Is it possible to drive under the influence of marijuana?

In addition, tracking marijuana-impaired driving is difficult because drivers who may be under the influence of both marijuana and alcohol are often cited for a high blood alcohol concentration and rarely tested for additional substances.

How is marijuana related to drugged driving crashes?

However, a large NHTSA study found no significant increased crash risk traceable to marijuana after controlling for drivers’ age, gender, race, and presence of alcohol.9 More research is needed. Along with marijuana, prescription drugs are also commonly linked to drugged driving crashes.

How are States dealing with marijuana impaired driving?

To address marijuana-impaired driving, every state has a law that, in some manner, deals with the issue (see below). Some states, including Alabama and Michigan, have permanent or active oral fluid roadside testing programs to screen drivers for marijuana and other drugs that could affect their behavior behind the wheel.

What does it mean to drive while under the influence of drugs?

Drugged driving is driving a vehicle while impaired due to the intoxicating effects of recent drug use. It can make driving a car unsafe—just like driving after drinking alcohol. Drugged driving puts the driver, passengers, and others who share the road at serious risk. Photo by ©iStock.com/jpsowin.

Is it illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana?

In the United States, driving while impaired is illegal. Nonetheless, an estimated 10,511 alcohol-impaired driving deaths occurred in 2018.* The contribution of marijuana and other illicit drugs to these and other impaired driving deaths remains unknown.

What happens when you drive while high on marijuana?

It found that driving while high on marijuana causes an increase in decision time and number of incorrect responses to emergencies.

Why do people drive slower under the influence of marijuana?

Researchers found that even when marijuana-impaired participants were instructed to maintain a particular speed, they frequently tended to drive much slower than that speed. Drivers under the influence of marijuana also showed a tendency to maintain an increased distance between their vehicle and the vehicle ahead of them.

What happens when a driver is under the influence of THC?

Drivers under the influence of THC are also unable to compensate for a factor known as standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP), which is how researchers measure a driver’s ability to stay in their lane.