NationStates

Nobody recommends driving while high.

Well, not nobody..

But years into legalization, it’s not clear if stoned drivers have become a hazard that demands a response. Even if they were, nobody would know what to do about them.

Blood alcohol content and impairment generally rise in parallel, and the alcohol leaves the body relatively quickly. Breathalyzer tests are a quick and non-invasive way to tell if a driver is drunk.

But testing for stoned drivers isn’t as straightforward. Some jurisdictions, including Colorado, have set standards for what constitutes cannabis impairment, such as five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. But there is no linear correlation between blood THC concentration and impairment, and testing requires a blood or saliva sample.

It's as much an issue of how to test as compared to a breathalyser. Yet is it even dangerous?

As a result, while marijuana can impair motor skills, the available data, as discussed in a 2017 report by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, suggests the odds of being involved in a crash immediately after using cannabis are significantly lower than crash rates after drinking.

The stock explanation is alcohol makes drivers more aggressive and accident prone, while drivers who are high are more likely to drive too slowly. Several studies cited by NHTSA suggest this is broadly correct.

I remember driving with a friend on a country road with high hedges that took on a tunnel effect, and it was almost like traveling through light speed.. I remember asking 'dude, shouldn't we slow down..', to which he said 'yeah..' and checked the speedometer, we were going at 30mp/h..

But driving high happens. The California delivery service Eaze recently surveyed cannabis users on how they get around.

It found 64% of cannabis consumers self-report driving within four hours of consuming cannabis and 20% say they drive within an hour after consuming. There was no consensus among consumers about how much cannabis is safe to take before driving. (They were less likely to drive stoned with a child in the car.)

Of adults who consume and drive, 77% believe it doesn’t affect their driving and 16% believe it improves their driving, according to the survey. Men and younger drivers are more likely to drive within eight hours of consuming.

As cannabis is slowly legalised thoughout the US and other countries, should there be regulations on toking and driving?

It could count as driving under the influence of a substance, so...

I am all for weed decrimminalization and legalization but its still driving under influence.

Regardless of legality, I think driving under the influence of any substances that can impair your reaction times should be regulated.

There's a reason people on certain prescription medications are told not to drive if it makes them drowsy.

Has there been any study on if weed impairs judgment and reflex like alcohol or other drugs does?

Hell yes, it is covered by UK laws. I'm not sure how anyone thinks they are safe to drive after smoking weed, other than being young and stupid.

Gormwood wrote:Has there been any study on if weed impairs judgment and reflex like alcohol or other drugs does?

Mentioned in the OP but here's the link to the report..

An Alan Smithee Nation wrote:Hell yes, it is covered by UK laws. I'm not sure how anyone thinks they are safe to drive after smoking weed, other than being young and stupid.

An interesting finding from this research is that after smoking marijuana, subjects in most of the simulator and instrumented vehicle studies on marijuana and driving typically drive slower, follow other cars at greater distances, and take fewer risks than when sober (Stein, et al., 1983; Smiley, et al., 1981; Smiley, et al., 1986; Casswell, 1977; Robbe and O'Hanlon, 1993). These effects appear to suggest that the drivers are attempting to compensate for the subjective effects of using marijuana. In contrast, subjects dosed with alcohol typically drive faster, follow at closer distances, and take greater risks.

I'm not sure it's too different from 'driving when old'.

Bombadil wrote:Of adults who consume and drive, 77% believe it doesn’t affect their driving and 16% believe it improves their driving, according to the survey.

I'm not sure I trust the judgement of that 16%.

Well, in the places I lived, (California being the only one to legalize), driving high is a DUI, so.

Gormwood wrote:Has there been any study on if weed impairs judgment and reflex like alcohol or other drugs does?

Here you are:

Conclusion: Chronic marijuana users had slower reaction times, deviated less in speed, and had difficulty matching a lead vehicle’s speed compared to nonusers. The effects on SDS and modulus were present at cutoffs of 2 and 5 ng/mL.

And here:

Cannabis smoking increases lane weaving and impaired cognitive function. Critical-tracking tests, reaction times, divided-attention tasks, and lane-position variability all show cannabis-induced impairment. Despite purported tolerance in frequent smokers, complex tasks still show impairment.

Bombadil wrote:

Gormwood wrote:Has there been any study on if weed impairs judgment and reflex like alcohol or other drugs does?

Mentioned in the OP but here's the link to thereport..

