People Against Drink/Drug Driving

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November 30, 2020

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Check out a few key frequently asked questions and answers about drug-impaired driving below.

What is drug-impaired driving? Driving under the influence of over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, marijuana, or illegal drugs.

How common is drug-impaired driving?  In 2019, 13.7 million people (ages 16 and older) drove after using illicit drugs. Of that total,12.8 million people were under the influence of marijuana (2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables).

This is an increase from 2018 when 12.6 million people (aged 16 and older) admitted to driving after using drugs.

In 2016, 44 percent of drivers in fatal car crashes (with known results) tested positive for drugs, according to a report entitled "Drug-Impaired Driving: Marijuana and Opioids Raise Critical Issues for States" by the Governors Highway Safety Association. This is up from 28 percent in 2006. 
 

Why is drug-impaired driving dangerous? Over-the-counter (OTC) medications and drugs affect the brain and can alter perception, mental processes, attention, balance, coordination, reaction time and other abilities required for safe driving. Even small amounts of some drugs can have a serious effect on driving ability.

A national survey showed 22.5% of night-time weekend drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or OTC drugs that can impair driving. (Drug-Impaired Driving: A Guide for States, April 2017. NHTSA 2014 Drug-Impaired Driving Survey, April 2017. NHTSA 2014 Drug-Impaired Driving Survey, April 2017. NHTSA 2014 Drug-Impaired Driving Survey)
 

What substances are used the most when driving? After alcohol, marijuana is the most commonly used drug. (Source: National Institute of Drug Abuse)
 

What happens when you use drugs and drive? Marijuana can decrease a person’s ability to drive a car. It slows reaction time, impairs a driver’s concentration and attention, and reduces hand-eye coordination. It is dangerous to drive after mixing alcohol and marijuana. Driving after using prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicine, such as cough suppressants, antihistamines, sleeping aids, and anti-anxiety medications may impair driving ability.

Check out the graphic below from the National Institute on Drug Abuse about the effects different drugs can have on driving (click to enlarge).

Is it legal? Even in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, driving while under the influence of marijuana is still illegal. Unfortunately, too many people are misinformed. A study conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) found that a third of all teens believe it is legal to drive under the influence of marijuana. In addition 27 percent of parents believed it was legal.

Not only is driving while high illegal, it's also very dangerous. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the effects of marijuana can include: altered senses and sense of time, slow reaction time, anxiety, hallucinations and more.

For complete article

Dec 2, 2020

Cannabidiol (CBD) – a key component of medicinal cannabis products – does not impair driving, a landmark study led by Australian researchers has found.

Researchers found that a moderate amount of THC produces mild driving impairment, but the effects wear off after four hours.

The study is the first to show the lack of CBD effects on driving and to provide a clear indication of the duration of THC impairment.

The study was led by researchers from the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney and conducted at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Previous studies have looked at the effects of cannabis on driving, but they have not “precisely quantified the duration of impairment” from THC, and most have overlooked CBD entirely.

“This is the first study to illustrate the lack of CBD effects on driving and to also provide a clear indication of the duration of THC impairment,” Professor McGregor said.

He said the results “should reassure people using CBD-only products that they are most likely safe to drive, while helping patients using THC-dominant products to understand the duration of impairment”. For complete article  New Daily.Com.au

But this new single study is at odds of other research ...

Those findings don’t gel with prior research. Asbridge et al (2012) completed a systematic review and concluded that cannabis contributed to vehicle collision risk. In their review of trends in states and nations that have legalised, Fischer et al (2020) note that cannabis-related road fatalities show a tend to have increased.

Asbridge M, Hayden JA, Cartwright JL. (2012) Acute cannabis consumption and motor vehicle collision risk: systematic review of observational studies and meta-analysis. BMJ. 344:e536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e536.

Fischer B, Daldegan-Bueno D, Boden JM. (2020) Facing the option for the legalisation of cannabis use and supply in New Zealand: An overview of relevant evidence, concepts and considerations. Drug Alcohol Rev. 39(5):555-567. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13087.

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