Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. ~Doug Larson
Young men who are impulsive thrill-seekers are more likely to admit to driving while high on marijuana, Canadian researchers reported in a recent study.
Men who drove under the influence of marijuana were also more likely to report certain risky driving behaviors, and tend to get in more accidents, according to Dr. Isabelle Richer and Dr. Jacques Bergeron of the University of Montreal.
Based on the findings, any public health messages intended to discourage people from driving while high “should include an arousing and unconventional format” so they won’t be “redundant and boring” for their intended audience. After alcohol, marijuana is the drug most often found in the urine or blood of drivers after a crash. Studies have proven that people’s driving skills are impaired within the first hour of smoking pot. And it is possible, according to Richer and Bergeron, that people who get behind the wheel after smoking marijuana are also by nature more likely to be dangerous drivers.
For the study, Richer and Bergeron looked at 83 men ranging in age from 17 to 49. Thirty of the 83 admitted to being pot smokers. Among the 83, 30 percent said they had driven under the influence of marijuana in the past 12 months. Thirty-five percent had been involved in at least one car crash in the past 3 years.
“Media campaigns promoting traffic safety tend to emphasize rational decision-making approaches involved in driving,” Richer and Bergeron said. Such strategies might not work for this demographic of men who drive after using marijuana. “It is therefore important to strike a balance between arousing and educational messages.”