Should be treated no differently than alcoholic driving then. Shouldn't take forever for a multispectrum breathalyzer to be developed in the meantime. A tricorder you puff into.

Bombadil wrote:

Gormwood wrote:Has there been any study on if weed impairs judgment and reflex like alcohol or other drugs does?

Mentioned in the OP but here's the link to the report..

An Alan Smithee Nation wrote:Hell yes, it is covered by UK laws. I'm not sure how anyone thinks they are safe to drive after smoking weed, other than being young and stupid.

An interesting finding from this research is that after smoking marijuana, subjects in most of the simulator and instrumented vehicle studies on marijuana and driving typically drive slower, follow other cars at greater distances, and take fewer risks than when sober (Stein, et al., 1983; Smiley, et al., 1981; Smiley, et al., 1986; Casswell, 1977; Robbe and O'Hanlon, 1993). These effects appear to suggest that the drivers are attempting to compensate for the subjective effects of using marijuana. In contrast, subjects dosed with alcohol typically drive faster, follow at closer distances, and take greater risks.

I'm not sure it's too different from 'driving when old'.

I'm old and a old stoner, I disagree.

People have the right to choose what goes into their body.

People don’t have the right to choose to drive after taking drugs with the possibility of killing others.

This counts as driving under influence, anyways.

An Alan Smithee Nation wrote:

Bombadil wrote:
Mentioned in the OP but here's the link to the report..



An interesting finding from this research is that after smoking marijuana, subjects in most of the simulator and instrumented vehicle studies on marijuana and driving typically drive slower, follow other cars at greater distances, and take fewer risks than when sober (Stein, et al., 1983; Smiley, et al., 1981; Smiley, et al., 1986; Casswell, 1977; Robbe and O'Hanlon, 1993). These effects appear to suggest that the drivers are attempting to compensate for the subjective effects of using marijuana. In contrast, subjects dosed with alcohol typically drive faster, follow at closer distances, and take greater risks.

I'm not sure it's too different from 'driving when old'.

I'm old and a old stoner, I disagree.

"Cannabis impairs driving behaviour. However, this impairment is mediated in that subjects under cannabis treatment appear to perceive that they are indeed impaired. Where they can compensate, they do, for example.

The difference is people are aware and thus take compensation measures, more so than alcohol certainly, and probably more so than old drivers who believe they're highly experienced and don't compensate for age. I base this a lot on my grandfather who is a fucking nightmare on the roads.

I personally think people shouldn't drive while impaired but I question the thinking around rate of impairment, and suggest for example 'driving while tired' - should that be regulated? I think it is to a degree specifically for lorry drivers.

It's like driving under a prescription drug, like others have noted. If you're swerving or something, and you get pulled over high, then you should pay a fine, maybe even be detained until it wears off. If you keep doing it, I think it should be a mark of negligence on your license, with your car impounded and your licensed suspended pending an order from a judge.

Input 'Other' because I disagree that all influence is a detriment to driving.

However I think smoking weed is a detriment, and should this be regulated.

It's no different to people driving under the influence of alcohol. It's an impairment, it's a danger to the person and other people, and it should not be legal.

I drove stoned exactly once and hated every moment. On top of the fact that I drive a VW Bus so everyone assumes I'm driving stoned all the time...

I don't like it. Also, I feel like we need to meet the non-smokers halfway so we don't fuck up this whole legalization thing. If they are going to regulate it, I want them to get that shit right. Studies, a proper test with correlations etc. No arbitrary shit. But also, don't drive high. Just...be cool, everyone. Be cool.

Cannot think of a name wrote:On top of the fact that I drive a VW Bus so everyone assumes I'm driving stoned all the time...

At least you won't be going very fast when you hit something.

It should be illegal like drunk driving. End of thread.

Tristian wrote: End of thread.

Never is. Also, this always follows the least conclusive posts.

An Alan Smithee Nation wrote:Hell yes, it is covered by UK laws. I'm not sure how anyone thinks they are safe to drive after smoking weed, other than being young and stupid.

Indeed it is, and so is drug driving in general.

IIRC driving under the influence of drugs is illegal in the UK.

SD_Film Artists wrote:IIRC driving under the influence of drugs is illegal in the UK.

Yes it is. Over 10,000 cases were sent to court in England and Wales in 2018.

The New California Republic wrote:

SD_Film Artists wrote:IIRC driving under the influence of drugs is illegal in the UK.

Yes it is. Over 10,000 cases were sent to court in England and Wales in 2018.

Aye, so it's surprising that this is even a question in America.