Cannabis & Cars A Fatal Mix....

[Guest Urbanhog]

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1801/a10.html

Newshawk: Niall Young

Pubdate: Tue, 24 Sep 2002

Source: West Australian (Australia)

Copyright: 2002 West Australian Newspapers Limited

Contact: letters@wanews.com.au

Website: http://www.thewest.com.au

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/495

Author: Mark Mallabone

 

 

CANNABIS, CARS A FATAL MIX

 

DRIVERS who smoked cannabis before getting behind the wheel were six times more likely to die in a crash than other road users, a parliamentary committee has been told.

 

Monash University forensic medicine expert Olaf Drummer said yesterday it was myth that stoned motorists were relatively safe because they drove slowly. Fatal smashes among this group caused by excessive speed were not uncommon.

 

"It is certainly not a safe drug in relation to road trauma," Professor Drummer told the House of Representatives standing committee on family and community affairs.

 

He unveiled an analysis which showed that drivers with relatively high levels of cannabis in their bloodstream ( more than 5ng/mL of tetrahydrocannabinol ) were 6.6 times more likely than others to die on the roads.

 

Only very drunk drivers were more vulnerable. Those with a blood-alcohol content higher than 0.20 were 20 times more likely to die.

 

In a coronial study of almost 3400 driver deaths during 1990-99, including 757 in WA, Professor Drummer found almost 30 per cent of victims recorded a blood-alcohol content above the legal limit.

 

A further 26 per cent tested positive for mind-altering ( psychotropic ) drugs, including 14 per cent who had recently used cannabis.

 

Other commonly detected drugs were opiates ( 4.4 per cent ), stimulants ( 3.8 per cent ) and benzodiazepines ( 3.6 per cent ).

 

Professor Drummer told the committee that drivers who used stimulants such as amphetamines were 2.3 times more likely than others to die.

 

the death rate was much higher ( 8.8 times ) among stimulant-using truck drivers.

 

interestingly, heroin use did not appear to be strongly linked to unsafe driving. Heroin users were 1.4 times more likely to die but those who had taken multiple mood-altering drugs were 5.4 times more likely to die.

 

The combination of alcohol and mood-altering drugs was particularly dangerous.

 

Professor Drummer's research appears to support moves by WA authorities, revealed last week, to investigate the possibility of testing drivers for drugs other than alcohol.

 

The WA Police Service has made preliminary inquiries about getting portable roadside saliva testing kits.

 

Victorian police are preparing to start a similar program.

 

And The West Australian understands that the Government's drink and drug driving task force has made a submission that legislation be drafted to help catch the rising number of people driving while affected by drugs.

[Oz]

Just want to add this to the disscussion...

 

14% is a rather low statistic agreed? However I wouldn't hop in a car with a first time user till the next day or so... Anyway my question is... of any of the people in this 14%. How many were actually high at the time of accident.

 

THC stays in the system for months...

 

The part of marijuana that gets you high is called `Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.' Most people just call this THC, but this is confusing: your body will change Delta-9-THC into more inert molecules known as `metabolites,' which don't get you high. Unfortunately, these chemicals also have the word `tetrahydrocannabinol' in them and they are also called THC -- so many people think that the metabolites get you high. Anti-drug pamphlets say that THC gets stored in your fat cells and then leaks out later like one of those `time release capsules' advertised on television. They say it can keep you high all day or even longer. This is not true, marijuana only keeps you high for a few hours, and it is not right to think that a person who fails a drug test is always high on drugs, either.

Source: Erowid Vaults

 

The chemical in marijuana, THC, is absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. Traces of THC can be detected by standard urine and blood tests for about 2 days up to 11 weeks depending on the persons metabolism, how much they smoked and how long they smoked. THC can be detected for the life of the hair. Again, the sensitivity of the test ranges from person from to person depending on many factors including the amount of body fat, differences in metabolism, and how long and how much they smoked.

Source: TeenHealthFX

[notgail]

It's a hard topic - we could get on to sleep deprivation (cause I have driven with that many a time also) - I agree people are that they peak capability when straight.- I agree with pipeman - I also went through stages where I thought I was such a great driver - we can all make mistakes any time - it still took me driving a couple of years (in the cab) to work out I had been a shocking driver purely by my attitude. - I've recently moved to the country - what a great change - drivers actually wave (friendly) at you- I've gone back 20 years out here.

I don't know about there being less accidents now then 20 or so years ago - I remember some horrific accidents back then prior to seat belts and when there wasn't say just 4 killed but quite ofter there would be up to 10 kids piled in one car and wiped out. The death toll has always been too high. You could also blame the government for being so scabby with our taxes. For instance the highway from Brisbane to Gold Coast should have been completed 10 years ago. The amount of deaths that could have been prevented by having a double carriage way both ways is too many.

