Marijuana: By the numbers
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sonofsam
Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, concentration, coordination, and reaction time. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road.
In one study conducted in Memphis, Tennessee, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine. Data also show that while smoking marijuana, people display the same lack of coordination on standard “drunk driver” tests as do people who have had too much to drink.
Dec. 1, 2005 - People who drive after using marijuana are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.
French researchers studied all drivers involved in fatal car crashes over a two-year period and found 7% tested positive for marijuana, including nearly 3% who tested positive for a combination of marijuana and alcohol.
Although marijuana's share of fatal crashes is much lower than those attributed to alcohol, researchers say the results show that marijuana use, even in low doses, significantly increases the risk of fatal car accidents.
More Pot, More Deaths
In the study, published in the medical journal BMJ, researchers reviewed information on 10,748 drivers who were involved in fatal car crashes and took required tests for drugs and alcohol.
Twice as many drivers involved in fatal car accidents tested positive for marijuana compared with a group of other drivers.
Researchers say about 2.5% of the fatal crashes were attributable to marijuana compared with nearly 29% attributable to alcohol.
The study also showed that drivers who tested positive for marijuana were more than three times as likely to be responsible for the fatal car crash. Researchers say the likelihood of being at fault increased as the blood concentration of marijuana increased.
To investigate the relationship between marijuana use prior to driving, habitual marijuana use and car crash injury Design and setting
Population based case–control study in Auckland, New Zealand. Participants
Case vehicles were all cars involved in crashes in which at least one occupant was hospitalized or killed anywhere in the Auckland region, and control vehicles were a random sample of cars driving on Auckland roads. The drivers of 571 case and 588 control vehicles completed a structured interview. Measurements
Self reported marijuana use in the 3 hours prior to the crash/survey and habitual marijuana use over the previous 12 months were recorded, along with a range of other variables potentially related to crash risk. The main outcome measure was hospitalization or death of a vehicle occupant due to car crash injury. Findings
Acute marijuana use was significantly associated with car crash injury, after controlling for the confounders age, gender, ethnicity, education level, passenger carriage, driving exposure and time of day (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.2–12.9). However, after adjustment for these confounders plus other risky driving at the time of the crash (blood alcohol concentration, seat-belt use, travelling speed and sleepiness score), the effect of acute marijuana intake was no longer significant (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.2–3.3). There was a strong significant association between habitual use and car crash injury after adjustment for all the above confounders plus acute use prior to driving (OR 9.5, 95% CI 2.8–32.3). Conclusions
This population-based case–control study indicates that habitual use of marijuana is strongly associated with car crash injury. The nature of the relationship between marijuana use and risk-taking is unclear and needs further research. The prevalence of marijuana use in this driving population was low, and acute use was associated with habitual marijuana use, suggesting that intervention strategies may be more effective if they are targeted towards high use groups.
Car accident risks increase under the influence of marijuana
In 2009, a Canadian study concluded that marijuana use and the reckless behaviour associated with car accidents are linked. Researchers found compelling evidence that marijuana plays a major role in impairment of perception which in turn adversely affects driving ability.
Professor Jacques Bergeron of the psychology department at the University of Montreal was the senior author of the study. He stated, "We observed that dangerous driving behaviors are interrelated. Individuals scoring high on impulsivity or sensation-seeking scales demonstrated an elevated risk of driving under the influence of cannabis."
Researchers observed 83 men aged between 17 and 49. Men were chosen for the study because their gender group is predisposed to undertake more risky behaviour such as driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC). The subjects answered questionnaires and were tested in driving simulators.
Results from the questionnaire revealed that 35 per cent of the participants had been involved in car accidents in the last three years that caused material damage.
Approximately 30 per cent of the men said they used marijuana. Interestingly 80 per cent of the respondents admitted to knowingly having driven whilst under the influence of marijuana on at least one occasion in the previous year.
Young men were found to be more impulsive and thrill seeking, and therefore more likely to drive while high on cannabis.
