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.