Marijuana and Driving: Actually Safe?

Some people have heard of the scenario where they get too high, get in a car, and then, they end up running into something. While it’s something you shouldn’t do, actually, it was found that the opposite happened.  The illegalization of marijuana didn’t actually change the amount of accidents, and in some cases, it decreased this. There’s some research that validates, which is based on the reports that were found, the performance of drivers, and also the auto insurance information that’s there. You shouldn’t doit, but it also may mean you’re safer on the road, at least when alcohol is involved. 

Marijuana is Safer than Alcohol when Driving 

We always hear about no driving under the influence, and that's true. You also hear in some states that you shouldn’t’ drive under the influence of marijuana. This is something that's normally not promoted by anyone, but actually, it’s something that is considered a bit less risky than say, driving under the influence of alcohol. 

This may be because some users are able to consume cannabis in place of other materials that are mor intoxicating and dangerous, and most drivers tend to chance their behavior and make sure to drive in safe ways compared to how they may with alcohol of course. There was a study done on this actually, which looked at the driving performances of people after they’ve smoked a marijuana cigarette. They were given dosages that are up to 30 MG THC in some cases, and they went through a series of trials that were on roads that were closed. 

Drivers did begin the test high, and they had larger blood plasma levels. The tests were also conducted after the drivers consumed the alcohol in a simple combination. 

It was found through this that those drivers who used marijuana and were under the influence of this, were able to keep the insight of the performance that they did and were able to compensate in a lo of cases, especially through using more effort, slowing down, and the like, so the effects on this were quite small. 

There were some different summaries which also did highlight the relative risks of those drivers that were impaired as well especially when compared to say alcohol and being under the influence. 

THC and the Levels of Accidents 

Probably the biggest way to look at this, is the amount of crashes that weren’t fatal. The ones that did get into crashes, they looked at the amount of alcohol, marijuana, and some of the other substances which might be there. There was no chance of an increased risk in those who didn’t have larger levels of THC. There was a very small increase in those who have 5 ng/ml in their blood. 

So for what that means is simple, the THC concentrations that are small are usually accepted in both the upper, and the lower benchmarks when law enforcement is trying to understand the operation of a vehicle.As said before, most of the impairment happens after the initial consumption. Within the first two hours, it’s much higher, but then, over time, it definitely decreases, especially after four hours. 

So while it may seem like it’s a lot safer if you’re looking to et on the road after having a marijuana cigarette, it’s important as well that you take your time, and wait about six hours in order to ensure that the HTC leaves your body and isn’t causing impairment. While you should not drive high, this is important information, and it does shed insight on the impacts of THC on the body, mind, and the like as well.

Texas Tries to Ruin Cannabis for Everyone, Once Again

If you have been following marijuana legalization and policy throughout the United States for any serious amount of time, then you are probably familiar with some states being very stubborn - particularly, the southern states and most conservative ones. Texas has been notoriously against the use of marijuana for quite some time.

Even medical marijuana patients are limited to marijuana strains and products with a THC cap at 1%, which is absolutely abysmal. How on earth are medical marijuana patients actually going to use cannabis to treat their medical conditions if they can’t even use THC? However, for residents that live in states with very restrictive medical marijuana programs, a new type of THC began to show promising signs for treating serious conditions and also existed as a loophole in the ban on THC products.

Delta-8 THC, which I have talked about many times in my previous posts, is technically legal under the federal government law, since it is considered to be derived from hemp. Consequently, Delta-8 gained serious popularity in places where standard THC products were banned, and it can come in the form of vapes, gummies, and whole flowers.

Yesterday I actually went out and bought a disposable vape cartridge with Delta-8 and Delta-19 THC, since normal THC where I live in Indiana is not legal. Anyways, Delta-8 gained enough popularity to the point that Texas lawmakers caught wind of it. Now, they are proposing to put the same ban on Delta-8 THC that they have on other THC products. For a state that loves to tout their free market and civilian rights, they sure do love to restrict people from using a natural drug like marijuana. It’s hard to believe how many people in Texas are living with serious medical conditions and do not even qualify for using a 1% THC product. In this article, I am going to spend some time talking about my least favorite state and why they are attacking Delta-8 THC products. 

