{"id":1208,"date":"2013-08-06T20:38:10","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T19:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/?p=1208"},"modified":"2013-08-06T20:38:10","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T19:38:10","slug":"cannabis-safer-than-alcohol-for-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2013\/08\/06\/cannabis-safer-than-alcohol-for-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis safer than alcohol for drivers (?)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Someone brought to my attention a link to a site with the intriguing name “The Daily Chronic’. It appears to be a pro-cannabis site. \u00a0They came across a paper in Accid Analysis and Prevention by a pot advocate but which seems to show that marijuana is safer for drivers than alcohol. \u00a0Even if confirmed, I dont think this is a basis for ignoring the need to put limits on cannabis use by drivers but, judge for yourself. Here is an excerpt from the report:<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

“Danish researchers assessed the overall risk of a driver being severely injured in an accident after having consumed alcohol, illicit substances, or various types of pharmaceutical drugs, including opioids, benzodiazepenes, or so-called \u2018Z-drugs\u2019 (sedatives\/sleep aids) such as Ambien.<\/b>\u00a0Case samples (N = 2490) were collected from severely injured drivers in selected hospitals in six European countries.\u00a0<\/b>Cases were matched against nearly 16,000 randomly stopped controls.<\/b>\u00a0Odds ratios were adjusted for age, gender and country.<\/b><\/p>\n

Investigators reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe highest risk of the driver being severely injured was associated with driving positive for high concentrations of alcohol (\u22650.<\/b>8 g\/L), alone or in combination with other psychoactive substances.<\/b>\u00a0\u2026The second most risky category contained various drug-drug combinations, amphetamines and medicinal opioids.<\/b>\u00a0Medium increased risk was associated with medium sized BACs (at or above 0.<\/b>5 g\/L, below 0.8 g\/L) and benzoylecgonine. The least risky drug seemed to be cannabis and benzodiazepines and Z-drugs.<\/b>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They concluded:<\/p>\n

\u201c[A]mong psychoactive substances alcohol still poses the largest problem in terms of driver risk of getting injured.<\/b>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Full text of the study, \u201c<\/em>Risk of severe driver injury by driving with psychoactive substances,\u201d appears online in Accident Analysis and Prevention.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director for the National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).<\/b><\/p>\n

Link to the Daily Chronic:\u00a0http:\/\/www.thedailychronic.net\/2013\/25061\/cannabis-associated-with-less-risk-of-traffic-accident-compared-to-alcohol-prescription-drugs\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Someone brought to my attention a link to a site with the intriguing name “The Daily Chronic’. It appears to be a pro-cannabis site. \u00a0They came across a paper in Accid Analysis and Prevention by a pot advocate but which seems to show that marijuana is safer for drivers than alcohol. \u00a0Even if confirmed, I […]<\/p>\n

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