Alcohol Impairs Driving More Than Marijuana

New Scientist ^

[NC_Libertarian]

Live and learn. Yep, driving sleepy is a bad idea. I figure an accident is never worth the price of a night at a motel.

[NC_Libertarian]

Says the good and compasionate doctor. She has no idea what she's talking about in regards to marijuana smokers.

I'm sure working as a doctor skews your view of marijuana and trampolines.

I'm an evil pot smoker and if I'm smokeing a joint, I smoke half of one, and that's maybye a couple of times per week. I usually use a water pipe though.

But really, we should all wear three feet of padding and stay inside with the doors locked, where we're safe.

[-YYZ-]

Yep, time we started testing for impairment, rather than intoxication. What a radical concept, eh? That way we could fairly arrest and charge all those who are impaired, whether from alcohol, pot, antihistamines, prescription drugs, lack of sleep, etc. Does it really matter why someone is impaired, if they're behind the wheel?

There are jobs where employees have to pass such a test before they start each shift. I knew some guys who worked in an oil refinery who had to take a computerized impairment test before they started their shift. If you failed to pass it, you were sent home. If this happened repeatedly, you would be fired.

[GSWarrior]

I think the author needs to find a new source for his weed.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Alcohol Impairs Driving More Than Marijuana

Look, this is not even debatable. I just happen to know a guy that is unfortunate enough to be a big city jailer. He has told me countless times that without a doubt, the most dangerous, the most likely to be injured, or injure someone else, is the drunks. Hands down.

Just last week he told me about a drunk was sitting on a top bunk of his cell, nodded out and fell face first onto the concrete floor, breaking five of his front teeth out. I could go on. This guy has probably 5 years jail experience, and tell me, he would rather deal with anyone, except a drunk.

[JediGirl]

But really, we should all wear three feet of padding and stay inside with the doors locked, where we're safe.

Why stop at three? I'm thinking more along the lines of 8. Nor should we ever eat fried foods or anything with more than 30 percent of calories from fat or go for a walk, or own a dog, or have children. I'm sure we could all think of more.

[LadyDoc]

In self reporting surveys, Forty percent of high school seniors have tried marijuana. Twenty percent have used it in the last month. Six percent of high schol seniors use marijuana daily. Since this is a survey, and since random drug tests in some inner city high schools show 80 percent postive for drugs, I suspect the usage is higer than the self reported statistics. ( the rule in medicine for alcohol and cigarettes is to multiply the claimed number of drinks per day twofold to get a good estimate).

Forty percent of ER visits test postive for marijuana. Eighty percent of those arrested test postive for drugs.

Essentially the "test" here is to compare a person who takes a drink versus the `person who smokes one joint. But the problem is that one experiment won't turn everyone into pot heads (forty percent of Americans have tried marijuana). The problem is that one out of six who have ever used marijuana are using it daily. Since many of the statistics falsely increase drug statistics to include every 50 year old yuppie who smoked one joint (but didn't inhale) as a "user", you can see why I said that daily use is common.

Before you guys and girls spout off that I am making up statistics, try going to the CDC or CASA or the NIH websites for statistics.

[general_re]

Before you guys and girls spout off that I am making up statistics, try going to the CDC or CASA or the NIH websites for statistics.

Well, I did. And I'd like to see a cite for this assertion of yours...

The problem is that one out of six who have ever used marijuana are using it daily.

...because I'll be frank - I think you just made that number up.

Source.

Essentially, what the government would have me believe is that about one in ten people who have used marijuana in the past year are using it almost daily, but you want me to believe that one in six people who have ever used marijuana are using it daily - and not "almost" daily, as the government's numbers indicate, but daily.

Furthermore, if you go to this page, Table F.2 clearly indicates that, of persons age 12 or older in the year 2000, 34.2% indicate having used marijuana or hashish in their lifetimes, and 4.8% indicate having used it within the last month. Now, if only one out of every seven lifetime users have used it in the last month, how, pray tell, is it possible that "one out of six" lifetime users are using daily?

[lugsoul]

Yep - you are making it up. And General Re pretty much got ya on that. As a doctor, you should be ashamed.

But you still haven't answered my question. I wasn't challenging your assertion of everyday use. I challenged your assertion that those who use daily (or almost daily) smoke "several" joints each day. And you made that one up, too.

[dead]

A single glass of wine will impair your driving more than smoking a joint.

I’m as anti-WOD as anybody, but I don’t believe this statement for a second.

[dead]

The problem is that one out of six who have ever used marijuana are using it daily.

That is the most absurd statement I’ve ever read!

I must know 300 people who’ve smoked pot, and I don’t know any who use it daily (anymore, at least). Most of them have stopped completely, or partake before a concert or something once or twice a year.

[1Old Pro]

I must know 300 people who’ve smoked pot, and I don’t know any who use it daily (anymore, at least). Most of them have stopped completely, or partake before a concert or something once or twice a year.

I'll second that