So by now most people are pretty aware of what happens when you booze it up before getting behind the wheel. But what about smoking up?
According to new research by Dalhousie University, marijuana smokers under the influence are "twice as likely to cause a car, bus or motorcycle crash as those with no drugs or alcohol in their system." As does this.
The study, which currently appears in the British Medical Journal, claims marijuana “impairs brain and motor functions needed for safe driving,” although many people don't pay the dangers much creedence.
The study incorporated nine studies of close to 50,000 people worldwide who'd been involved in serious or fatal road crashes. In cases where tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active chemical in cannabis, was consumed less than three hours before the subject got behind the wheel, the risk of collision almost doubled.
“Our findings provide clarity to the large body of research on cannabis and collision risk," says Mark Asbridge, study author and associate professor at the department of community health and epidemiology at Dalhousie University. “They also offer support to existing policies, in many jurisdictions, that restrict driving under the influence of cannabis, and direct public health officials to devote greater attention to this issue.”
Even though alcohol is still the primarily substance linked to crashes, shouldn't similar 'zero tolerance' policy exist for spliffed-up drivers?
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