CURRENT EVENTS

Inside Cartel Infiltration in California Growing Areas with Sheriff William Honsal | Impaired Driving: Roadside Drug Testing a Deterrence  | Cannabis & Medical Use: Insufficient evidence for most medical indications | Marijuana Grows Sites: Chemical contaminants linger in soil | Cannabis and Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery | Inside Cartel Infiltration in California Growing Areas with Sheriff William Honsal | Impaired Driving: Roadside Drug Testing a Deterrence  | Cannabis & Medical Use: Insufficient evidence for most medical indications | Marijuana Grows Sites: Chemical contaminants linger in soil | Cannabis and Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery |
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Tag: impaired driving

Impaired Driving: Roadside Drug Testing a Deterrence 

According to a recently released study of over 2,600 cannabis users from Australia, 69% of respondent (n=1,790) said the chance of being contacted by police and submitting to “roadside drug testing”  was a deterring factor in choosing to drive after consuming cannabis.  For those caught driving after using a cannabis product, nearly 20% of respondents […]

Cannabis & Driving: Impairment in Older, THC Experienced, Adults

Even after years of prior cannabis use, product use prior to driving can still cause impairment in older / substance experienced drivers, ages 65 – 79 years. These were among the findings of authors (DiCiano, P. et.al.) recently released in JAMA (January 2024) evaluating cannabis and its influence upon impaired driving among older adults. Researchers […]

Legal Cannabis Sales and Car Crashes: Injury and Fatal Crash Rates Increase

The legalization and sale of marijuana for adult use is linked to increased risks of both injury and fatal car crashes. These were the finding of researchers seeking to gain insight into marijuana’s legalization and its impacts on traffic safety, released in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (Vol. 83, Issue 4) in […]

Increased THC Detection In Injured Drivers: British Columbia 

Since Canada legalized marijuana in 2018, injured drivers in British Columbia testing positive for THC have increased by 126%. This study, released in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported increases of detected THC blood levels in injured drivers when compared to pre-legalization data. The greatest post-legalization THC levels increases were for injured drivers over […]

Driving After Marijuana Use? – Impairment Can Last For Hours

“I’m okay to drive.” But, in reality are you and how do you know for sure? A new report in JAMA Psychiatry (January 26, 2022) examines a person self-perception of feeling high after using marijuana.  Authors Marcotte (et.al.) point out that the impairment felt after using marijuana can last for hours, even well after when a […]

Fatal Crashes: Marijuana’s involvement doubles from 2000 – 2018

The rate of fatal motor vehicle crashes, involving only marijuana or marijuana with alcohol has doubled from 2000 to 2018. During this same time, many states legalized marijuana, first for medical use and later for commercial adult use.  In a recent peer reviewed study published in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH November 2021, […]

Drugged Driving: A New Report

In America, every 52 minutes a person dies in an alcohol-related collision. When a driver has a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .08, they have a nearly 4 times greater crash risk. Many people falsely believe that driving after using marijuana is less impairing than after drinking alcohol. In Colorado, in the years following legalization […]

Cannabis Policy: Recommendations from the United States Senate Caucus

The United States Senate Caucus recently issued a report titled, “Cannabis Policy, Public Health and Safety, Issues and Recommendations”.  The report focused on five (5) key areas: (1) Barriers to Researching Cannabis, (2) Impacts of Increased Cannabis Potency, (3) Cannabis Use on the Developing Brain, (4) Unregulated Products and (5) Cannabis Impaired Driving.  The National Marijuana […]

Impaired Driving in Colorado: 2016 – 2018 (Nov 2020)

In 2017, Colorado passed House Bill 17-1315 which requires the Colorado Department of Public Safety to annually produce a report regarding data associated with impaired driving in the state. One of the requirements was to include data not only for alcohol, but on other drugs to include marijuana. As with all longitudinal data, the more […]

THC and Its Effect on Driving

Date: January 22, 2021 The December 1st, 2020 edition of JAMA (Vol. 324, No. 21) released the results of a study into impaired driving from the Netherlands titled, “Effect of Cannabidiol and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Driving Performance” by T. Arkell (et.al.). The near year-long study examined the effects of vaporized cannabis products on safe driving performance. […]