Stoned driving is far safer than driving a vehicle with prescription drugs, says one study

Picture over

According to a new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, driving a car while stoned is far safer than driving under the influence of prescription drugs or other legal drugs.

A team of Australian researchers set out to test the validity of zero tolerance THC driving laws by looking at the number of times Australians involved in road accidents tested positive for cannabis, opioids, or other drugs. An analysis of accident data found that the risks of driving while under the influence of cannabis are significantly lower than with many legal prescription drugs.

Study author Iain McGregor, professor at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney, told the Australian Associated Press that the risk of driving under the influence of cannabis “is significantly lower than with many drugs such as antidepressants, opioids and benzodiazepines. ”

According to the study, drivers under the influence of opioids and benzodiazepines are more than twice as likely to be involved in a traffic accident as sober drivers. In contrast, drivers who tested positive for grass only have a 1.1 to 1.4 times higher risk of accidents. The study authors report that driving with a stone is just as risky as driving with a blood alcohol limit (BAC) of 0.02 to 0.05 percent.

In the US, it is perfectly legal to drive with a BAC of up to 0.08 percent, and in Australia, it is legal to drive with a BAC of up to 0.05 percent. But driving a car while under the influence of cannabis in any amount is illegal almost everywhere, even if it’s no riskier than driving after drinking a beer or two.

“The road safety risks associated with medical cannabis appear to be similar to or less than many other potentially debilitating prescription drugs,” the study authors concluded. “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.”

The researchers point out that extreme zero-tolerance drug laws force patients who legally use medical marijuana to choose between driving a car and taking their medication. “This approach results in harm to patients, including criminal penalties if they are not impaired and taking the drug as directed by their doctor, or loss of car use and associated mobility,” the researchers explain. “Others who have to drive are excluded from access to a required drug and the associated therapeutic benefits.”

The present study supports previous research that confirms that the fear of stoned driving is largely overrated. In 2019, Canadian researchers discovered that alcohol, prescription tranquilizers, and recreational drugs are far more likely to be responsible for traffic accidents than cannabis.

Other researchers haven’t found a significant link between cannabis use and traffic accidents, and another study reports that road deaths are actually decreasing in U.S. states where medical marijuana is legal.