Canadians are OK when getting high on cannabis – Cannabis News, Lifestyle

An online poll conducted by EKOS states that 33 percent of Canadians have no problem driving high on cannabis. Although the language of the poll results report insists it is “drug driving”. The survey does not address the assumption that cannabis-influenced driving is harmful. It merely repeats the established narrative and then records the Canadian responses. Luckily, Canadian cannabis users don’t believe the government’s propaganda and are fine with getting high on cannabis.

Of the 58% of Canadians who have tried cannabis, 26% have taken to the streets after using it. The survey analyzed 2,193 responses via a self-administered online questionnaire. Within the group of approved stoned drivers, only 10 percent said they were unaware of the risks. 23 percent said they could still drive safely and 39 percent said they didn’t feel affected.

What is depreciation?

And that’s why these Canadians are okay with driving high on cannabis. You don’t feel high. Hemp is not alcohol. No matter how often you drink, six beers will affect you, unlike cannabis where if you smoke a quarter of a week for 20 years, then a bowl or a joint won’t do much in terms of impairment. If anything, the law of diminishing returns suggests that cannabis becomes a stimulant at this point. Not having cannabis before driving would be like a longtime coffee drinker who doesn’t drink coffee. Technically possible, but you put yourself and others at risk.

The same applies to children in the back seat or a dog. (The guy who hit and nearly killed author Stephen King was dealing with dogs in his back seat.)

What about people who are just bad drivers? In Ontario, outside of GTA, it’s not uncommon to hear “Toronto driver” synonymous with a bad driver. Not every driver from Toronto is a bad driver, and not every lousy driver is from Toronto. But the term “Toronto driver” implies someone who is completely oblivious to others on the road. They rarely or never use their blinkers. Blind spot? Isn’t that the point of mirrors? And the far left lane is their private lane. Didn’t you know? The left lane belongs to the Toronto driver, no matter how slow he drives, and you’re the asshole if you expect him to cross the road.

The federal government is warning Canadians about the alleged risks of driving while high. But what about the dangers of the Toronto driver? Road and car registration are government responsibilities. Perhaps it is time to ditch the notion of “market failure” and recognize that government control over these sectors is making us (and our streets) unsafe.

Canadians don’t approve of driving high on cannabis

“There is no good excuse for driving with a disability, and being a passenger with a disabled driver is also risky,” a government website tells Canadians. In 2017, the public safety bureaucracy launched a “Don’t Drive High” campaign. The government said the campaign was a success, although 1/3 of Canadians are still okay with getting high on cannabis.

MADD Canada is not pleased with the results of this latest survey. Eric Dumschat, Legal Director of MADD Canada, said, “There’s this persistent myth that driving under the influence of cannabis is … a better driver than when you’re sober.”

He said MADD Canada is having some difficulties countering this myth. As awareness can only go so far, Dumschat says governments need to step up and give police more training and powers to conduct on-site sobriety testing.

But where is the logic here? If the police have to use “drug detection assessment and oral fluid screening technology” to confirm you’re high, can you be so impaired?

Take a drunk driver. You are impaired. Even die-hard drinkers know that the drug affects their reaction time and motor skills. So why are cannabis connoisseurs so stubborn? Why don’t they let this myth die?

Maybe it’s because the myth is true. Cannabis is not a poison that the body treats like poison. Cannabis works positively with our endocannabinoid system. It doesn’t affect everyone. For some, ingesting cannabis is like caffeine. For almost everyone, grabbing a dollop of cannabis oil and getting behind the wheel is no fun. But for most cannabis connoisseurs, a bit of THC before you hit the road is like a shot of espresso.

Canadians are okay with getting high on cannabis – so focus on something else

86% of respondents agreed that cannabis affects driving ability. But that 86% included people who don’t use often. Or at all. So what about the Canadians who are OK with driving high on cannabis?

Eugene Oscapella isn’t technically one of those people. He said: “It’s not a good idea to drive when you’re disabled, but … we have to be mindful of the problem, the severity of the problem and other factors that can make driving dangerous for other people.” , to locate.”

Eugene, who teaches drug policy at Ottawa University, said he would like the government to focus on more dangerous driving behaviors. He cites alcohol, prescription drugs and lack of sleep as more pressing than cannabis.

Cannabis only becomes a real problem, Eugene says, when it’s combined with one of those other drugs, like alcohol.

“There will be a percentage of the population – regardless of the advertising campaigns, regardless of the penalties – who will drive in situations where they have been affected by alcohol or a drug.

“I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t know if there is an answer,” Eugene said.

A possible answer

In The Privatization of Roads and Highways, economist Walter Block addresses the issues raised by Eugene. To quote Block,

“What’s the best way to stop driving while drunk? Higher penalties? More value on driver training? More police surveillance? Rewards for exemplary driving? Payment to Join Alcoholics Anonymous? The same principles apply here as well. Privatize vehicle transportation routes and rely on the new owners to find solutions under the guidance of the free economy’s profit-and-loss system.

“Of course, one of this new generation of highway owners would be MADD. Under such a system, a revitalized and reinvigorated MADD as an organization would be able to implement its own policies on drinking while driving, speeding, whatever. It would have to use its chances in competition with all other market participants in this branch, but that is the way of the market system.

“By contrast, there is simply no leadership for MADD right now under a road system that would put a smile on the face of a Russian commissioner. Compare your situation to that of Ducks Unlimited, the Western Wilderness Society, or another environmental group. They are not marginalized in their analog realm, but limited to giving advice and, in a word, begging the powerful. Of course they can do these things. But they can also buy up huge tracts of land (they couldn’t do that in the USSR) and manage them as they please. Why would MADD accept its current subordinate status to these other groups?”