It’s really hard to say exactly how much Delta-8 products were being sold in Texas in the last few months. While we know that smoke shops and vape shops were having a hard time keeping this type of THC in stock, we also know that Delta-8 could also be purchased over mail order and shipped with UPS. This means that it is really hard to know how much Delta-8 was shipped into the state without the lawmakers knowing. Like I said before, Delta-8 is technically considered to be derived from hemp, which makes it legal under federal law.

Basically, Texas wants to change the state’s definition of what is considered to be hemp so that they can ban the use of Delta-8 THC as well. Honestly, I really don’t know why Texas is going so hard in the paint to make all forms of THC illegal. Other states have great examples of well established and profitable medical marijuana programs, and people getting high occasionally is not going to crumble society in America as we know it. I guess my main question to Texas lawmakers is - why is this such a big deal to you? Now, I don’t expect any of them to read my articles, but I hope that what I write about at least gives you some insight into what goes on in Texas regarding cannabis policy and legislation. 

The worst part about all of this is that there has not been enough time to inform residents in Texas about law changes and Delta-8. This means that a lot of people could get caught with illegal forms of marijuana and not even know it.  

Time to Bust Myths About Chronic Pain - Medical Marijuana

Unless you or someone you know has dealt with chronic pain, you may not have a great understanding of just how debilitating it can be. Only within the last few decades has the medical community begun to take chronic pain seriously. The problem with chronic pain is that it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what is causing it or where the pain is stemming from. What this means is that some patients are not even believed when they report intense symptoms of pain over long periods of time.

Chronic pain is one of the many conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana, and I think that it is important to bring some attention to chronic pain in this post. More specifically, I wanted to address some common myths that surround conditions of chronic pain and what they mean for the medical users that suffer from this type of diagnosis.

Living with chronic pain day in and day out can be hard enough, but things take a turn for the worse if you are regularly told that your pain is “all in your head”. Imagine telling someone that? I simply do not understand. Anyways, here are some common misconceptions about chronic pain and why you should not believe them.

The first myth about chronic pain is that it is imagined. This is one that is extremely frustrating, yet surprisingly common for people with a chronic pain diagnosis. Of the many reasons for this, the most prominent one is that chronic pain can be unpredictable. Some days are better than others, meaning that one day a patient might only experience mild pain symptoms, while other days the pain is so severe that they can’t make it into work. Whatever the case is, it is important to remember that people do not simply imagine chronic pain.

Just because the pain can be hard to describe and pinpoint does not mean that it is made up. Additionally, patients with a chronic pain diagnosis do not really control their pain - instead, it controls them. That is why so many patients turn to heavy painkillers and opioids to try and find some relief from their pain. However, medical marijuana has been a great resource and alternative treatment option for people that are in severe pain. Plus, who doesn’t love getting high? I know that I do! Anyways, back to talking about chronic pain.

The next misconception about chronic pain that I want to talk about is that medical marijuana users must be high in order to relieve their pain symptoms. Contrary to what I just said in the last paragraph, many medical marijuana users do not rely on cannabis simply to get high. IN fact, most chronic pain patients do not want to become impared when using cannabis to control their pain levels. In fact, the myth that every medical marijuana user just wants to get high is what the people that want to keep medical marijauna illegal will tell you, but it is just not true.

Ask anyone who regularly deals with chronic pain. Many medical marijuana patients are simply looking to make their pain more manageable, not trying to land themselves on a different planet. Most patients want to find that perfect dosage that allows them some relief from their pain without feeling high and dumbed down all the time. I’m all for getting high now and then, but I cannot imagine being high every day. I feel like I wouldn’t be able to function well. 

The last myth that I want to talk about is that medical marijuana patients, specifically those with chronic pain, simply prefer to smoke cannabis. While smoking weed is a popular form of cannabis ingestion, it is by no means the only way.