on the road.
The hand-wringing appeals to fear by Silver and missJ are hilariously ridiculous.
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WBraun
climber
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Coloradicals are stupid.
They need to be stoned to function .......
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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What? Uh, they say pot affects your short ter...
Um I forgot but something about uhm...
What was the question?
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Barcus
Social climber
San Luis Obispo, Ca.
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The RX for road ragers........... A nice sativa!
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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For years it has been known in the construction business. If you're injured on the job
And need to go to the hospital. The first thing they do is take a blood sample and look for drugs. if test proved positive. Workmen's Comp. or insurance won't cover you. Even if you smoked pot a week ago. I suspect insurance companies will do the same thing to drivers that are impaired. If they remember to buy insurance????
Jus Stone'in
BB
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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I don't care how much weed you smoked and how good or bunk it is or isn't. You smoke weed you are impaired and I for one am not interested in being involved in a situation where stoned dood is responsible for hurting or killing my family or a friend and his attitude is wow man I'm only a little stoned.
Say that sh#t to me and see how fast you need an oral surgeon.
Hey Silver, how do you handle it NOW? It is happening RIGHT NOW. There were stoned people on the road every time you have driven for the last 20 years.
By the way, a threat of violence is a crime, called "assault", which you appear to have committed. I don't much respect lawbreakers, particularly when it involves physical violence.
And I AM a surgeon.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jimmy Russells
climber
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If anyone needs to start smoking weed, it's Silver. Dude's got some serious anger/violence issues.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Just an interesting observation.
I supervised the ambulance service in Iqaluit on Baffin Is. for 3 years. Iqaluit was a town of about 3000, about half Inuit. There were huge problems with alcohol and every drug imaginable, regardless of race.
I responded to quite a few auto accidents. The majority involved alcohol. None, as far as I could determine, involved pot.
Same with most of the residential calls. Alcohol violence predominated. Where drugs were concerned it was mostly overdoses - either hard drugs or prescription - and sometimes every drug in the cabinet including all the birth control drugs. Never saw a weed overdose.
If I could wave a magic wand and change things I’d restrict substance abuse in Iqaluit to weed only. People seem to smoke up, listen to music, eat goodies, make love and go to sleep. With alcohol they seem to beat up their wives, cut up their neighbors and drive like idiots.
This is of course all anecdotal - it doesn’t prove anything.
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J.Haze
Sport climber
Ohio
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^^^
M&M's might be a sign of guilt, I would say if you put the M&M's on the burger then your guilty..
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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If you go for the M&M's it's an immediate admission of, "GUILTY!!!"
Don't forget the 'Twinky Defense' of Harvey Milk's killer.
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Jimmy Russells
climber
Nov 8, 2012 - 10:54am PT
If anyone needs to start smoking weed, it's Silver. Dude's got some serious anger/violence issues.
He likes to kill dogs as well, even brags about it online.
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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From Denver Post:
In what had been projected to be a close race, the [marijuana legalization] measure ultimately received more votes than President Barack Obama.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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ok, so it looks like we screwed up,
instead of weed being legal, all this is gonna do is target these states for Fed crackdowns, reverse ozmossis, wtf, over? jus sayin,, would have been better to leave it as is,
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coastal_climber
Trad climber
Squamish, BC
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I've heard of roadside tests for mj in alberta using ph strips or some sort. Your asked to lick the strip and it changes color.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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This is going to be bank for convenience stores selling potato chips and other fast to Ingest junk food!!
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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we shall see how our "democracy" works on this one.....would you rather be driving towards a driver that is stoned,or one that is drinking? chew on that for awhile.
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