alt.hn

5/14/2026 at 5:26:50 PM

Cannabis and driving? Studies reveal big risks

https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/cannabis-and-driving-studies-reveal-big-risks

by PaulHoule

5/15/2026 at 4:25:19 AM

It's not unexpected that infrequent users are more impacted by acute use.

The article doesn't quantify accident risk, from what I can see.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), however, actually has quantified the relative change in accident risk. [1]

The table in the linked document (N/A = not available):

                Crash Risk   Culpability
    Alcohol (BAC = 0.02) 1.03–1.19 1.36
    Alcohol (BAC = 0.05) 1.38–1.75 2.19
    Alcohol (BAC = 0.08) 2.69–2.92 3.63
    Cannabis 1.11–1.42 1.20–1.42
    Antidepressants 1.35–1.40 N/A
    Antihistamines 1.12 N/A
    Benzodiazepines and Z-hypnotics 1.17–2.30 1.41
    Opiates 1.68–2.29 1.47

In Australia, the legal limit for Blood Alcohol Concentration when driving is 0.05. We are subject to roadside drug testing that checks for alcohol, methamphetamine, cannabis and cocaine. But not benzos, opiates or depressants, AFAIK. In almost all Australian states and territories, having a cannabis prescription is not a valid legal defence against loss of licence when a roadside test detects cannabis metabolites. The tests do not indicate impairment, only past use within the last few days. The Australian political class actively resists changing the law to be fair to medicinal cannabis patients.

If the system was really fair, it would perform a field sobriety test to prove impairment. Recognising that cannabis use only increases crash risk by the same amount as a legal BAC would be a good start.

[1] https://www1.racgp.org.au/getattachment/ef4cc327-723b-42c9-b...

by naruhodo

5/15/2026 at 7:18:45 AM

I don't see how anyone would even want to attempt to drive while baked.

by hurril

5/15/2026 at 10:04:55 AM

Because it's fun, and many people (myself of 15 years ago included) are fucking idiots.

by dtj1123

5/15/2026 at 8:32:15 AM

/Some/ people view Cannabis as some wonder drug, that has no negative effects whatsoever, and really play on that idea.

by marysol5

5/15/2026 at 3:19:41 AM

> Participants in the occasional and daily groups used their own cannabis at the doses they typically consume.

> “We didn’t tell people what to use because there’s a really big continuum of how people use and how they respond to that dosage,” Brooks-Russell said, explaining that they wanted these studies to reflect how people use cannabis outside of the lab.

Actually a really smart process decision - in past studies I’ve seen they always used a prescribed dose but having the participants choose makes a lot of sense

by jmux

5/15/2026 at 1:30:18 AM

Risks may include:

- Stopping at green lights

- Dropping the doob between the seats

- The Ozium can rolling out of reach

- Driving thru multiple fast food venues in one trip

by The_President

5/15/2026 at 5:05:43 AM

ozium reference was a nice touch - always was told that was the best for pot smoke, meanwhile it just made the room smell like weed and cherries

by stringfood

5/15/2026 at 1:21:15 AM

n=1 but I see tons of distracted driving, like relatedly people still text and talk and drive and... it mostly works out ok

So still probably ideal for people to aim to be perfectly sober and focused, but... we might end up "ok" in a lot of cases even if that ideal isn't achieved

by erelong

5/15/2026 at 12:41:57 AM

TL;DR Nonsense "study"

A study for real world risks based on a videogame, of all things? Its impossible to directly map the experience of being behind the wheel in real life to a game, and the article doesn't even mention whether it's an actual simulation (like beam.NG), game-like (as in Assetto Corsa), or plain arcade fantasy (GTA, Need for Speed) OBVIOUSLY people are gonna play games in a more fun/different way under the influence They even admit that inhaled usage showed little to no consistency in driving difference Bias disclaimer: I stopped consumption some time back

by syeare

5/15/2026 at 12:59:31 AM

"Participants got behind the wheel of a driving simulator equipped with everything you’d find in a real car – from the steering wheel to the pedals and dashboard. A large touchscreen, similar to those found in newer vehicles, allows for music to play and text messages to come through. Three oversized monitors provide 180 degrees of visual coverage to create a realistic, immersive driving environment."

Seems pretty clearly a simulator, they use that word several times.

by Dr_Emann

5/15/2026 at 6:38:25 AM

Still a simulator is not going to replicate the mind set of actually driving a vehicle. It probably helps a little bit that the participants are high, but still it’s not even close.

by dyauspitr

5/15/2026 at 7:17:35 AM

racing drivers train on them. So I'd say they get pretty close.

by vrighter

5/14/2026 at 5:31:48 PM

[dead]

by cindyllm