Myth: Marijuana Use is a Major Cause Of Highway Accidents. Like alcohol, marijuana impairs psychomotor function and decreases driving ability. If marijuana use increases, an increase in of traffic fatalities is inevitable.

Fact: There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. At some doses, marijuana affects perception and psychomotor performances- changes which could impair driving ability. However, in driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment- consistently less than produced by low moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications. In contrast to alcohol, which tends to increase risky driving practices, marijuana tends to make subjects more cautious. Surveys of fatally injured drivers show that when THC is detected in the blood, alcohol is almost always detected as well. For some individuals, marijuana may play a role in bad driving. The overall rate of highway accidents appears not to be significantly affected by marijuana’s widespread use in society.

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I don’t find in my personal experiences that driving while slightly intoxicated on cannabis to be overly difficult. The two major issues I have discovered is that I tend to drive 5 MPH slower than the speed limit, and that if I’m the first at a red light, I might need a honk to get me going. Cannabis intoxication, unlike alcohol intoxication, is something you are aware of and able to compensate for. It tends to make one more cautious whereas alcohol makes one more inclined to take risks.

Under a heavy influence of cannabis, I don’t even want to drive.

Cannabis is not nearly as detrimental to civilized society as most governments (and news organizations) would have you believe, and driving is inherently dangerous, even when one isn’t intoxicated at all, and something no sane person should attempt in any state of mind.

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