Happy 420 day to our members who partake. I just saw an interesting piece on CBS about driving while high. As I'm sure you know, we still have no reliable way to measure the level of pot's active ingredient in the bloodstream of users, and so law enforcement has a difficult time policing those who drive while high. Interestingly, the article cited to a survey showing that 69% of respondents have driven while high, and 10% of the respondents report that they drive better while high.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pot-420...-high-drivers/

I took a quick look around the net and found this discussion on a a marijuana forum:

https://www.marijuana.com/community/...r-high.241452/

I noticed that most participants agree that driving while high is not appropriate, but some felt they were safer drivers when they were high. So on 420 I thought I'd ask the group what your thoughts are on driving high.

 

Here's my reaction -

 

I've no basis on which to make a judgement but I doubt its any worse than cell phone distractions or DWI's.

 

I heard recently about a study that was done on driving under the influence of pot. The upshot was that high drivers tended to drive with much more caution than those who were not under the influence, even though they were driving on a closed course. However when their driving skills were measured they were found to be significantly degraded. One conclusion was that driving under the influence of marijuana was significantly less dangerous compared to alcohol, thanks mostly to the fact that high drivers tended to be much more cautious while drunk drivers tended to be less cautious than when they are sober. Another conclusion was, of course, that it is a bad idea to drive under the influence of any drug.

 

It depends how you define high. When we go out we limit our drinks to 2. 2 wines for my wife and 2 beers for me. If we want to drink more we do it at home or a nearby neighbor. We have a friend who got a DUI while driving in Florida. They put her in an orange jumpsuit, took away her cell except for the mandatory 1 call only and she spent the night in jail. She had 4 glasses of wine on an empty stomach and felt she was ok to drive. Wrong. Breathlizers don't care if you feel fine to drive. Over the limit and plan on a free night in jail. However, the consequences are not free. Loss of license for 6 months in 2 states, home and other residence where she was ticketed. Thousands for lawyers court fees, Increase in insurance premiums, community service while her license is suspended. She can only drive to work or for Dr. appt.'s. If one of us do have more than 2 drinks than the other drives. I don't think going over the limit is worth it especially when I see the consequences for doing so. And, driving impaired could lead to an accident with the risk of injury to yourself or others.

 

I think a lot of studies should be done to determine how "safe" you are driving high.
One thing I know- I'd rather be subjected on the road to drivers that were "high" versus drivers that were "drunk". Of course I prefer sober....

 

All so true, Ray. Worse still would be if you were severely injured or killed because you were a little buzzed and it made the difference between avoiding an accident and getting into one. Maybe worst of all would be injuring or killing others. I can't even imagine living with that knowledge.

 

famous last words

 

Yup.

 

You shouldn't drive while any kind of high on pot. I used to do it 35 years ago when I was young and stupid. I'm very lucky nothing happened.