Cannabis and Driving

We all acknowledge that bullying is bad. History tends to repeat itself. In the past there were many drivers who felt that they were fine to drink and drive. That resulted in thousands of deaths. In 1980 the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers organization was founded. The result was a decrease in deaths from drunk drivers of 36 percent. 

We still have deaths from drinking and driving. There are still between 10,000 and 15,000 deaths per year. One thing has changed. People no longer say that they can drink and drive without being impaired. We all know that is a lie.

However, we are about to repeat history. There is a new lie. Now that we have had legalization of marijuana in many places, there are more people driving under the influence of cannabis. That is not a surprise. However, the number of those individuals who tell themselves the same lie about not being impaired is an issue.

The AAA (American Automobile Association) Foundation for Traffic Safety recently completed a study. They looked at self reported behaviors of users of cannabis.

Just under half (44.1 percent) said they use cannabis multiple times per day. That leaves a larger period of time during which they might be driving.

Over half (53 percent) said they used it less than an hour before driving. An additional 20 percent said they used it within two to three hours of driving. That means that almost three-quarters of users of cannabis (53 percent plus 20 percent) use it within three hours of getting behind the wheel.

The scary part is what they reported about operating a vehicle under the influence of the drug. Almost half (46.9 percent) indicate that there is no change in how they operate a vehicle. Then there were the two delusional groups. Another 14.7 percent they actually drive better while under the influence. An additional 19.4 percent say they drive much better under the influence. 

If you add those together it equals 81 percent of users think they are not impaired or drive better under the influence of cannabis.

We know that there are side effects to cannabis use. They include fatigue and sleepiness. They include brain fog. They include motor impairment. They include changes in visual and auditory perception. Those are not things that make drivers better.

Estimating deaths caused from cannabis use while driving is difficult for a number oof reasons. Tests are not readily available. Toxic levels are not actually known. The drug stays in the system far longer than alcohol. However, there is some scientific evidence that the number is about 1400 deaths per year.

All of that means that it is up to the individual to realize that they should not use cannabis and drive. Unfortunately, 81 percent of users still think they are not impaired when they drive. They are using the same lie that we saw with alcohol. Some things never change.