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Drugged Driving: Marijuana Not a Factor in Driving Accidents, Says Canadian Researcher
StopTheDrugWar | 04/14/2006

Moderate use of marijuana alone does not significantly increase a driver's risk of causing a traffic accident, a Canadian researcher said after conducting a "metanalysis" of existing research of the effects of the weed on driving ability and poring over traffic accident statistics from the US and Australia. University of Toronto researcher Alison Smiley, an adjunct professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, published her results last month after first presenting them a month earlier for the American Academy of Forensic Science.

While smoking marijuana does impair driving ability, as does alcohol, it crucially does not share alcohol's effects on judgment, Smiley said. Drivers high on marijuana are aware of their impairment and act to compensate for it by slowing down and driving more cautiously.

"Both substances impair performance," Smiley said in a University of Toronto press release. "However, the more cautious behavior of subjects who received marijuana decreases the drug's impact on performance. Their behavior is more appropriate to their impairment, whereas subjects who received alcohol tend to drive in a more risky manner."

While Smiley does not advocate legalizing the drug, she says her results should be considered by those debating mandatory drug tests for users of transportation equipment such as truck or train drivers, or the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use. "There's an assumption that because marijuana is illegal, it must increase the risk of an accident. We should try to just stick to the facts."

Such facts could prove helpful in blunting the appeal of "drugged driving" laws encouraged by the Office of National Drug Control Policy for the past two years. In that period, a number of states have passed laws under which a person could be convicted of impaired driving on the basis of metabolites in the blood or urine -- whether or not the person is actually impaired. Ohio was the latest state to do so, passing its law just last week.

(BuzzNote: Please note the first word of this article: "moderate".)

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http://www.marijuana.com/420/showthread.php?t=45563
Someone really should forward a copy of the results of Ms. Smiley's study to Mr. Guy Farmer of the Nevada Appeal found in the link above.

I really wish they would not refer to "Drug Testing" as if Marijuana is the only drug tested for or regulated against. I know the meaning of her statements only include marijuana, but she should make a distinction between marijuana and other drugs in all her statements. It might help the legalization or decriminalization if there were a separation of marijuana from "drugs"; at least in articles and speeches.

The 4 other banned substances tested for in DOT regulations (used both illegally and legally) definetly DO impair the ability to operate a motor vehicle. I would not like to see the testing program ended, but I would like to see a modification to the cut-off level of marijuana, or at least have a more reliable method indicating the level of impairment of an operator due to cannibus use.

For example: On the breathalyzer, if a driver tests 0.02 or less there is no repercussions. The driver goes about his day. If the driver tests over 0.02 up to 0.04 (confirmed), the driver is sent home for 24 hours (at least removed from his/her safety sensitive position. If the driver tests over 0.04 (confirmed), then he/she must be evaluated by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) specially trained in DOT regs, attend the recommended treatment (ranging from 1-2 AA meetings to a 30 day in-patient treatment), be re-evaluated by the SAP and then re-tested up to 7 times over the following 12 months before he/she can return to his/her safety sensitive position.

This option is not available for marijuana users. If a driver smokes only one joint in his life on a Saturday, and he/she happens to be randomly selected for testing 2 days later on Monday when he/she goes back to work, it could make his/her life difficult for quite some time (5 years to be exact).

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