Wait to get behind the wheel after using marijuana

I came across a couple of reports that had to do with automobile accidents and marijuana use.

According to data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes who recently used marijuana more than doubled between 2013 and 2014 in Washington state” and “one in six drivers involved in fatal crashes in the state recently used marijuana in 2014.”

I have nothing against marijuana. I don’t smoke it, but I have friends who use it for recreational and medicinal purposes. When it comes to people and drug use, I live by the idiom of “to each his (or her) own” — as long as it’s not hurting anyone.

However, my little rant has more to do with someone driving after using marijuana. If you can’t focus on your surroundings after smoking a joint or consuming an edible, then you should wait a while before you get behind the wheel, just like if you were using alcohol or prescription medicine and other drugs that hinder your abilities.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, marijuana can impair a person’s judgement, motor coordination and reaction time, all of which are critical when it comes to driving. Drivers with high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their blood are three to seven times more likely to be responsible for an accident than drivers who have not used drugs or alcohol.

The problem with being impaired is you fall into a false sense of security and tell yourself “I can drive with no problems.”

Drivers who smoked marijuana may try to compensate for their impairment by driving below the speed limit, but that poses a safety risk, particularly on busy roads. Motorists adhering to normal speeds might grow frustrated at the slower car ahead of them and may try to maneuver around them, creating potential traffic hazards. Accidents can also happen from out of nowhere and if an impaired driver gets in a wreck, they’ll probably get blamed for it whether they caused it or not.

But marijuana affects people differently and just because someone has a high amount of THC in their blood system doesn’t mean they’re impaired. However an officer conducting a blood test may not see it that way.

According to the Associated Press, six states have a specific THC limit of 5 nanograms in a driver’s blood: Colorado, Washington, Montana, Ohio, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Officers could arrest a person, even if they are not impaired, because the blood test found high lingering amounts of THC in their system.

An impaired driver who does not frequently use marijuana, may get stopped by police, but their active THC level may dissipate below the legal limit before the officer can administer a blood test. The officer can’t legally keep them at the scene and may have to let them go.

I’ll say this one more time. If your senses are impaired and you can’t focus because you just smoked, then you should wait a while before you drive — or don’t drive at all. If you need to, ask a friend to drive you or find another means to get to your destination. It’s better to be safe than risk your life and the lives of others.

If a friend or loved one just smoked marijuana and you feel they won’t be able to make it home safely, take their keys and have them stay with you, or offer them a ride home.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].