Researchers believe that even a low dose of marijuana significantly increases the risk of driving behaviour that could lead to serious car accidents.
Study author Isabelle Richer commented, "Our study found that men with self-reported DUIC tend to be associated with an increased risk of being involved in a car accident."
Researchers expressed an urgent requirement for education to deter men from driving after using marijuana.
Nah, that shit is safe... They don't know what they are talking about at all... -
queencitybuckeye
It does as you continue to debate a strawman.gut wrote:
Doesn't matter.
The concept of having to justify something being allowed by our government is so un-American to those of us who still get it, I can't do it. You win. Congratulations.I said make a good argument for legalizing it.
Which is why I never made it. Why are you being obtuse?The "can't regulate my body" is not a good argument. Try again. -
Fab1b
I never nor I didn't read anyone say it was safe to drive after smoking pot. I said many more crashes are caused by alcohol than weed but alcohol is ok??? I know damn well weed affects your judgement and no doubt could cause one to cause an accident but that isn't the issue here! -
queencitybuckeye
You're on the wrong topic. This one is about legalizing marijuana, and has nothing to do with driving stoned. You obviously meant to post this elsewhere, right? Otherwise, you're making a strawman argument, which is the refuge of the uneducated and dull.sonofsam wrote: Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving
[irrelevant and non-sourced material snipped]
Nah, that shit is safe... They don't know what they are talking about at all... -
SQ_Crazies
I'm not going to waste time arguing with someone who is paying attention to all the wrong parts of this argument. -
I Wear Pants
Should we outlaw everything that can cause bad driving?sonofsam wrote:
So most of the DUI crashes that kill people are not a direct result of the alcohol causing the person to lack attention... It was the beer he dropped on the floor that caused him to go left of center and kill someone right?SQ_Crazies wrote: Um...no? Over your head because you've bought into what the man has told you about weed. The weed didn't cause him to kill two people.
Absolute bullshit.
To those who do it, I have no issue with it... Its not my thing. But to not even be at the scene of an accident where the kid was wigged out of his gord and laughing because he was so damn high and pretend to "know" that the weed didn't cause this accident is just down right stupidity. This is my suggestion. put your wife and children in a car on a two-lane road and at the other end have 50 people getting baked off their asses drive toward them. When you do that and trust your fellow dopers, I will believe your statement. Until then check yourself because the weed is doing what it does best... Make your brain frazzled.
Why not just outlaw driving all together? That would have saved the lives of 42,636 people who died in car crashes in 2005. -
Writerbuckeye
My point exactly. All those figures cited earlier are inflated because it's ILLEGAL. Once it becomes mass produced, the price falls considerably. And there's no way you'll increase users enough to make up the difference.Al Bundy wrote:
Assuming a free market would be allowed, the price would be lowered until it reached a price where people would rather just buy it.krazie45 wrote:
Not necessarily true...you can grow your own tobacco too, but most people find it easier to just go to the store and buy a pack.Writerbuckeye wrote: The legalization arguments aside, if it WERE completely legal, there's no way the amounts of money being discussed in this topic would hold true.
The free market would drive the price of this waaaaaay down -- hell, anyone could grow it. Unless of course you're going to use the force of government to keep the cost artificially high (pun intended) by only allowing so many to grow, manufacture and produce it.
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sonofsam
There is no winner in this debate. Its not worth fighting over... I realize the topic of this thread, but if this crap were to become legalized, it would only add to the problem that already exists. I am actually really good friends with a cop that specializes in Drug Enforcement... Most of Ohio's weed comes from the Athens area... Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... 40% was laced in PCP or angel dust, and 22% was soaked in liquid draino to enhance the smoker's pleasure... I don't know about you, but if you aren't growing the stuff yourself, I might be a little hesitant to smoke it...
