Alcohol Impairs Driving More Than Marijuana

New Scientist ^

[rdww]

Anyone who was of a certain age in the '70's could tell you they'd rather have had a stoner behind the wheel than a drinker.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I hated driving stoned. I thought every car behind me was an undercover cop.

They were..... lol

[MadRobotArtist]

I see Operation "Duh" is in effect. Let's teach people that it's okay to get high, and better for you than booze. Of course, if you drink and get high, you're just another troglodyte that needs to be kept at home so that way you don't endanger the rest of society. God I hate this dumbing down crapola we're being fed. Worse yet, kids get this idea faster than adults.

[Kermit]

This is not news, it's been known for years. I say ban alcohol, the worst and most damaging drug out there. How can you be for drunk driving? You must ban alcohol.

[Victoria Delsoul]

However, volunteers drinking the equivalent of a glass of wine fared worse than those who had smoked a joint. Those who were given both alcohol and cannabis performed worse still, reinforcing the idea that alcohol has a cumulative effect when taken with other drugs.

That's right.

[a history buff]

Do you have any citations for your theories? In the past you haven't!

[mewzilla]

Gee, I have a novel idea. How about we just don't drive impaired? Period.

[Doctor Stochastic]

But pot smokers don't just smoke one joint. They smoke several a week, or more commonly, several each day.

Don't drinkers also take more than one beer a week? Sometimes more than one drink a day?

Of course, driving while impaired for any reason is a problem. Driving with a migrane is a problem too.

[Nate505]

It's hard to get into many major accidents when you're driving 4 miles per hour...

[Nate505]

Of course, driving while impaired for any reason is a problem. Driving with a migrane is a problem too.

Agreed. One of the worst is driving while exhausted, but people try to push themselves all the time. I've been guilty of it myself. One time I had to catch myself from falling asleep at the wheel. Scared the living hell out of me (in fact, it was one of the most frightening experiences of my life). After that I vowed to never do it again....which I haven't yet.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Alcohol Impairs Driving More Than Marijuana

Well DUH!

[JediGirl]

Marijuana has a long half life. One joint may not impair immediately afterward as much as one glass of wine. But pot smokers don't just smoke one joint. They smoke several a week, or more commonly, several each day.

Says who? And, so what?

[JediGirl]

Of course, driving while impaired for any reason is a problem. Driving with a migrane is a problem too.

And I'm sure driving while on speed is viewed as impairment but I was on quite a high dosage of amphetamine for treatment of ADD and could have been driving if I would have got off my rear end and got my driver's license. I'd say that many prescription drugs impair you just as much if not more than marijuana. And regardless, driving impaired isn't a great idea, but it doesn't mean that alcohol or marijuana should be illegal. Tell that to conservatives, though.

[lugsoul]

I can't believe that a doctor, with a background in scientific method, would make a statement along the lines of "more commonly, [pot smokers] smoke several [joints] each day." You are well aware that anyone who does so falls into the category of a "chronic" pot smoker (NPI).

There is absolutely no statistical evidence to back up your assertion, and, based on your own comments about the persistent effects of marijuana, anyone who did so would be high pretty much all the time. While this may be "common" among small groups on some college campuses, it is hardly "common" among the general population. You should be a little more careful with your assertions.

[Joe Hadenuf]

In the 70's pot used make me stop four hundred yards from a stop light and admire the colors.

They should study your brain.

[Snuffington]

the complex way alcohol and cannabis combine to affect driving behaviour suggests that someone who has taken both may drive less recklessly than a person who is simply drunk.

Hurray! Instead of sobering up before driving, now I can simply take a few bong hits and safely drive home.

[NC_Libertarian]

This isn't new news. As has been mentioned on FR before there were two indpendant studies done by both the U.S. and the U.K. that found that drivers under the influence of canabis were safer then regular drivers - as they were more carefull and less agressive.

Advocates of zero tolerance say there should be penalties for drivers caught with any amount of recently smoked cannabis in their body. The new research suggests that would only be credible if governments also adopted zero tolerance on drink driving.

Sounds good to me.

[NC_Libertarian]

In the 70's pot used make me stop four hundred yards from a stop light and admire the colors.

It's better then stopping at a stop sign and waiting for it to turn green.

[NC_Libertarian]

God bless cruise control.

[NC_Libertarian]

Driving with a migrane is a problem too.

How about driving with your emotions. Some of these nut cases on the road are pretty scary.

I'd take a stoned driver over some of these road rage people any day of the week.