POT USERS TAKE FEWER ROAD RISKS THAN DRUNKS STUDY SAYS

Getting high on marijuana doesn’t lower the ability to drive nearly as much as drinking alcohol, a new University of Toronto study suggests.

While marijuana, like alcohol, impairs performance, people who drive after smoking moderate amounts of pot compensate by driving more slowly and cautiously, says Alison Smiley of the mechanical and industrial engineering department.

Smiley, who has studied transportation safety issues for 25 years, says "the more cautious behaviour of subjects who received marijuana (in studies) decreased the drug’s impact on performance. Their behaviour is more appropriate to their impairment, whereas subjects who received alcohol tend to drive in a more risky manner."

Smiley, who does not advocate the general legalization of marijuana, says her study should be considered when contemplating mandatory drug testing for heavy equipment, train and truck operators or the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use.
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Smiley, who compiled her paper by analyzing her own data plus several controlled international studies, found moderate pot users typically refrained from passing cars and drove at a more consistent speed than when not using pot.
(Marijuananews note: A college student gave me an insight into this when he told me, "The only times that I obey the speed limit is when I am stoned and when my parents are in the car.)

But Toronto Constable Barry White, who co-ordinates the city’s RIDE program, says that marijuana at any level negatively impairs driving ability.

(Marijuananews note: "Marijuana at any level negatively impairs driving ability?" On what basis does he make that statement? Why give the police the last word, without any fact checking?)