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SQ_Crazies
sonofsam wrote: There is no winner in this debate. Its not worth fighting over... I realize the topic of this thread, but if this crap were to become legalized, it would only add to the problem that already exists. I am actually really good friends with a cop that specializes in Drug Enforcement... Most of Ohio's weed comes from the Athens area... Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... 40% was laced in PCP or angel dust, and 22% was soaked in liquid draino to enhance the smoker's pleasure... I don't know about you, but if you aren't growing the stuff yourself, I might be a little hesitant to smoke it...
lmao -
queencitybuckeye
Which would go to zero percent were it made legal.sonofsam wrote: Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... -
Fab1b
94%+40%+22%=156% of the weed?????? something doesn't add up
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I Wear Pants
I don't know if I trust the word of someone specializing in Drug Enforcement. Seems that they have a vested interest (their job) in keeping drugs illegal.sonofsam wrote: There is no winner in this debate. Its not worth fighting over... I realize the topic of this thread, but if this crap were to become legalized, it would only add to the problem that already exists. I am actually really good friends with a cop that specializes in Drug Enforcement... Most of Ohio's weed comes from the Athens area... Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... 40% was laced in PCP or angel dust, and 22% was soaked in liquid draino to enhance the smoker's pleasure... I don't know about you, but if you aren't growing the stuff yourself, I might be a little hesitant to smoke it... -
sonofsam
How many cancer causing agents are in one cigarette? Smoking ONE joint is equivalent to 100 cigarettes... Can you imagine the "crap" they would put in them if they were legal to make??? Population control kinda shit.queencitybuckeye wrote:
Which would go to zero percent were it made legal.sonofsam wrote: Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... -
I Wear Pants
That's not true at all.sonofsam wrote:
How many cancer causing agents are in one cigarette? Smoking ONE joint is equivalent to 100 cigarettes... Can you imagine the "crap" they would put in them if they were legal to make??? Population control kinda shit.queencitybuckeye wrote:
Which would go to zero percent were it made legal.sonofsam wrote: Of the weed that has been seized in transport has shown that 94% of it was soaked in human urine to make it less detectable by drug dogs... -
Fab1b
1 joint = 100 cigs, come on
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I Wear PantsAnd besides, you don't have to smoke marijuana.
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Gardens35There's lots of shady characters and lots of dirty deals.
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I Wear PantsWhat does that have to do with anything?
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bamagirlThe difference is while I have to take a Migraine pill to get through the day it actually has medical benefits. I don't see the point of pot...or legalizing it since it's medical benefits are limited to one medical issue. As I said from the get go.
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Gardens35
Every name's an alias in case somebody squeals.I Wear Pants wrote: What does that have to do with anything? -
I Wear Pants
What are the medical benefits of alcohol?bamagirl wrote: The difference is while I have to take a Migraine pill to get through the day it actually has medical benefits. I don't see the point of pot...or legalizing it since it's medical benefits are limited to one medical issue. As I said from the get go. -
I Wear Pants
What?Gardens35 wrote:
Every name's an alias in case somebody squeals.I Wear Pants wrote: What does that have to do with anything? -
bamagirl
You'll notice I didn't mention that for a reason.I Wear Pants wrote:
What are the medical benefits of alcohol?bamagirl wrote: The difference is while I have to take a Migraine pill to get through the day it actually has medical benefits. I don't see the point of pot...or legalizing it since it's medical benefits are limited to one medical issue. As I said from the get go. -
Fab1b
bamagirl wrote: The difference is while I have to take a Migraine pill to get through the day it actually has medical benefits. I don't see the point of pot...or legalizing it since it's medical benefits are limited to one medical issue. As I said from the get go.
Really that is your reply, like one said what is the medicinal value of alcohol, tobacco, etc.....and the green has many medicinal values and is used in many forms to treat several ailments including cancer, glaucoma, pain issues, the list goes on and on.... -
I Wear Pants
I don't see your argument. So things should be legal or illegal because of their potential medical value?bamagirl wrote:
You'll notice I didn't mention that for a reason.I Wear Pants wrote:
What are the medical benefits of alcohol?bamagirl wrote: The difference is while I have to take a Migraine pill to get through the day it actually has medical benefits. I don't see the point of pot...or legalizing it since it's medical benefits are limited to one medical issue. As I said from the get go.