Up in smoke: Car crash risks nearly double with pot use

Researchers put it bluntly: Smoking marijuana before driving can nearly double the risk of a car crash.

The study found that smoking pot within three hours of getting behind the wheel raises the dangers of a car accident that can cause injuries and fatalities by a factor of 1.75, compared to the collision rate of sober drivers.

Hopefully, the word will get out to pot smokers in the Newburgh area and elsewhere.

The authors of the study wrote in the British Medical Journal that marijuana is the most widely imbibed illicit drug in the world and that "...cannabis impairs performance of the cognitive and motor tasks necessary for safe driving, increasing the risk of collision."

Researchers analyzed the results of nine studies involving 50,000 people to learn whether marijuana consumption contributes to auto accidents or not. After looking at crash data, blood test results and study participant statements, researchers concluded that the use of the substance elevates crash risks.

For those drivers over 35, marijuana uses raises the risk of an accident even higher.

Researchers said it doesn't matter what type of vehicle pot smokers drive; the risk of crashing is higher in a SUV, just as it is on a motorcycle or in a car or even a bus.

The director of National Drug Control Policy said that reports indicate that about 18 percent of all fatally injured drivers test positive for drugs, including marijuana and legally prescribed medications as well.

Clearly, anyone intoxicated by any substance, including marijuana, alcohol or prescription drugs, poses a danger to other motorists.

Source: CBS News: "Marijuana-smoking motorists twice as likely to crash cars," Ryan Jaslow, Feb. 10, 2012