Top

blog

Stories

 

Marijuana Users Behind The Wheel Exceed Drunk Drivers, One Study Reports

Categories: Marijuana

Thumbnail image for cheech chong smoke lowrider.jpg
In California, home of the legal medical marijuana dispensary, there has been a lot of concern about stoned driving and whether or not it's bad for your road skills (most legit studies seem to say it is).

Now comes research out of Canada that claims young adults -- college-age people -- are driving stoned more often than they're driving drunk. Not that driving drunk is good.

But is this bad news?


The study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto looked at 3,039 adults and found that those in the 18-29 range were more likely to get stoned and drive than drink and drive.

In fact nearly one in 10 of those respondents (9 percent) said they drove within an hour of toking up; only six percent said they drove within an hour after having two or more drinks.

Dr. Robert Mann, CAMH Senior Scientist and lead researcher:

marijuan bud jars @That_Dude69.JPG
@That_Dude69

More young adults are reporting that they drive within an hour of using cannabis - even more than those who report drinking and driving.

The Centre says weed smokers, however, are generally aging, with those over 50 representing 16 percent of all adult tokers -- a percentage five times higher than the oldsters who smoked in 1977.

The Cheech & Chong generation lives.

[Read more here].


My Voice Nation Help
14 comments
Rana Schindler
Rana Schindler

I dont live in the city...but I DO wait at least 2 hours before i drive

harrymurkin
harrymurkin

Yes, i drive much better stoned than drunk.

Kris Noble
Kris Noble

I dunno about statistics, I'm just not happy sharing the road with people who are high or drunk, both are as dangerous as the next in my opinion.

Marco Salgado
Marco Salgado

LMAO @ Jovida Alvarez Diaz... Driving 20 mph. Hahahaha!!!

Rhoberly Gillon
Rhoberly Gillon

What does being liberal have to do with it Geoffery? There are all sorts of people who smoke it, why do you have to point to one particular political party. Stupid!

Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly like.author.displayName 1 Like

Better than having drunken dumbasses driving.

Sedonasherpa
Sedonasherpa

Dennis, at least 30 people have been killed (slow death) in your beloved porn industry...and that is 30 x more than the death count of cannabis users/drivers and hang-glider pilots!Next!

jeromekjerome
jeromekjerome

This is an interesting study.  I read it a couple of hours ago.  I now plan to bring to market a vaporizor that runs on 12 volts.

But one should remember that other studies show that stoned drivers tend to react by driving slower and increasing the distance between themselves and the car in front of them.  They know they are impaired and they try to compensate.  Mostly these are the guys driving 35 mph on the shoulder of the freeway trying to figure out if they missed their exit.  They are more a nuisance than a danger.

djromero
djromero moderator editortopcommenter

@jeromekjerome Thanks for your feedback, but you couldn't have read this study a couple years ago, because it was just released yesterday and it's based on research from this year.

Now Trending

From the Vault

 

General

Home

©2013 LA Weekly, LP, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Los Angeles

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city