April 20 is the official holiday of marijuana users, with mass celebrations in major cities, including Vancouver, Denver and San Francisco, kicking off at 4:20 p.m.
With 20 percent of Americans now living in states where recreational marijuana is legal (check out an interactive map here), there is growing concern about the consequences of high driving.
And now a group of researchers has given us evidence there’s ample reason for it.
A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that the risk of a fatal crash on 4/20 increases 12 percent, and 38 percent for drivers under 21. The researchers looked at 25 years of data on fatal car crashes in the U.S. Then they compared the number of crashes between 4:20 p.m. and midnight on April 20 with the same time one week before and after.
“Assuming fewer than 10 per cent of Americans drive while high on April 20, our results suggest that drug use at 4/20 celebrations more than doubles the risk of a fatal crash,” said one of the researchers, University of Toronto professor Dr. Donald Redelmeier. (It’s worth noting Toronto will have recreational marijuana this July.)
Here’s the reality for Illinois drivers.
Driving while high is illegal. (Click here for a good summary of the law.)
A few points worth underscoring. The legal limit is 5 ng/ml. What that means varies by user, but one reporter in Colorado (where recreational pot is legal) draws this conclusion in The Boulder Weekly: “You can probably expect to have a blood level of more than 5 ng/ml if you take a few puffs of marijuana and then get in your car and start driving.”
Be extra careful if you eat marijuana. It might be a couple of hours before you hit that 5 ng/ml line.
Also, declining to submit to chemical testing if you are pulled over can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. And having a prescription for medical marijuana is not a defense.
Back to the recent study, however. Dr. Redelmeier makes a great point talking to The New York Times:
“These crashes really don’t have to happen,” he said. “In the Netherlands, they’ve had legalized marijuana for years, but they have many more interventions — speed cameras, radar, sobriety checkpoints. The roads in the Netherlands are now much safer than those in the U.S.”
In other words, treat marijuana like you would alcohol. Driving under the influence isn’t safe — and it isn’t worth it.
