Driving While High on Marijuana

This was an interesting article, I suggest you watch the video too.

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/surprising-truth-about-driving-while-high-0


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Thanks, Akkarin. I remember when that video aired on local news and found it humorous and informative.

Marijuana has been, more or less, legal in Washington state for the past decade. An Initiative in 2003 made marijuana possession Seattle's lowest law enforcement priority.

Since legalization, as far as I can tell, nothing has changed. Incidences of marijuana related accidents haven't increased. In fact, I'd guess now that it's legal to use at home people are more likely to be sitting in their backyards smoking pot at potlucks than getting in a car and driving anywhere.

My experiences of being around people who use marijuana vs. alcohol... People who drink too much alcohol are far more likely to get in a car and cause an accident - in contrast to someone who has smoked too much pot and can't get out of their beanbag chair. When I do see people driving on marijuana, they're usually moving so slowly that the only thing they're likely to hurt might be a very lethargic turtle crossing the road.

I realize there are certain exceptions to some of what I've written, but as someone who has lived in a city with a heavy marijuana culture for over 10 years, I don't personally see pot as detrimental to society. That said, driving under the influence of any drugs (over the counter, prescription, or recreational) is not something that I would ever do, nor do I think it's a good decision for anyone to make.

Driving tired is also a huge distraction. Distraction is a big problem for road safety under normal circumstance and drugs do add to the distraction quite a lot - but what drugs can additionally do is add 'distortion', which can be false or unfamiliar information which needs to additionally be compensated for if possible.

If we divide drugs into their capacity to distract we can say they are either downers and uppers - I always found the downers to be the most detrimental to driving, and of those alcohol was much worse then pot IMO. But both of those drug natures can also include a variety of effects such as hallucination which adds the distortion; and alcohol does not really add that, but pot can. So pot can be worse then alcohol for driving if its strong enough.... all just IMO. So I think the measure of capacity to drive is a function of the nature and extent of distraction or distortion, and not particular to the substance.

That is how I used to think when I was younger - not from the substance view, but the effect. Authorities though do not have the capacity to measure that, so they instead measure for substance and use standardized laws as a sweeping approach to try and reduce the chance of accidents. Given the intent, I think its an acceptable approach at this time.

Also consider substance strength can vary quite a bit for new or occasional users, so what might be felt as ok for a long term smoker might be too much for someone else, plus there are issues of drug interactions... and all that is on top of the normal variables out there on the road.

Think of the little kid accidentally running out to chase the ball onto the road, or the person riding their pushbike to work because they cannot afford a car accidentally wobbling into the lane - it can happen any moment, without any warning and as the driver you have the most power to make the difference between a close call and a tragedy - the driver who is busy talking, texting, eating, stoned or tripping out is going to be so much less capable of responding effectively.

Most people I see on the roads are incompetent drivers at the best of times, so simply put IMO, do not drive if you are unable to do it properly (for whatever reason) and adjust your speed down to mitigate any reduction in capacity to drive which might emerge from distraction of focus, distortion of perception, and any other condition which increase the potential for an accident to occur.

As a former cannabis user (20 years of it) I can say that the drug most definitely does impair one's driving abilities. Firstly, it can make you forgetful. I remember one time I drove at night for about 20 minutes without my headlights on before I realised after seeing many other road users flashing their headlights at me. It also can make the driver over cautious, driving at 50 mph on a motorway or taking too long to enter a junction or roundabout. But worst of all, it can bring on panic attacks and if any of you have ever tried to drive whilst having a panic attack you will know that it is not easy :sick:

I gave up cannabis over 10 years ago now and my motivation, memory, physical and mental health have all improved as a result, as have my driving skills!

I agree with the article. Cannabis makes you drive slow and somewhat alert... And when tired/couch-locked, simply too lazy to bother driving... Alcohol in comparison truns people into cocky drivers.

There are also people speeding and racing, doing their makeup, eating, texting, talking on the phone, using their laptops or iPads, fighting with their children, drinking alcohol, popping pills, smoking meth, ghost riding, falling asleep, shooting guns at road signs or engaging in some sort of sexual behavior

I definitely prefer being a passenger to someone smoking weed whilst driving than any of the above. (though i haven't experienced smoking meth, ghost riding or shooting guns). A friend of mine has a Q7, when his 5 kids are in it on an empty road it feels like we're in a 2cv on the motorway being boxed in by lorries...

Whether you are driving drunk, tired, or high, you are at a high risk for danger for yourself at others, even though you may not think so. Driving is a new part in a teenager's life, but can be very dangerous to anyone. Driving in a go cart is very different from a car. It's much more faster, powerful, larger than it and can cause a huge amount of damage on contact. For a Jedi, it can help them in their training because it shows them a new way to look at life and help them understand that all life is sacred and needs to be protected. Driving needs to be taken seriously more and if you need help, ask for it, because it means life or death anywhere.