<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center>Danger of toking up, driving brought home to teens « on: Today at 07:30:29 AM » </TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: smaller" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right height=20> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><HR class=hrcolor width="100%" SIZE=1>Tuesday, May 16, 2006 Dangers of toking up, driving brought home to teens Tony Lofaro The Ottawa Citizen Ramin Shaji stopped driving with a longtime friend who was putting their lives in danger by toking up behind the wheel. His friend was a heavy marijuana user whose driving habits had became more erratic and dangerous. "I noticed that he would have a slow reaction to the traffic around him. When he had to turn, he would go into the other lane," said Mr. Shaji, 19, a student at the Adult High School, who used to ride to school with his 18-year-old friend. Yesterday, Mr. Shaji was one of 10 teens at Earl of March High School to launch Why Drive High?, a citywide campaign to dispel myths about marijuana use and driving. The teenagers will hit schools to reinforce the message that heavy marijuana use, especially among drivers aged 13 to 25, is harmful. Mr. Shaji said that at first, he thought his friend was drinking or taking other drugs, but then he saw how the steady use of marijuana affected his judgment on the road. Mr. Shaji drifted apart from his friend, but not before he warned him about the dangers of smoking and driving. "I realized all those times I could have been in a serious accident or could have probably died," he said, remembering the incidents from more than a year ago. The Why Drive High? program, a collaboration with Ottawa Public Health and Carlington Community and Health Services, is funded by Health Canada. Its message will be told in five languages: English, French, Chinese, Arabic and Somali. According to the 2005 Ontario Drug Use Survey, 20 per cent of drivers in Grades 10 to 12 drove a vehicle at least once in the past year within an hour of using marijuana. And 22 per cent of students in Grades 7 to 12 said they had been a passenger in a car driven by someone who had been using drugs prior to driving. Sobering statistics, but unfortunately the number of people being stopped for marijuana use has increased in recent years, OPP Const. Eric Booth said yesterday. "On the R.I.D.E. program, it's pretty much guaranteed that someone driving up to the program has used drugs in the vehicles, mostly marijuana or hashish. They've been smoking in the vehicle prior to driving, or while they're driving," said Const. Booth. He said there could be confusion among teenagers who believe that driving and smoking marijuana is not as serious as drinking and driving. He said he hopes this new awareness program will eliminate those myths. He said "mixed messages" are going out to teenagers, especially with talk about decriminalizing marijuana, and with revelations that some politicians have tried marijuana. In a short video made for yesterday's launch, Gregg Thomson, whose 18-year-old son, Stan, and four of his friends died in a drug-related crash on June 27, 1999, on Highway 7 near Perth, talked about the devastating effect the accident had on his family. "As much as I wish, as much as I dream, I know I can't have him back," said Mr. Thomson, a former Ottawa resident who moved to Dallas last fall. "One dream I do know will come true is that no other family will have to face the death of their child to drugs and driving. Initiatives like Why Drive High? give us this hope, puts us so much closer to realizing our dream," he said in the video. In an interview, Mr. Thomson said the passage of time has not eased the pain of losing his son. He said the years since his son's death have been all about survival. "You never get over it and I'm almost seven years into this now," said Mr. Thomson, 50, a former president of the Ottawa chapter of MADD. "There are days like even this past weekend where you have moments and I feel like I'm right back into June of 1999." Mr. Shaji said his relationship with his friend has improved, although they are not as close as they once were. He hopes the awareness program will speak to teenagers about abstaining from smoking marijuana before driving. "I just want to reach out to one person, whether it's someone who is doing it, or a friend that knows someone who's doing it. If I can reach one person, it will help to have a ripple effect." Contact: letters@thecitizen.canwest.com Ottawa Citizen @ http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=c5a5d00c-b0b8-4595-b4d5-d721a3e198a1
Marijuana and Driving: A Review of the Scientific Evidence It is well established that alcohol increases accident risk. Evidence of marijuana's culpability in on-road driving accidents is much less convincing. Although cannabis intoxication has been shown to mildly impair psychomotor skills, this impairment does not appear to be severe or long lasting. In driving simulator tests, this impairment is typically manifested by subjects decreasing their driving speed and requiring greater time to respond to emergency situations. Nevertheless, this impairment does not appear to play a significant role in on-road traffic accidents. A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, “Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.†This result is likely because subject under the influence of marijuana are aware of their impairment and compensate for it accordingly, such as by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required. This reaction is just the opposite of that exhibited by drivers under the influence of alcohol, who tend to drive in a more risky manner proportional to their intoxication. http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5450 I know i drive a lot less aggresive if i am medicated by marijuana. I drove as a professional in the late 70's and through out the 80's taxi and tandem axle trucks with out any issues in the thousands of hours I drove medicated by marijuana. Keith P.S. I emailed this exact same reply to letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
I have only been involved in one wreck in my driving career. But it wasnt cuz of bud, i wasnt even high at the time, i just wasnt paying attention. I drive drugged all the time, and if nething, my driving skills are helped
hehe...I actually posted something about this just last night...somewhere.. http://forum.grasscity.com/showthread.php?t=94220
i can kinda vouge for how marijuana overtime will fuck with your driving, cuz i noticed i used to be able to drive perfectly fine high and then i quit doin robo and smokin for awhile and just bein high made me swerve, haha i guess i was just used to driving more fucked up and counterswerving or somethin all i know is that i'm the fuckin man when it comes to driving under the influence of everything except alcohol by itself, but i was drivin pretty damn good when i was in 4mg's of xanax and a half bottle of rum, except for the part where i got real pissed off n backed out of my friends driveway into a tree, but that wasnt bad just a dent
I've never driven high and never plan to. It's just not worth it. It's irrisponsible and demonstrates abuse of the drug.
