Pot and the Safe Driving Myth

by Matt Kelley · 2009-10-26 06:19:00 UTC
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Advocates for marijuana reform frequently argue that the drug should be legalized because it's safe. This is generally true, and I support legalization for this and many other reasons. But when it comes to driving and safety, legalization advocates often go a step too far -- claiming that driving under the influence of marijuana is not dangerous and that marijuana causes zero deaths each year. These misleading arguments are harming the reform movement.

It's a fact: marijuana impairs driving ability. Reliable scientific studies have shown that marijuana usage causes slower reaction time, impairs eye tracking and lateral awareness and that drivers fail to reliably regulate speed and the distance between their car and the car ahead of them. Driving ability is especially bad when the a person has smoked recently. The authors of the recent book "Marijuana is Safer" agree that driving while high shouldn't be condoned, though they focus on the decreased risk when driving high is compared to driving drunk.

It's true: driving drunk is worse than driving high. Legalizing marijuana may lead to a decrease in drunk driving deaths, and this is a good thing. But it's no reason to turn a blind eye to driving under the influence of drugs. We should be working now to advocate against ever driving under the influence of pot, and when marijuana is legalized, tax income from pot sales could be used in part to support a public awareness campaign about the dangers of driving under the influence of marijuana.

So, I want to say to the commenters who frequently write here and elsewhere that driving under the influence of marijuana is not risky: you're wrong. Not only are you wrong, but you're spreading a dangerous myth that could cause deadly accidents and will hurt the chances for marijuana reform in the United States. To those who cite that stat that alcohol causes 75,000 deaths each year in the U.S. and marijuana causes zero: you're wrong, too. Marijuana causes far, far fewer deaths than alcohol (maybe 0.1%) , but the number is not zero. Fatal accidents like this one and this one confirm that.

To show that we're serious about responsible reform, marijuana reformers need to take a stand against driving under the influence of pot. Each of us can do our part.

Great photo by PhotoDu.de - a five minute exposure while he drove on I-88.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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