37 Doesn't marijuana cause a lot of automobile accidents?
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This article is from the Hemp / Cannabis / Marijuana FAQ, by Brian S. Julin verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu with numerous contributions by others.
37 Doesn't marijuana cause a lot of automobile accidents?
Not really. The marijuana using public has the same or
lower rate of automobile accidents as the general public.
Studies of marijuana smoking while driving showed that it
does affect reaction time, but not nearly as much as
alcohol. Also, those who drive `stoned' have been shown to
be less foolish on the road (they demonstrate `increased
risk aversion'.) Recent studies have emphasized that
alcohol is the major problem on our highways, and that
illicit drugs do not even come close to being as dangerous.
As funny as it may seem, you may be safer driving `stoned',
as long as you aren't `totally blasted' and seeing things --
but few users are irresponsible enough to drive in this
state of mind, anyway. Still, many people have reported
making mistakes while driving because they were stoned.
There are those who think that marijuana is a major problem
on the streets, because of a newspaper article or news story
which they have seen which said a large number of people who
were killed in driving accidents tested postive for
marijuana use. For various reasons, these studies are not
reliable:
o Some studies use drug tests which can only tell
whether a person has used marijuana in the last
month.
o Some studies were done near colleges or other areas
where drinking, marijuana use, and accidents are all
very high, and they did not correct for age or
alcohol use.
o In many of the studies there were more stoned drivers
killed -- but it was not their fault, and when the
police ``culpability scores'' were factored in
marijuana was not to blame for the accidents.
NHTSA statistical study pub. 1992, data pending
NHTSA Amsterdam study pub. 1994, data pending
Australian statistical survey pub 1993, data pending
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