Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana: Harmless or Dangerous? - General

There seems to be a 50/50 split among the community over driving under the influence. Speaking from expierence, I can tell that driving while high impacts my reflexes slightly. Do I believe the impact to be substantial enough to be a danger to other motorists? Definitely. Some argue that marijuana doesn't affect your driving at all or that the effects aren't significant enough to make you a threat on the road. Personally, I think its a crock of shit. Anything that impairs you, even if its very miniscule, is still impairment. Discuss. Remember that this topic is only about weed and not other drugs.

I believe it has been tested, several times probably, you drive more carefully on your own, but other drivers can still be assholes, and weed impairs your reflexes, so let's just drive sober.

Now I've never tried marijuana, but isn't it fairly similar to alcohol in the way that it makes you think slower / impairs your logical thinking? Being able to use your head, and react quickly and appropriate is extremely important when driving.

I only once drove under the influence of marijuana, and that wasn't in a car, but rather on my scooter (maximum legal speed of 50kmph (+-30mph). It was before I had my driving license. It was a long drive by myself, but I distinctly remember that I thought I was going a fuckton faster than I was actually going. Speedometer said I was going at about 30 kilometers per hour, but I felt like I was doing around a 100. It definitely had an effect on my awareness and reflexes, so I've already decided never to get behind the wheel of a car while under influence now I have my car license.

All drugs affect your reaction time and what you think is happening, the same is for weed, it isn't a good idea to DUI.

Depends on the person, some people can drive completely fine and some drive like they are drunk. But in the end it does not matter, you really should just drive sober instead of risking your life and that of others.

im always cycling about when im high and generally it makes me more safe and observant. it can play tricks on you though and impair your ability to think logically about the road, so i don't particularly think its a good idea to drive whilst high. on my bike im only really a danger to myself, in a car you are a danger to others

[QUOTE=Rixxz2;42653056]Now I've never tried marijuana, but isn't it fairly similar to alcohol in the way that it makes you think slower / impairs your logical thinking?[/QUOTE] Not really. Being drunk tends to give you the spins and makes you clumsy and slow to react, marijuana more tends to skew your senses, and alter your perception of time passing. In a gist, being drunk generally gives you slow judgement and slow reaction time. Being high on marijuana *can* give you faster reaction time than if you're sober, but your judgement becomes backwards and spotty so the way you interpret dangers on the road might not be reliable; tangible threats may not register with somebody who is stoned. There's also the potential for distracting nervous sensations in your body and distractions aren't good for safe driving. The fact that marijuana highs vary from person to person is reason enough for police to be wary of it. Obviously dosage effects the intensity as well. Just because with 1 toke you might leave you good to drive, doesn't mean having 4 tokes will also leave you good to drive

I got a 99% on my drivers text while high. Under direct observation of a driving evaluator, I was able to operate a motor vehicle as well as you are expected to on the road. What does this say

I have never been drunk, but I have been high. From personal experience, it is a lot harder to do stuff that involves reacting to anything that uses my entire body (however, I am marginally better at FPS). I tried to ride a bike high once, and almost fell off multiple times because of this, I don't think it's safe to drive under the influence of anything, be it alcohol or drugs. However, this is just my personal viewpoint, as hypno-toad said, being high varies from person to person, I have a friend who, when high, finds his extremities heavy, and walks rather sluggishly.

as someone whose kinda a stoner and has been friends with people who have smoked it for years. i can safely say id rather be in a car with a high driver than a drunk one.

One time while i was in the car while my mom was high, we came up to an intersection that was yellow. It turned red before we got there and she still went through it. She's not usually like this and has never been in an accident (she's also a professional driver). When me and my dad asked her why she drove through the red light, she said it was yellow. I'd say it has a pretty bad effect.

The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other drugs is irrelevant. The fact that [I]some people[/I] supposedly can focus better while under the influence is also irrelevant. It's a mind-altering substance that can and will impair somebody's driving skills. None of that should be allowed because it could potentially result in injury or death.

