DRIVING WHILE HIGH MAKES ROADS RISKIER

But It Beats Driving While Burned Out

With snow melting off the roads in most communities in Nunavut and
Nunavik, the season for all-terrain vehicles -- and horrific ATV
accidents -- is moving into high gear.

Statistics show inexperience, speed, and intoxication lead to most
ATV accidents. About 90 per cent involve young people as either
passengers or drivers.

Alcohol and drug use also increases risks.

Drinking and driving are generally considered a lot riskier than
driving under the influence of pot, in terms of having an accident or
being caught by the police.

But driving while high isn't "risk free," says a new report called
"Pot and Driving in the North," which refers to the staggeringly high
statistics for accidents, injuries and accident-cased deaths from the
Northwest Territories to Nunatsiavut.

The National Aboriginal Health Organization prepared this report for
the Canadian Public Health Association.

The report, part of a larger national campaign on pot and driving,
looked at pot and driving off-road vehicles in the North and how to
change the common attitude that "pot is not something that people
talk about as a risk for driving."

The research, coordinated by NAHO's Ajunnginiq Centre, drew on
comments from selected informants across the Inuit regions as well as
focused discussion groups held with youth aged 14 to 18, and adults,
in an unnamed Nunavik community.

Overall, those who participated in NAHO's study said pot is
"relatively harmless."

But some said the true impact of pot is sometimes hidden.

"People don't want to talk about a relative who takes drugs and gets
lost," said a caller to a community radio show on the subject of pot
and driving.

Some said it's hard to talk seriously about pot because they are more
concerned about the impact of alcohol abuse in their communities, and
they told NAHO they want help from outside organizations to deal with
addictions.

Youth said sniffing gas is a more serious problem than pot "because
you can't overdose on pot." They are mainly concerned that pot could
cause respiratory and financial problems.

Among the adults, many showed tolerance for its use, but not for dealing.

Some said it is a "common practice" to smoke pot and drive, and that
they need to know more about how pot can increase driving risks,
especially when mixed with alcohol.

Studies show impairment from pot increases with the amount of THC
(the compound that gives pot its high) a person has in his or her system.

While drivers have been found to do certain things to adapt to their
impairment, such as slowing down, this doesn't cut the risks of
driving while high, says the report.

That's because pot has been found to increase the reaction time
needed to respond to an emergency. Pot disturbs concentration and
short-term memory, so a driver has a harder time reacting to events
and situations requiring quick responses.

Pot impairs driving skills most severely during what is known as the
"acute phase," which typically lasts for up to 60 minutes after
smoking. The residual phase lasts up to three hours.

"Burnout" is roughly equivalent to the hangover associated with
alcohol. Very little is known about the effect of burnout on driving,
although some focus group participants said it was a "significant
issue" for driving.

Some who contributed to the NAHO study even suggested they felt safer
driving high than driving during burnout.

Since burnout is characterized by fatigue, studies of the effect of
fatigue on driving might be applied to burnout. An alarming 20 per
cent of Canadians admit to falling asleep at the wheel at least once
over the last year. Studies also suggest fatigue is a factor in about
15 per cent of motor vehicle collisions.

NAHO has sent a package of information on the pot and driving
campaign to every Inuit community. For more information online,
contact www.potanddriving.cpha.ca.