- Sep 28, 2010
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A new study suggests that legalizing medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities. The authors noted that legalizing marijuana reduces alcohol consumption, and people are more wary of driving high than drunk. Which drug is actually more dangerous on the road?
Alcohol, and its not even close......Yale psychiatrist Richard Sewell reviewed the academic literature on driving while intoxicated in a 2009 article, and found that alcohol is significantly more dangerous. Real-world data from auto accidents indicate that a drunk driver is approximately 10 times more likely to cause a fatal accident than a stoned driver. In most studies, smoking one-third of a joint or less has virtually no impact on a drivers performance. A couple of studies even suggest that pot smokers are less likely to cause an accident than sober drivers.
Its a little surprising that THC has such a small effect on driving. In experiments testing the skills required for drivingcoordination, visual tracking, and reaction timerather than driving itself, subjects under the influence of pot fare significantly worse than sober people. But when you put them behind the wheel of a driving simulator, tokers perform okay. Those who have taken in a moderate dose of the drug show minimal impairment, and very experienced smokers show almost no deficit at all.
Does marijuana make you a more dangerous driver than alcohol? - Slate Magazine
However I think the libertarian thought on this is you are responsible for your actions. If you're drunk/stoned and you cause an accident, you are to blame. Not the alcohol, not the pot....you.