I don't think you have any business commandeering any vehicle under the influence of anything.

Never Drive When Baked Out After Hash Pills [editline]26th October 2013[/editline] ,feeeeeeeeeee //DOG FUCKER

To be honest, I drive better tipsy than I do high. Not DRUNK mind you, but tipsy.

Dunno about anyone else, but in my experience weed seriously fucks with your perception of time. Doesn't really seem like the best thing to have in your system on the road.

A lot less harmful than alcoholic, but marijuana still slows reactions in most people and relaxes them. That's not how you need to be when driving.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki]The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other drugs is irrelevant. The fact that some people supposedly can focus better while under the influence is also irrelevant. It's a mind-altering substance that can and will impair somebody's driving skills. None of that should be allowed because it could potentially result in injury or death.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Jojje;42654591]I don't think you have any business commandeering any vehicle under the influence of anything.[/QUOTE] Both of these posts explain what I meant with my post.

When one of my friends was driving home on his moped he was so stoned that he was driving on the wrong side of the road for about half an hour. It's lucky that we're in the country side, and he's still lucky he didn't get fucked up. If you've only smoked a lil, sure it'll be fine. But there is a point where it becomes dangerous.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;42654585]The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other drugs is irrelevant. The fact that [I]some people[/I] supposedly can focus better while under the influence is also irrelevant. It's a mind-altering substance that can and will impair somebody's driving skills. None of that should be allowed because it could potentially result in injury or death.[/QUOTE] a thousand times this. Just because some people can supposedly drive better or the same doesn't matter. A law has to be a blanket, not a case-by-case one. It'd make trials a nightmare.

If you're under any "influence" just don't drive. It's amazing to me that this is even debatable. If you have peoples lives at your control (and you do just by driving on public roads), don't let yourself be influenced by any external forces. Driving under the influence is honestly one of the worst things a person could do. You're moving an object that can weigh tons around hundreds of other people while you don't completely control your body.

"External influences". How vague can you get to define any problem possible a person could have? Define it because I know everyone drives with "external influences"

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;42656659]"External influences". How vague can you get to define any problem possible a person could have? Define it because I know everyone drives with "external influences"[/QUOTE] External influence meaning anything that you can't control that would influence the way you drive. You can control your use of marijuana. You can't control the effects it has on you. The same with alcohol or any other mind-altering drug or substance. I don't know what you mean by "any problem possible a person could have" Do you mean mental or physical problems? Generally if you talk to a doctor they'll say whether or not you're safe to do certain activities if you have some sort of issue.

I've seen people drive on the ganja, been a passenger myself too, and it was no biggie. It has a lot to do with dosage, tolerance, ability to drive in general, etc. I can imagine someone driving into a tree because of it though, some.. certain type of individual. It's not advisable to operate machinery while intoxicated I suppose.

doesn't weed affect your perception of time by slowing your reflexes, which is very important when driving because your perception of time is how you verify your speed, as well as how fast you react in situations... i'm just gonna go out on a limb and say its just dangerous to yourself and others if you choose to get on like the highway and do 70+ mph while stoned, but if your on a scooter or something at 30mph, your probably only a real danger to yourself

Aren't the traditional stereotypes of stoners being a "slow driver" and "overly cautious"? That's the method in which cops find stoners in my town of stoners

Pretty sure those two things are not something you want to be doing on the road. Being overly cautious can disrupt the flow of traffic, so can being a slow driver.

I would say it boils down to how the individual handles it. For some people, it helps them have more awareness of the present moment, something a lot of sober drivers lack. But really, I see people doing dangerous things while driving all the time. People are distracted by all sorts of things. They may be looking at their phone, doing their makeup, checking their nails, all sorts of stupid shit that can wait. What about driving impatient? Or angry? Depending on the person, I'd rather jump out of a moving vehicle than stay in it with an angry driver. Some people do senseless things when they're emotional.

It's different for each person. Some are more focused when stoned some are more distracted.