ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE

Medical health officer Dr. Fred Rockwell is getting on board a
campaign by the Canadian Public Health Association to put the brakes
on drivers who smoke up before getting behind the wheel.

The Pot and Driving Campaign is an attempt to raise awareness about
the dangers and prevalence of driving while impaired by marijuana
Launched in November, the campaign focuses on the need for some of the
misconceptions about marijuana use to be dispelled and for parents to
talk to their children and friends about the issue.

Rockwell says he believes the issue should be one that gets a higher
profile.

"Injuries in motor vehicle collisions are a major cause of injury and
death in our province and impaired driving, with alcohol or marijuana,
is a concern," he says.

According to the association, the knowledge of how to drive becomes
part of the long-term memory. While it may appear people drive without
thinking, driver still need to be alert to things around them when
they're driving. When people are high on marijuana, says the CPHA,
their minds have a tendency to drift.

This makes it harder to pay attention to conditions and hazards on the
road.

"I think the association is on the right track, trying to change
people's attitudes around responsible driving," Rockwell says. "We
have seen a big shift in society's attitude towards drinking and
driving. Before the change it was a bit of a joke, and now people are
impounding their friends' keys or having designated drivers or giving
their peers a hard time if they are so irresponsible as to drink and
drive. But we don't do the same thing with cannabis.

Rockwell says education has to be part of the strategy used to deal
with the issue, but he stresses that it is society's attitudes that
have to change.

"It has to be a slow process of changing attitudes to the point where
it is not acceptable to drive under the influence of pot," he says.

For more information on the Pot and Driving Campaign, visit
http://www.potanddriving.cpha.ca