On the note of hitting some child or adult - what a horrifing thought. Touch wood that never happens to any of us. (Straight or stoned)

[boe~pimp]

i do agree with you pipeman deffinately, but good skills do add to a good attitude aswell, but of course not in all cases, yer it's a hard topic and we could discuss it till our hair fell out, not that it really bothers me

an intelligent arguement/conversation/discussion is always the best & most constructive one and thats what i love about these boards, they're not populated by thoughtless idiots.

~Boe~

[Dr Doug]

I agree with babybear same as alcohol under .05 it isnt illegal for some drivers.A certain amount of cannabis is all right but eventualy a person will be stoned enough not to be in control of the vehicle therefore a danger to others and himself/herself.But I become cynical when the government stats say cannabis is present but they never prove it actualy caused the accidents.I nearly lost my license recently for non-payment of a fine.A bloody fine for not voting.What has that got to do with my license?I was told by an offical that my license is a privelege granted to my by the state not a right.If I had broken road rules I would have copped it sweet.Is this new campaign simply to raise revenue and since I am a citizen arent I the state?Shows what the government realy think of the citizens.

[pipeman]

hey doug, we all benefit by having rules and police to force people to follow them under the threat of jail or other punishment. the trade off is that sometimes you are constricted and/or forced to do things you don't like. If your biggest gripe with the system is that you have to rock up to a voting booth every coupla years then I'd say you're a lucky guy.

[BlackBeauty]

speaking of which....state election in Vic in a few days...

[Dr Doug]

Hey pipeman I can do and do anything I want and do not expect to be stopped until I become a danger to myself or others.The article I posted does give a fair whack of power to the coppers.My gripe isnt voting it is it is getting fined $115 for not doing it then having the threat of being unlicensed. My biggest gripe is that I pay taxes to the state therefore it does what I want.By voting or simply being a citizen I have the right to question those laws. People like you are simply mice behind a piped piper.Any fine no matter how small goes to the state debt recovery office it then becomes a debt to the state therefore the state apparently stops its priveleges ie my license a neccesity for my job which results in me losing my income over fucking what again? Smoking pot is illegal according to you this website should be shut down Ozstoner fined some huge amount and then put in jail to pay it off a $100 a day.

[BlackBeauty]

Um.....guys....?? Can we take it down a notch?

 

Nobody should be getting defensive around here...we share more in common then most :mellow:

[BlackBeauty]

http://www.oneposter.com/UserData/Poster/Poster_5468.jpg

[pipeman]

Hey pipeman I can do and do anything I want and do not expect to be stopped until I become a danger to myself or others.The article I posted does give a fair whack of power to the coppers.My gripe isnt voting it is it is getting fined $115 for not doing it then having the threat of being unlicensed. My biggest gripe is that I pay taxes to the state therefore it does what I want.By voting or simply being a citizen I have the right to question those laws. People like you are simply mice behind a piped piper.Any fine no matter how small goes to the state debt recovery office it then becomes a debt to the state therefore the state apparently stops its priveleges ie my license a neccesity for my job which results in me losing my income over fucking what again? Smoking pot is illegal according to you this website should be shut down Ozstoner fined some huge amount and then put in jail to pay it off a $100 a day.

hey doug, you're way outta line here and my post did not deserve that nasty response, but I will respond to the points you raised.

 

1. The coppers need power to enforce the law, and in many areas more power than they already have. I don't consider it unreasonable to suspend your license if you refuse to pay your voting fines. What would you propose they do to enforce this law? Throw you in jail? Personally I'd much rather just pay the fine if I couldn't be bothered voting. You don't even need to vote if you don't want to, just rock up on the day to cross your name off the list.

 

2. Your idea that because you pay taxes to the "state" means that they should do whatever you want is not a very realistic approach. Surely you understand that they cannot do what every individual wants.

 

3. If people want to excercise their natural right to smoke herb and take a risk with the law I have no problem with that. I also have no problem with people who don't want to vote. Personally I have never voted. However, if you want to break the rules you should also accept the risk. The enrolments office have not caught up with me yet, but if they do I won't bitch and whine, I'll just pay my fine. (betchya didn't know I was a poet )

 

4. I don't think ozstoner is doing anything illegal and certainly shouldn't be punished as you describe. I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth, especially nasty ones. However, as a stoner I am breaking the the law, and if busted I will face the consequences. You have to take responsibility for your own actions.

 

I hope you can take this on board as constructive criticism and not a personal insult, because I really don't think this board is about having flame wars.

 

cheers,

pipeman (who is a little wound up from work today)