Ottawa Citizen

RESEARCHERS SAY POT MAKES DRIVERS SAFER, MORE CAUTIOUS

A study funded by the British government has concluded that regular
marijuana users drive more safely under the influence of cannabis.

The study of 15 users, conducted by Britain's Transport Research
Laboratory, found that the mellowing effects of marijuana made drivers
more cautious and less likely to drive dangerously. While marijuana did
effect drivers, it was less dangerous than driving while fatigued or
drunk.

Regular cannabis users were supplied with "Grade A" marijuana from the
U.S. for the study. They took four weeks of tests on driving simulators
to gauge their reaction time.

When the study was announced in January, some believed it would prove
that driving under the influence of drugs - dubbed "drug-driving" in
Britain - is just as dangerous as drunk driving.

Instead, the unexpected conclusion that mellow drivers are relatively
safe drivers has been embarrassing to the government.

Still, the numbers show that high drivers are a hazard on the road.

In Britain, the number of people involved in fatal accidents found to
have drugs in their blood jumped from three per cent in 1989 to 18 per
cent last year. Officials there are posed to launch a roadside
spot-check program to stop high drivers as well as a new television
campaign that urges viewers to "never drive on drugs."

Experts agree that driving while high is not as safe as driving while
sober. But several studies have shown that high drivers seem to
recognize that they are impaired and are therefore very cautious.

"There are enough reports to suggest that people impaired by alcohol
are aggressive and drive faster," said Dr. Harold Kalant, a professor
of pharmacology at the university of Toronto and a researcher with the
Addiction Research Foundation.