Data shows how THC affects driving

With recreational marijuana in 24 states and medical marijuana in 40 states, legal cannabis is widely available. Now, thanks to a landmark study, data shows how THC affects driving. It contains CBD and provides consumers with informed guidelines before getting behind the wheel of a car.

suggests that low doses of CBD have no effect on people’s ability to drive. It was also found that while THC is capable of impairing drivers, the effects wear off within a four-hour period.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to analyze the effects of CBD on driving while providing more information about how THC affects us behind the wheel.

“These results suggest for the first time that CBD, when administered without THC, does not affect a subject’s ability to drive. This is great news for those seeking or considering treatment with CBD-based products,” said study lead author Dr. Thomas Arkell.

Photo by William Krause via Unsplash

Researchers studied 26 healthy adults who were randomly given four different types of inhaled, vaporized cannabis. The cannabis administered consisted of various mixtures of THC, CBD and placebo cannabis with no active ingredients. These volunteers were then asked to undertake a one-hour drive on a public road under controlled but realistic conditions, driving a double-drive car with a driving instructor. Participants had to make two separate trips, one after 40 minutes of consumption and the other four hours after consumption.

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The results showed that subjects who consumed strains containing pure CBD were not impaired while driving at any time. However, subjects who consumed strains of CBD and THC or pure THC experienced mild impairment on their first ride, 40 minutes after consumption. When these test subjects started their second journey four hours after consumption, there was no noticeable impairment.

“As cannabis laws change around the world, jurisdictions are grappling with the issue of cannabis-impaired driving. “These results provide much-needed insight into the extent and duration of impairment caused by different types of cannabis and can guide road safety policy not only in Australia but around the world,” Dr. Arkell.

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Driving under the influence of THC is a much-discussed topic. Industry manufacturers are working on devices that can measure THC intoxication, but the technology doesn’t yet exist. In the meantime, more information and studies are needed to learn more about the subject, to properly measure the amount of THC that is in the person, and to provide advice on how to deal with them if they are caught driving.