Marijuana - Marijuana and Driving

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Marijuana
 and
 Driving
 
• Marijuana is directly linked to impaired driving. A meta--analysis published in the peer-reviewed 2012 edition of Epidemiological Reviews looked at nine studies conducted over the past two decades on marijuana and car-crash risk. It concluded, “drivers who test positive for marijuana or self--report using marijuana are more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in motor vehicle crashes.”i Another recent meta--analysis of nine studies found that marijuana “…use by drivers is associated with a significantly increased risk of being involved in motor vehicle crashes.”iii





A widely cited article in the British Medical Journal from 2012 concluded that marijuana use doubles the risk of car crashes.ii



For
 the
 United
 States
 in
 2009,
 63%
 of
 fatally
 injured
 drivers
 were
 tested
 for the
 presence
 of
 drugs,
 which
 is
 equivalent
 to
 3,952
 fatally,
 injured
 drivers. Narcotics
 and
 cannabinoids
 accounted
 for
 almost
 half
 of
 all
 positive
 results.iv Three
 decades
 of
 education
 on
 drunk
 driving
 and
 tough
 laws
 have
 had
 the direct
 effect
 of
 reducing
 alcohol-­‐related
 car
 crashes
 dramatically
 in
 the
 last thirty
 years.
 In
 fact,
 a
 recent
 survey
 by
 the
 U.S.
 Department
 of
 Transportation found
 that
 1
 in
 40
 nighttime,
 weekend
 drivers
 tested
 positive
 for
 a
 blood alcohol
 content
 (BAC)
 level
 of
 0.08
 —
 a
 70
 percent
 reduction
 since
 1973.
 The survey
 tested
 other
 drugs
 for
 the
 first
 time
 and
 found
 that
 1
 in
 12
 tested positive
 for
 marijuana.
 Data
 from
 peer-­‐reviewed,
 published
 research
 finds that
 marijuana
 impairs
 motor
 coordination,
 reaction
 time,
 attentiveness,
 and perception
 of
 time
 and
 speed. In
 a
 study
 of
 seriously
 injured
 drivers
 admitted
 to
 a
 Levelt 1
 shock
  trauma center,
 more
 than
 a
 quarter
 of
 all
 drivers
 tested
 positive
 for
  marijuana. Research
 conducted
 at
 the
 University
 of
 Auckland,
 New
  Zealand
 found
 that





habitual
 marijuana
 users
 were
 9.5
 times
 more
 likely
 to
 be
 involved
 in
  crashes,
 with
 5.6
 percent
 of
 people
 who
 had
 crashed
 having
 taken
 the
 drug,
  compared
 to
 0.5
 percent
 of
 the
 control
 group.
 
 

i
 Mu-­‐Chen
 Li,
 Joanne
 E.
 Brady,
 Charles
 J.
 DiMaggio,
 Arielle
 R.
 Lusardi,
 Keane
 Y
 Tzong,
 and
 Guohua
 Li
  ii
 M.
 Asbridge,
 J.
 A.
 Hayden,
 J.
 L.
 Cartwright.
 Acute
 cannabis
 consumption
 and
 motor
 vehicle
 collision
 

risk:
 systematic
 review
 of
 observational
 studies
 and
 meta-­‐analysis.
 BMJ,
 2012;
 344
 (feb09
 2):
 e536
  DOI:10.1136/bmj.e536
 
 
 
iii
 Li,
 M.,
 Brady,
 J.,
 DiMaggio,
 C.,
 Lusardi,
 R.,
 Tzong,
 K.
 and
 Li,
 G.
 (in
 press).
 Cannabis
 use
 and
 motor
 

vehicle
 crashes.
 Epidemiologic
 Reviews.
 
 
 
iv
 http://nationalallianceformarijuanaprevention.org/wp-­‐

content/uploads/2012/08/fars_report_Fatally-­‐injured-­‐drivers-­‐october_2011-­‐Excerpt.pdf
 

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