Four years of results have now been obtained from studies that identified drivers who tested positive to the impairing constituent in cannabis, Delta-9-THC. This has allowed identification of drivers who were impaired by cannabis at the time of their death. These results indicate that there is a high risk of being killed when driving whilst impaired by Delta-9-THC. Whereas past studies have identified that cannabis combined with other psychotropic drugs such as alcohol have significantly raised accident risk, these new studies indicate a high accident risk for drivers who had used only cannabis (as measured by Delta-9-THC). These findings have important implications for public policy, since cannabis users perceive that cannabis is a "safe" drug in terms of driving and cannabis use within society is increasing.
Abstract