My friend hit a tree because he passed out from having taken a zanny. As for the article, thanks KanMan. Sobering statistics? Hardly, they never once linked those statistics to an increase in road accidents. Assuming they think they dont need to, I think they're "assuming" that the general public associates marijuana with accidents.
i used to drive high, but now i dont want to anymore after my recent wreck. if you dont think you can handle it, dont do it. besides it can be a buzzkill if youre in a lot of traffic.
Damn, I wasnt expecting that from you RM. I drive high all the time, probably more high than sober. I prefer to drive high since I drive much slower and cautious which saves plenty of gas. Driving stoned is just as easy as driving sober once you get the hang of it. I can admit when I started doing it I blew a stop sign once and one red light. That was quite some time ago and since then I have been fine. If you know you cannot handle driving high and it will impare it then dont. But if your life me and can drive perfectly fine stoned, then I really dont see the problem.
Yeah I heard about this today to. I noticed it last night actually, while I was cruising blazed I just had to laugh when I looked at a bus stop that had a giant weed leaf on it. Im sure you've noticed them to Kanman. I think its garbage and frankly it would be pretty fucking hard to catch someone and prove they are driving high. I would say half the time im driving im blazed and can say with all honesty that I could still drive circles around 90% of the people in this city. But, there are some people who should NOT be driving while they are high because they cant handle it and cant admit it either. Anyway hopefully they get tired of this program soon so we dont have to hear about it anymore.
i never drove high, i crashed once due to insulin shock. jamie can drive high no matter what, except once when i went into labor with our youngest son lol he couldnt focus right
i would just like to bring up the fact that while very high i easily passed the ICBC New Driver test and earned every other level of my license while under the "inpairment" that marijuana supposedly causes hows them apples
Driving sober is the only way to drive. Sorry folks, there are enough risks involved with driving, I don't care how confident you are in your stoned driving. I'm not interested in your own perceptions on your impaired driving. I'm only interested in getting from point A to point B without you causing an accident that could kill me or any other drivers around you. If you feel like you need to be high while driving, I suggest you stop driving. I'll never understand how people who claim to be responsible cannabis users can condone impaired driving.
To the two idiots who bumped this topic, more so to the guy who did it 3 years after the previous post, well fucking done
It takes one person to bump a topic, I saw a topic that was on the first page and responded to it. Don't be a dick.
lol this friday i was stoned as fuck and i could not drive for shit. i was in my car, paranoid so i drove around the parking lot for 10minutes lmao. (picture this at 1am in the morning, a car just driving around in circles). i saw the road with cars everywhere and i freaked. so i parked my car and went to sleep lol. woke up and took alot of concentrating to get back home. got home and ate alot of chips and passed out.
Personally When I drive under the infulence of Cananbis I 1) Drive Slower 2) pay closer attention to detail 3) Enjoy the drive more 4) Have no issue with slow to stopped traffic.... If the majority of smokers have simliar effects on there driving High then Road Rage would be a thing of the past.. no more blaring horns or assholes screaming profanity out his window or getting the finger thrown at you.... luckly I live in a rural place so this dosen't happen here, but I know that it happens elsewhere...and I have a Freind who had anger issues on the road..... NOTE: that anyone choosing to get behind the wheel of car or motor vehicle should already be well aware of there reaction with cannabis and how high they are....one should always be useing cannabis responsibly and know one's capabilities while high..... don't do it if it dosen't feel right!
The first day I got my license and car I went on 3 L rides and drove the whole time with no prior driving experience till that day. I've driven high just about every day since then, and I have yet to get in an accident, and still no points on my license. Fuck generalizing statistics, if youre a bad driver you suck at driving, dont blame it on the weed.
it all comes down to personality. for me it dont mater how stoned i am I can drive long distances as if sober. But I guess some idiots just become bigger idiots when they smoke and cant drive after (prob couldnt drive well sober either)