TOKING AND DRIVING - WHO'S THE REAL DOPE?

Pot smokers are a risk on highways

I received a letter earlier this year from an old friend, an Englishman who
was skipper of a motor torpedo boat after the Second World War. At that
time, he and his contemporaries smoked marijuana quite regularly, which if
nothing else proves how little is new.

He writes: "A group of us with local girls used to meet on Friday nights to
smoke some pot and listen to what we thought of as magnificent music. One
Friday I was called out on an emergency and did not get there until late.

"When I walked into the room I was confronted by a group of gals and guys
sitting around with stupid looks on their grinning faces listening to
atrocious music on a worn out, wind up, scratchy record player. I left and
did not return nor did I touch weed for about 30 years and then only once,
with similar results."

This is not meant to be a diatribe against marijuana. I've tried it, and
unlike former President Bill Clinton I inhaled, but had no desire to do so
again. It has not been a part of my life for the simple reason that, in my
teens, I was living in a pup tent near Snetterton race track in England,
fighting my way into the racing business.

I don't know of a single professional racing driver of note who smokes pot.
Even here in Whistler, where according to some we are all permanently
stoned, the stuff is no more prevalent than it would be in Winnipeg, perhaps
less so. Most good athletes know better than to blunt their faculties.

If nothing else, based on how many stand-up comics joke about smoking pot,
there is a lot of it around. I know lawyers, realtors, doctors and many
others who use the stuff, at least on occasion. It doesn't seem to hurt
them, though someone high on marijuana is not very interesting company for
those who are sober. That, plus the resultant munchies can clean out a
fridge in short order. How people live is their own business, as long as it
has no negative effect on others. Pot, like booze or any other intoxicant,
should not be used while operating a motor vehicle. A few years ago, I was
driving with a friend on a logging road. He pulled out a joint and had a
couple of puffs. Noting my expression he said, "It makes me drive better." A
few minutes later, after our progress had become distinctly erratic, he
turned to me and sheepishly said, "It only makes me think I drive better."

There are a bunch of ways to be impaired behind the wheel, from fatigue to
medication. I don't have a major problem with the legalization of marijuana,
barring legitimate medical evidence of its danger. This could curb a lot of
illegal activity as well as providing another taxable product, which seems
to be the drug governments crave the most. It has been done well, and
safely, in parts of Europe.

What we need, though, and quickly, is a roadside test for drug use. Just as
drinking and driving used to be a subject for jokes, people who smoke pot
and drive don't seem to realize what a risk they are taking.

On the plus side, unlike many drunks or users of other drugs, they probably
won't be belligerent with the hospital staff.