Pubdate: Sun, 05 Dec 2004
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Copyright: 2004 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact:  http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/695
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

CAMPAIGN AIMS TO REDUCE DRUGGED DRIVING AMONG TEENS

WASHINGTON - Many teen drivers believe it's less dangerous to drive
after smoking marijuana than after drinking alcohol, a perception the
government wants to change.

"Driving sober means no alcohol, no marijuana, no drugs," John
Walters, the Bush administration's drugpolicy director, said Thursday
as he showed a new television ad aimed at stopping teens from driving
after smoking pot.

Walters' office is spending $10 million on the ad and other efforts to
teach teens and their parents about the danger of drugged driving.
Brochures also are being distributed in high schools and state
motor-vehicle offices.

Marijuana can affect concentration, perception and reaction time up to
24 hours after it's smoked, Walters said. Yet teens have gotten the
message that it's a benign drug.

In a recent study, 30 percent of teens said "planning to drive" was a
reason not to drink. But only 18 percent cited "planning to drive" as
a reason not to take drugs. The survey questioned 3,574 middle- and
high-school students nationwide in spring and was conducted for
Students Against Destructive Decisions and Liberty Mutual Insurance. A
2004 study of patients admitted to the trauma unit at the University
of Maryland found that 19 percent of crash victims under 18 tested
positive for marijuana.

Allison Whitney, 25, a drug counselor and recovering addict from
Atlanta, said she got into several accidents as a teenager, because
she was smoking pot while driving. Sometimes she would get pulled over
for swerving, but police would let her go when she didn't test
positive for alcohol.

Whitney said part of the allure of marijuana for teens is that it's
easy to hide. "You can get high in less time than you can get drunk,
and your parents won't detect it," she said.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, said states are training police to recognize the
effects of various drugs, but said more training is needed.

Runge also encouraged states to test drivers for drugs after a crash,
so officials can understand the scope of drugged driving.
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