There’s always a huge concern about people drinking and driving, and now a new report suggests we should be equally concerned about cannabis users who decide to get behind the wheel.
A new study by researchers at the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California San Diego reveals that cannabis can impair a person’s ability to drive up to four hours after consumption.
The study looked at 191 regular cannabis users, with participants either given a placebo cigarette, or a cannabis cigarette with either 5.9% or 13.4% levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The subjects were then given a 25-minute simulated driving experience, with the THC group showing a significant drop in driving scores.
The biggest comparative difference between those who got the placebo and those who got the THC, came 30 minutes and one hour and 30 minutes after inhaling. After three hours and 30 minutes the differences were borderline, and it took until four hours and 30 minutes for there to be no difference at all.
- What makes this study concerning, is that the researchers found that while most participants were reluctant to drive right after they smoked, as many as 69% felt they were ready to drive one hour and 30 minutes after smoking, and the results show they were still very impaired, which would make for some dangerous driving.
Source: New York Post