Stoned Drivers Are Killers / Anti-Marijuana Anti-Pot PSA Video. From the public domain.

Marijuana has adverse effects on many of the skills for driving a car. Driving while high can lead to car accidents. This is because marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and reaction time. These effects can last up to 24 hours after smoking marijuana. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road. There is data showing that marijuana can play an important role in crashes. When users combine marijuana with alcohol, as they often do, the hazards of driving can be more severe than with either drug alone. A study of patients in a shock-trauma unit who had been in traffic accidents revealed that 15 percent of those who had been driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking Marijuana, and another 17 percent had both THC and alcohol in their blood. In one study conducted in Memphis, Tennessee, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine. Data also show that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had too much to drink. A French study also shows that people who drive after using marijuana are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash. French researchers studied all drivers involved in fatal car crashes over a two-year period and found 7% tested positive for marijuana, including nearly 3% who tested positive for a combination of marijuana and alcohol. Another population-based case control study indicates that habitual use of marijuana is strongly associated with car crash injury. The bottom line is -- smoking marijuana and driving do not mix. Driving under the influence of cannabis doubles the risk of being involved in a fatal road crash. Research in France has found that even small amounts of cannabis could double the chance of a driver suffering an accident, while larger doses could more than triple the risk. Heavy cannabis users are 10 times more likely to be injured, or to injure others, in car accidents, researchers have found. The scientists from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, say their study is the first proof that there is a link between using cannabis and accidents. The New Zealand team surveyed 571 drivers of cars involved in crashes in which at least one occupant was hospitalised or killed and a control group of 588 drivers randomly selected from cars driving in Auckland. They were asked if they had taken cannabis in the three hours prior to the crash or survey and were also asked about their use of cannabis over the previous 12 months. It was found that habitual cannabis users were 9.5 times more likely to be involved in crashes, with 5.6% of people who crashed having taken the drug compared to 0.5% of the control group. Their risk of an accident was increased whether or not they had used cannabis immediately before the accident. All images, texts, information from Fair Use. Video clips from the public domain film, "Keep Off The Grass".

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