I hesitated to ask this 'cause it might sound silly but I've had it on my mind a long time. Might as well ask. Also, there are tests for knowing your alcohol level if driving under the influence, so can that be applied to anyone who's been smoking the above? Does it matter since it might just be a minor effect for all I know?
Suggestion:
Hi Goldie,
In Australia, specifically Victoria there are laws against driving whilst on drugs. They now have testing stations where they can test for all sorts of drugs including weed.
I would not recommend driving after smoking weed. It does affect your judgment to some degree. It depends a lot on your personal health, metabolism, food intake, mental stability and degree of fatigue.
We have had many fatal and serious injury crashes through the use of weed and other drugs.
I do not know the laws in the States but you would not want to have a crash and be tested for illegal drugs. It is a serious offence here especially if you injure/kill some one else.
Even one drink of alcohol can influence driver ability.
Best to avoid any stimulant/relaxant while behind the wheel of I car.
As you know, I have experienced 28 years of road trauma and 5 years of managing a road trauma group involved in counseling/mending lives.
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Marijuana's effects on actual driving performance were assessed in a series of three studies wherein dose-effect relationships were measured in actual driving situations that progressively approached reality. The first was conducted on a highway closed to other traffic. Subjects (24) were treated on separate occasions with THC 100, 200 and 300 g/kg, and placebo. They performed a 22-km road tracking test beginning 30 and 90 minutes after smoking. Their lateral position variability increased significantly after each THC dose relative to placebo in a dose-dependent manner for two hours after smoking. The second study was conducted on a highway in the presence of other traffic. Subjects (16) were treated with the same THC doses as before. They performed a 64-km road tracking test preceded and followed by 16-km car following tests. Results confirmed those of the previous study. Car following performance was only slightly impaired. The third study was conducted in high-density urban traffic. Separate groups of 16 subjects were treated with 100 g/kg THC and placebo; and, ethanol (mean BAC .034 g%) and placebo. Alcohol impaired performance relative to placebo but subjects did not perceive it. THC did not impair driving performance yet the subjects thought it had. These studies show that THC in single inhaled doses up to 300 g/kg has significant, yet not dramatic, dose-related impairing effects on driving performance.
Lots of people do drive while high. There have been studies published recently that claim a driver using marijuana is safer than a driver using alcohol but still under the legal driving limit.
However, no, I do not believe it is safe.
Blood tests can measure the amount of thc in your blood, but there is not a simple test like the breathalyzer out. Saliva tests also come pretty close to measuring actual intoxication levels. But, up until now, there has never been a need for one – any tracable metabolite of any chemical in marijuana is enough to get a dui under current laws (literally, in my state, if the do any drug test – urine, saliva, hair, or blood – and find any traceable metabolite, you will be charged with dui… that gets a lil unfair with some of those tests that can detect marijuana usage from weeks or even months before the actual incident).
I assume with the pending marijuana vote in cali and the legalization of medical marijuana in many states, that there will be one developed in the near future.
It all depends on the particular smoker. Some people can take a few hits and be 'obliterated', while others can smoke and smoke and smoke, and still maintain. It all depends on how it effects you. With me, I don't think any differently, act any differently, nor do I get lazy, or sleepy, it simply helps me feel "calm" and sometimes even focused, which actually improves my driving. You can usually tell the people who cant drive after smoking pot, by how they act in general after smoking.
a normal field sobriety test should be able to nail someone who is baked, although you would fair better than someone under the influence of alcohol. And there is no breathalyzer for it yet. As to whether you can safely drive, not really, your reaction time slows down, and you can be easily distracted.
That said, if I had to take a ride with a driver who is high on MJ, or drunk on Jack, I'll take the stoner every time. Weed heads tend to be paranoid, and drive much slower.
1) A person can drive. "Safe" is a whole other question.
2) The first thing the THC affects is memory/cognition. I had other people with me. I'd have gotten lost very quickly without them (I was the only one with a car and we were all young and stupid.) Because people were with me, and because I was slow and careful, we made it back intact. Without the help, I'd have attracted an officer's attention for certain with driving around looking for "familiar." Thus, arrest is very likely when one is D.U.I.
3) Alcohol affects physical reaction time. THC affects mental reaction time. The effect, however, is the same: slower reactions. On foot, you merely bump into things. In a car at 30 mph, people die.
4) I have never heard even of any calibration for "This much THC = this much alcohol" ever. Much of the reason, of course, is that alcohol is legal and marijuana is not, so ANY THC is the system is automatic D.U.I. No officer listens to an "I know how to handle myself" speech on that one. But that might change in the next decade.
5) "Does it matter since it might just be a minor effect for all I know?" It's not. Marijuana intoxication is both a major intoxication and a long-lasting intoxication. Organic chemists are surprised at how quickly the human body metabolizes ethyl alcohol (1 ounce in 2 hours!) A hit or two of marijuana can last all night. Both make you more sleepy, but until then, your mind and body simply do not work that well. (Why do you think they invented "beer pong"?)
…thing that it will affect is your response time, for both cognitive and reflexsive responsises. If you are driving and someone in front of you stops suddenly, it may make that response time much slower.
Other than that, there is not too much of an affect. MJ does not affect your motor skill or ability to control them the same way that alcohol does, but it does affect how quickly and easily you will have that control.
Yes, a person can drive while high. I've done it. While not the smartest thing I've ever done, I had no problems what so ever driving. I don't recommend it though, driving while high is just as serious as driving while drunk. Don't drive while intoxicated. Simple as that. It's not worth it.
Marijuana affects your perception and judgement and will impair your driving ability.
No doubt driving drunk is far more dangerous, it is the getting distracted part, ya know that short term memory, that messes you up driving high…
Gawd its been years since I smoked!!!
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