Driving marijuana may not be as dangerous as prescription drugs

Since states legalized marijuana for one reason or another, law enforcement agencies, politicians, and everyone else who voted against a progressive America have risen against the herb. They fear that there could be an increase in the number of dangerous drivers on the road. Yes, stoned driving is the new enemy of the nation’s sober soldiers, although there is no actual evidence that operating a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana is so treacherous.

In fact, a new study finds that driving stoned isn’t necessarily the safest thing a person can do, but is actually much less dangerous than driving with a head full of prescription drugs.

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Researchers at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney recently set out to investigate the effectiveness of cannabis laws without tolerance. In fact, in some parts of the world it is illegal to drive with THC in your system, even if it doesn’t necessarily mean the driver is impaired. There is no valid device for detecting cannabis impairment which is why there is so much controversy surrounding stoned driving. Nobody can tell who is high and who is not. So 16 states have banned testing positive at all.

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However, this particular study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, shows that driving while under the influence of marijuana is not as risky as it is with many other heavily prescribed drugs “like antidepressants, opioids, and benzodiazepines.” The study shows that drivers who drive through the city on prescription drugs are more than twice as likely to have a traffic accident than sober drivers. Stoned marijuana users behind the wheel were only about 1-1.4 times more likely to be involved in an accident than their sober counterparts – which shows that marijuana is not exactly safe on the road, but more so than opioids and benzos.

“The road safety risks associated with medical cannabis appear to be similar or less than many other potentially debilitating prescription drugs.” wrote the study authors. “The use of presence-based crime on medical cannabis patients appears to derive from the historical status of cannabis as a banned drug with no legitimate medical use. We conclude that there is little evidence in purely medical access models to justify treating patients differently with medicinal cannabis versus those taking other prescription drugs with potentially debilitating effects. “

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Interestingly, antidepressants, opioids, and benzodiazepines are used daily by tens of thousands of Americans who have absolutely no qualms about driving with them in their system. Why? Because they were prescribed by a doctor and a medical professional would not dare give them a drug that could affect their ability to drive. Yes exactly.

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Although these drugs come with warnings telling patients to avoid using automobiles or heavy machinery, the labels are mostly ignored. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies in states where marijuana is legal are determined to kidnap drug drivers (DUID). These offenses have many of the same effects as a drunk driving arrest. There are high fines, license loss and even drug classes.

The only consolation is that these cases can (and should) be tried in court as there is no standard detection device for THC impairment. Marijuana DUID cases are often thrown out of court in legal states simply because impairment cannot be proven. Unfortunately, these penalties cannot be avoided in zero tolerance states.

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Other research published over the years has shown similar results. In the end, it seems that the zero tolerance laws need to be reconsidered. Indiana recently changed its zero tolerance Guideline to offer positive defense to motorists if they test positive for THC. While far from perfect, it gives motorists with THC in their system at least one chance to avoid being convicted of DUID.